---
aliases: ["Open Source"]
Is A: Topic
---
# Open Source

Open source covers the culture, economics, and practice of building and contributing to open-source software. It spans community dynamics, licensing models, sustainability challenges, and the increasingly important role of open source as a go-to-market strategy for developer-facing companies.

## Why this matters

Open source sits at the intersection of several threads that matter for Refactoring: engineering culture, developer tools, and B2B business models. Many of the companies that sponsor the newsletter are open-source-first, and understanding how open source functions as both a product strategy and a community-building tool makes the editorial and sponsorship work more informed. The evergreen note [[open-source-as-marketing]] captures the key insight — open source is often the most effective distribution channel for developer tools. For the newsletter audience, open source is a deeply held value, and writing about it with nuance (not just cheerleading) builds credibility.

## Key resources

- [[open-source-as-marketing]] — how open source functions as distribution and trust-building for companies
- [[topic-developer-tools]] — the DevTool category where open source is most prevalent as a strategy
- "Working in Public" by Nadia Eghbal — the definitive book on open-source community dynamics and maintainer burnout
- The Changelog podcast — long-running, thoughtful coverage of the open-source world
- [[note-show-your-work]] — the philosophy of building in public, which shares DNA with open source

## Notes

- The open-source sustainability problem is real but often misframed — the issue is not that people will not pay, but that the value capture mechanisms for maintainers are poorly designed
- Open-source licenses matter more than most developers realize, especially when VC-backed companies change licenses after building a community (the "bait and switch" pattern)
- Contributing to open source is one of the best career investments a developer can make — it builds skills, reputation, and network simultaneously
- The tension between open-source idealism and commercial reality is a rich topic for newsletter content, and the audience has strong opinions on it
- Most successful open-source business models follow the "open core" pattern: the core is free, and the enterprise features (SSO, audit logs, compliance) are paid
