Amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global community of scientists, government officials, journalists, programmers, and citizens has collaborated on various open-source projects with the goal of understanding and responding to the crisis. Notable efforts include the creation of widely-used COVID-19 datasets by institutions like Johns Hopkins University and the University of Washington, which provide real-time tracking and detailed patient data for research and public use. The COVID-19 Tracker project, initiated by The Atlantic and Related Sciences, emerged as a comprehensive source for U.S. testing and infection data. Additionally, initiatives like Folding@home and Nextstrain focus on epidemiological research and potential vaccine development, while visualization tools such as the Novel Coronavirus Infection Map and COVID-19 Dashboards offer insights into the virus's spread. Community-driven projects, like Italy’s real-time infection tracking and Wuhan2020's data service, exemplify the open-source ethos, while DIY projects like low-cost ventilators highlight grassroots innovation. GitHub has played a significant role in supporting these efforts, providing resources and platforms for collaboration, leading to a rapid increase in COVID-19-related projects and contributors, with over 6,000 contributors supporting more than 3,000 projects globally.