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What is Open Source?

Understanding Open Source Software and Its Benefits

OSGeo holds a passionate belief in open source as the best way to build software.

Definition

Open Source

Open source starts off with a license that provides royalty free (re)use of software. Open source grants access to the source code so you can see how the software works and make changes if needed. Finally, open source offers the ability to redistribute the software, and any modifications you might make, without paying additional costs.

OSGeo’s projects use OSI-certified open source licenses. For more information on approved licenses, see opensource.org.

Benefits

A New Way to Geo

Open source offers greater control than you may be familiar with from proprietary (closed) software. Open source eliminates per-seat licensing constraints and vendor lock-in.

An ecosystem of service providers and community members provide support. The geospatial field has benefited from open source projects delivering dependable service for decades.

Open source provides far more than just software – it provides freedom and a chance to join a team!

Licensing

License Types

Projects choose between two approaches when selecting an open source license:

Permissive Licenses

Minimal restrictions on software use. These licenses allow maximum flexibility for how the software can be used, modified, and redistributed.

Popular permissive licenses:

Apache License 2.0
BSD (2-clause and 3-clause)
MIT License
Mozilla Public License 2.0

Protective Licenses

Require sharing of improvements. These licenses ensure that modifications to the software remain open source.

Popular protective licenses:

GNU General Public License (GPL)
GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
Common Development and Distribution License 1.0
Eclipse Public License 2.0

Beyond Code

Open Geospatial Initiatives

Beyond software, OSGeo champions several open initiatives:

Open Data

Geospatial information with community participation in collection and review. Open data applies the same principles of openness to datasets, enabling free use and redistribution of geographic information.

Open Education

Shared teaching materials reducing costs. Open education makes learning resources freely available, lowering barriers to geospatial education worldwide.

Learn about Geo for All

Open Science

Transparent research through shared data and analysis tools. Open science combines open data with open source software to enable reproducible research and collaborative scientific discovery.

Learn about Open Geoscience

Open Standards

Promoting interoperability between applications and organizations. Open standards ensure that different software systems can work together and exchange data seamlessly.

Action

Start Your Open Source Journey

Explore OSGeo’s collection of open source geospatial software and join our community of developers, users, and advocates.

View Projects Get Involved