Open source is a software and cultural practice in which source code is made available under licenses that allow use, study, modification and redistribution.
Open source is both a licensing model and a cultural infrastructure for software, creative tools, public knowledge, maintainership and technical education.
activecanonicalv1.0.0
Definition
Open source describes software distributed under terms that permit access to source code, modification and redistribution.
Scope
The concept includes licenses, governance, maintainers, public collaboration, forks, documentation, issue histories, dependency chains and creative tooling ecosystems.
Applications
Electronic Artefacts uses open source as a lens for creative coding, web tools, graph systems and long-term cultural infrastructure.
Limitations
Open source is not automatically sustainable. Maintenance labor, security, documentation and governance remain real costs.
References
See the Open Source Definition, creative coding and web development.
Identity and publication
Record metadata
Entity ID
ea:concept:open-source
Publication class
canonical
Status
active
Maturity
research
Confidence
canonical
Published
2026-06-24
Modified
2026-06-24
Version
1.0.0
Citation
How to cite this record
Open Source. 1.0.0. Electronic Artefacts, 2026-06-24. https://electronicartefacts.com/knowledge/concepts/open-source/