Open Source

Software whose source code is available for inspection, modification, and redistribution under a license that permits those rights.

Motivation

Open source solves the problem of shared software development by allowing people to inspect, reuse, modify, and improve code collaboratively.

Mental model

Open source is not just public code. It is public code plus a license and a collaboration model.

Where it fits

Open Source belongs to the Product track, inside Developer Tools. It relates to Git, version control, source code, and software communities.

Subconcepts

License

A license defines what users are allowed to do with the code, including whether they can copy, modify, distribute, or use it commercially.

Maintainer

A maintainer is responsible for reviewing changes, guiding the project, and deciding what gets accepted.

Contribution

A contribution is a proposed improvement such as a bug fix, documentation update, feature, or test.

Fork

A fork is a copy of a project that can evolve independently from the original.

Common mistakes

Assuming public source code is automatically open source.
Ignoring license compatibility.
Treating open source as free labor rather than a collaboration model.

Use the metadata panel or return to the graph to explore Git, Version Control, and Source Code.