Introduction to Open Source
Learn how to contribute to, create, and maintain open source projects!
Skill level
BeginnerTime to complete
Average based on combined completion rates — individual pacing in lessons, projects, and quizzes may vary<1 hourPrerequisites
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 lesson • 4 quizzesCertificate of completion available with Plus or Pro
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What Is Open Source?
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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Related resources
- Article
What is Open Source?
Learn about what open source is and why it's important! - Article
Why Open Source Your Project?
Learn about the benefits of making your project open source! - Article
Contributing to an Open Source Project on GitHub
Learn about the different ways you can contribute to an open source project!
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