What is open source?
Open source software is software whose code anyone can read, change and share under a licence that allows it.
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Open source means the source code of a program is published under a licence that lets anyone study, modify and redistribute it. A recipe printed in a cookbook is open; the secret sauce in a fast food chain is not. The licence matters: MIT and Apache 2.0 let you do almost anything, while the GPL requires that changes you share stay open too.
Linux, Python, PostgreSQL, Git, Kubernetes, Firefox and most of the internet’s plumbing are open source, usually developed on GitHub or GitLab. You use it every day whether you know it or not. Contributing can mean fixing a typo in documentation, reporting a bug clearly, or sending a pull request. Always read the LICENSE file before reusing code in your own project.
git clone https://github.com/python/cpython.git
cat cpython/LICENSE | head -20See also: What is a pull request? and What is a commit? More at opensource.org.
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See also
- 0038 The pull request workflow on GitHub A pull request asks to merge your branch into another one, with review and automated checks in between. This is the whole… Beginner · Step by step · Any system Article Pull requests 15 Oct 2026
- 0262 Make your first pull request: Git and GitHub from first commit to merged change A complete beginner's path through Git and GitHub: set up Git, make commits, ignore files, use branches, push to GitHub, open a… Beginner · Guided project · Any system Article Branching & rebasing · Pull requests · Setup 15 Oct 2026
- 0314 What is a pull request? A pull request asks teammates to review and merge the changes on your branch into the main branch. Beginner · Explains an idea · Any system Article Pull requests 15 Oct 2026
Repos in the wild
- GitHub CLI (gh) cli/cli GitHub's official command-line tool. Create and check out pull requests, manage issues, view Actions runs, and sign in to GitHub from the terminal. GitHub
History
Every saved edit is kept. The plot on the sleeve draws one line per edit. Open any edit to see exactly what changed.
- Dominik +879 chars