Open source

Open source is software whose source code is publicly available, free to inspect, modify and redistribute under an explicit licence. Instead of a vendor keeping the code locked away, anyone can read how the software works, run it for any purpose, adapt it and share improvements. It powers most of the modern web, from the servers that host sites to the frameworks behind web apps. For a business, open source often means no licence fees, no lock-in, and full control over the tools you depend on.

What is open source?

Open source describes software released with its source code and a licence that grants users the right to use, study, modify and distribute it. The term was coined in 1998, but the idea builds on the earlier free software movement. What makes something genuinely open source is not just visible code: it is the licence attached to it, meeting agreed criteria such as the Open Source Initiative's definition, which guarantee the core freedoms. A repository you can read but not legally reuse is source available, not open source.

In everyday terms, open source is why a small team can build on decades of engineering without asking permission or paying per seat. The database, the CMS, the automation engine and the language your app runs on are very likely open source.

How open-source licensing works

The licence is the heart of open source, and licences fall into two broad families. Permissive licences (MIT, Apache 2.0, BSD) let you do almost anything, including using the code in closed commercial products, as long as you keep the copyright notice. Copyleft licences (GPL, AGPL) require that derivative works stay open under the same terms, which protects the commons but limits some commercial uses. Choosing a dependency means reading its licence, not just its stars on GitHub.

Most projects declare their licence in a LICENSE file and in metadata:

// package.json
"license": "MIT"

Getting the code is usually one command:

git clone https://github.com/owner/project.git

Open source vs proprietary software

Why open source matters for web projects

Open source removes two risks that quietly hurt businesses: cost that scales with usage, and dependence on a single vendor. If a proprietary tool doubles its price or shuts down, you are stuck; with an open-source foundation you can self-host, fork or migrate. It also speeds delivery: instead of rebuilding authentication, a database layer or an automation runtime, you assemble proven components and spend your effort on what is specific to your business. Transparency is a security feature too, because widely used open-source code is audited by thousands of eyes.

Popular open-source tools

Much of what runs a modern stack is open source. Supabase gives you a Postgres database with auth and APIs you can host yourself. n8n is an automation engine you can run on your own server instead of renting per-task pricing. WordPress still powers a large share of the web as an open-source CMS. Behind them sit open-source languages, the rendering engines in browsers and countless libraries. The point is not ideology: it is that these tools are inspectable, portable and free of per-seat fees.

Limits and things to watch

Open source is not automatically free of cost or risk. You still pay for hosting, maintenance and the time to run it, and free to use is not free to operate. Some projects are maintained by a single volunteer and can go stale, so check the release cadence and community health before you depend on one. Licences matter: shipping GPL code inside a closed product can create obligations you did not intend. And self-hosting means you own the updates and the security patches. The right question is not open versus closed, but which model gives you control where it counts.

Open source at BeBranded

We build on open foundations on purpose, so our clients keep control of what they own. When we develop a web application, we favour tools you can self-host and code any developer can pick up, with no lock-in and no surprise licence bill. You leave with the project, not a dependency on us.