Free
Course

Introduction to Open Source

Learn how to contribute to, create, and maintain open source projects!

4.39 out of 5 stars
2,889 learners enrolled
  • Skill level

    Beginner
  • Time to complete

    <1 hour
  • Certificate of completion

    Included with paid plans
  • Prerequisites

    None

About this course

Open source software is open to distribution and modification by anyone in the world - that could be you! Open source projects are not only a way to contribute to the free technology movement, but also a great way to experiment with new languages and frameworks in a welcoming community.

The open source community has created a wide array of projects from software to games to video editors to music to cryptocurrency! The open source community is truly everywhere, contributing to projects by giants like Google or adding to digital public goods for collaborative healthcare efforts worldwide.

Syllabus

1 lessons • 4 quizzes

The platform

Hands-on learning

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Introduction to Open Source course ratings and reviews

4.39 out of 5 stars
133 ratings
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  • The progress I have made since starting to use codecademy is immense! I can study for short periods or long periods at my own convenience - mostly late in the evenings.
    Chris
    Codecademy Learner @ USA
  • I felt like I learned months in a week. I love how Codecademy uses learning by practice and gives great challenges to help the learner to understand a new concept and subject.
    Rodrigo
    Codecademy Learner @ UK
  • Brilliant learning experience. Very interactive. Literally a game changer if you're learning on your own.
    John-Andrew
    Codecademy Learner @ USA

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What Is Open Source?

Codecademy Team
Sep 22, 2022

Think about the website you use the most often: Maybe it’s a social media site, a food delivery app, or a site you use for work. There are probably things you like about it. Maybe it’s nice to look at or really easy to use. But there are also probably some things that could be improved. Now, what if you could make those improvements yourself?

Unfortunately, this isn’t possible on most websites. The source code, or the code that was used to build the website, is very likely proprietary — meaning it was written by a certain company, and only the people who work for that company have permission to view and change it. But this isn’t always the case; that’s where open source comes in.

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  • Practice Projects

    Guided projects that help you solidify the skills and concepts you're learning.
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    Auto-graded quizzes and immediate feedback help you reinforce your skills as you learn.
  • Certificate of Completion

    Earn a document to prove you've completed a course or path that you can share with your network.