Understanding open source

Open source is a series of principles, processes, people, and technologies that makes information publicly accessible—so anyone can see, modify, and distribute the information as they see fit.

What is open source?

Open source generally refers to a type of software released through a specific kind of license that makes its source code legally available to end-users.

But, open source can also be used to describe groups of people, processes, and principles that enable the free flow of information across systems and cultures.

Explore open source communities

Read more about specific open source topics

Open source

Code that can been seen, modified, and distributed by anyone.

Open source software

Software with source code legally available to end-users.

Open source software in vehicles

Comparing development methodologies in transportation.

InstructLab

An open source project for large language models (LLMs).

CentOS Stream

A Linux distribution between Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

CentOS

CentOS can refer to CentOS Stream or CentOS Linux.

CentOS replacements

Comparing distributions related to CentOS Linux.

Linux distros

Comparing enterprise and community Linux types.

KVM

An open source virtualization technology.

Podman

An open source tool to develop, manage, and run containers.

Podman Desktop

An open source container tool for local developer environments.

Skopeo

A container image tool for Linux, Windows, and MacOS systems.

Buildah

Build containers compatable with the Open Container Initiative.

KubeLinter

An open source Kubernetes validation tool focused on security.

Kogito

Build cloud-native applications for complex business processes.

Knative

An open source community project for serverless applications.

Apache Kafka

A real-time distributed data streaming platform.

Apache Kafka on Kubernetes

Combining 2 open source projects for serverless functions.

Argo CD

A declarative continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes.

Clair

An open source tool to monitor container security.

Clair

An open source tool to monitor container security.

Cloud Foundry

A Platform-as-a-Service to build containerized applications.

Docker

Containerization technology to create and use Linux containers.

etcd

An open source, distributed, consistent key-value store.

Grafana

An open source interactive data-visualization platform.

Helm

A Kubernetes package manager.

Helm on Red Hat OpenShift

Automate Red Hat OpenShift deployments that complement Kubernetes Operators.

Istio

An open source service mesh to share data across microservices.

Jaeger

Distributed tracing software for microservices.

MicroShift

An edge-focused, lightweight container orchestration tool.

RKT

An application container engine for cloud-native environments.

Quarkus

Develop and run Kubernetes-native Java applications across hybrid clouds.

Spring

Develop and run Kubernetes-native Spring and Spring Boot applications.

CoreOS

Founded in 2013, acquired by Red Hat in 2018, and retired in 2020.

Ansible vs. Chef

Comparing open source automation tools.

Ansible vs. Puppet

Comparing open source automation tools.

Ansible vs. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform

Explaining the differences between the project and product.

Ansible vs. Salt

Comparing open source automation tools.

Ansible vs. Terraform

Comparing open source automation tools.

Ansible, Terraform, Puppet, Chef, and Salt

Comparing open source automation tools.

OpenJDK vs. Oracle JDK

An open source distribution of Java Platform, Standard Edition.

Red Hat OpenShift vs. OKD

OKD is the upstream project of Red Hat OpenShift.

Resources

Analyst material

Open source AI platforms in the enterprise

See why open source platforms should be the preferred choice of enterprises.

Analyst material

Value of Red Hat solutions versus non-paid alternatives

Understand the potential benefits of using Red Hat solutions instead of non-paid open source alternatives.

Detail

The State of Enterprise Open Source: A Red Hat report

The state of tested and supported open-source software tailored for businesses.

Success stories

WHO builds open source learning platform

WHO created a sustainable open source development infrastructure to support development of a platform for its new training center.

Massachusetts Open Cloud uses open source storage

MOC’s new storage solution reduced IT costs by using a cost-effective, open source platform and industry-standard hardware.

FIWARE creates open source smart city platform

FIWARE builds an improved open source, eco-smart city platform that cities of any size, around the world, can implement.