Open source
Open minds. Open software.
Understand the ideas, tools, communities, and business models behind open source.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPLORE
- Understand software freedom and licenses
- Explore useful open-source tools
- Take your first step into a project
Understand the foundations
Get comfortable with the ideas behind open software.
The open-source field guide
Build a broad understanding of open-source work, from using a repository to participating in a project.
Licenses without the jargon
Understand what an open-source license permits, what it asks of you, and why choosing one matters.
Free software and software freedom
Explore the difference between permission to use software, access to source code, and unauthorized copying.
The building blocks of open source
Make sense of libraries, frameworks, packages, containers, binaries, and firmware—and where each belongs.
Understand the open-core model
Explore the relationship between a freely available core product and additional commercial features or services.
How open-source businesses work
Understand how software can be freely available while the people and organizations behind it build sustainable businesses.
Find your tools and community
Discover useful software and the people who build it.
Discover your next open tool
Explore an interactive collection of open-source tools and alternatives for everyday and technical work.
An open toolkit for learning
Discover open-source tools for study, creativity, collaboration, and technical work.
A cloud of your own
Explore self-hosted file sharing, collaboration, and the decisions behind managing your own cloud with Nextcloud.
Learning with Moodle
Explore an open-source learning platform and how it organizes courses, activities, and learning communities.
Connect your notes with Logseq
Explore linked notes, connected ideas, and an open-source approach to organizing knowledge.
Organize documents with OpenKM
Explore document management and the role of an open-source platform in organizing information.
A closer look at Brave
Explore a browser as an example of open-source software and consider the choices involved in everyday web tools.
Your open-source starting points
Explore places to learn, find projects, discover communities, and continue building your skills.
Getting help with open software
Understand the support options around open-source projects, from documentation and communities to professional services.
An open-source project collection
Browse the supplied 2025–2026 project collection as a starting point for discovering tools and questions to investigate.
Make it part of your work
Move from understanding to contribution and strategy.
Your first open-source project
Work through the steps of creating and sharing a small open-source project, from an idea to a repository.
Find your place in open source
Explore contribution, technical roles, and ways to develop a portfolio through open-source work.
Ideas that became shared tools
Explore stories of open-source projects and how shared work can grow beyond its original idea.
Who builds open source?
Explore the relationship between open-source communities, individual contributors, and the companies that support them.
When communities stand their ground
Explore the stories, disagreements, and community decisions that have shaped open-source projects.
Plan an open-source approach
Explore an organizational framework for adopting, managing, and participating in open-source software.
Open source in healthcare
Explore examples of open collaboration in medicine and consider why accessible tools and shared knowledge matter.
Where open source goes next
Explore emerging questions around open technology, software development, and the communities that shape them.
Check your open-source knowledge
Put the ideas from the open-source learning path together in a final knowledge check.
STAY CURIOUS
Your next idea starts here.
Explore something new. Build on what you know.