Guide to Melange

Ready for review -- AWAITING PEER REVIEW
This lesson will teach you how to use Melange.

Google Code-In website uses Melange to carry out all the operations. Even Melange is an Open Source software. In this lesson we'll be learning how you can use melange to manage your tasks for your GCI organization.


1) (Skip this step if you already have a Google account.) Go to Google account Signup page, fill in the required information and Register for your account.

2) Now go to Google Melange website and select Google Code-in. Once you are on the Google code in page, register yourself as student on the website with your Google account. (You can only register on Melange during the Registration periods)

You also need to upload two forms before you can actually claim work on tasks.

3) Now before we go on and learn to claim tasks, you should read the Rules and Event & Timeline pages. Rules for Google Code-in 2013 are here and Event & Timeline are here.

4) If the contest, has not yet started then you should see the list of organizations for the most recent contest. You can read more about them, visit there website, connect with them via IRC and choose a suitable organization to work with.

You can also see the list of Open tasks and Closed tasks on the Organization page. This should give you a fair amount of idea about what type of tasks does an organization provides and what type of work they expect from you.

5) If the contest is already running, then click on 'Search for tasks' on the homepage. This would display the list of open tasks from all the organizations. If you have already decided an organization then you should open the organization page to see the list of tasks from that particular organization.

Now you can enter some search terms to see the specific results. When you have chosen a task to work on you click on 'Claim this task' button.

You can now start to work on this task. You can consult mentors if you need help. But you cannot still submit the work as the mentor hasn't assigned you the task. Once the task is assigned to you, you can submit the work in a file or link format.

You can also click on 'Unclaim task' if you aren't able to continue working on the task and would like to choose another task. You can also post comments on the task.

Sometimes the allotted time might run out. You get 24 hours to submit the work otherwise the task is made open for others. You can ask to your mentor for time extension if needed.

Sometimes your submitted work won't be up to the mark, then the mentor would ask you to work more on it. When the work is done, then the task is closed by the mentor.

These were the basics of Melange. You can also read Frequently asked questions on Google Code-in website if some further help is needed. A Google Code-in forum also exists to discuss about the competition.