Open source
Unlocking innovation for everyone, everywhere
At Red Hat, we believe the best technology gets built in the open where anyone can see it, shape it, and make it better.
As the world's largest enterprise open source company, with more than 30 years working in community projects and protecting open source licensing, we've learned a thing or two about building software that plays well with others.
Everyone builds on what we build together
Open source software and development practices aren't the alternative anymore. They're the standard. So keeping them strong is a shared effort.
Together, we define and evolve the foundational principles that help us create with more freedom, knowledge, and confidence.
The starting point is a shared definition of open source. Since 2006, the Open Source Initiative (OSI), has helped steward that definition and inform open source culture, which includes values like transparency and collaboration, and practices like releasing early and often.
As a long-time supporter of the OSI, Red Hat has contributed to standards around open source licensing, security, public policy, and artificial intelligence. Our community contribution policies leave associates and alumni free to take part in—or even lead—OSI work.
Putting our principles to work
Red Hat exists to be a catalyst for change, built on the belief that open unlocks the world’s potential. Our work with communities is guided by principles of freedom, community, and sustainability—and through them, we help keep the benefits of open source available to anyone, anywhere.
Freedom to innovate
We enrich the open source commons with the software we create, extend, or acquire.
Community collaboration
We guide change across a network of communities, aligned with a common goal of building better technology the open source way.
Sustainable development
We continuously develop and maintain the Red Hat® ecosystem in ways that support confidence in open source software.
Freedom
- We release software under open source licenses that permit a recipient to see, modify, and distribute the code.
- We will never use our patents offensively against free and open source software. We deter, defend against, and resolve patent threats to free and open source software.
- We seek to influence and inform the legal and regulatory framework under which open source operates to maintain its accessibility and viability. That's why we've joined amicus briefs in support of open source licenses and spoken out about the global availability and adoption of open source.
Community
- We improve software through open, iterative collaboration with customers, contributors, competitors, and partners.
- We empower our associates to contribute to free and open source projects. Working in those communities brings in perspectives we wouldn't have on our own, helping us find the best ideas and integrate them into upstream repositories.
- We follow the Red Hat Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and Open Source Participation Guidelines, which allow us to participate in projects even if the interests of these projects may be adverse to those of the company.
Sustainability
- We build on community-created code, making it more secure, scalable, and stable for enterprise use. We then share these improvements back with the community.
- We fund the development of freely-licensed and openly-developed components by assembling them into integrated products, pairing them with support, certifications, expertise, and delivery services—all via subscription.
- We help sustain open source-focused projects, foundations, and standards with everything from funding and infrastructure to maintenance, mentoring, and governance.
Pushing ideas forward together
For decades, across the world's most demanding industries, we've built technology that works across platforms, and made it accessible to the people and organizations that rely on it. We believe that the technologies shaping our future—from AI to whatever comes next—should be built the same way. Open development, transparent lifecycles, and shared community stewardship ensure technology is available to many rather than controlled by a few.
That's how we've always worked, defending the licenses that protect open source, contributing what we build back to the communities behind it, and giving the organizations that depend on it the tools, guidance, and support to build with confidence. Because real innovation happens between people, not behind walls.
Building communities, not just software
Behind every open source project is a community of people who develop, maintain, extend, and promote the software together.
Members sharpen their skills on real problems and build connections that span companies and continents. And for enterprises, contributing to upstream projects taps into a flow of improvements and ideas greater than any one company could sustain, no matter its size.
Understanding open source
Explore the ideas, communities, and projects behind today's biggest breakthroughs.
