How we categorise projects

Projects on this website have a status which sits within one of these categories:

FOSS Project

Yes!

This project appears to be free and open source software.

The entire advertised value/idea of the project is fully Free and Open Source. This does not mean that every single thing involved within or related to the project is assured to be FOSS, but all which is advertised/marketed within the general idea/value of the project should be FOSS. No parts which could be considered within that core marketed project scope should be under a non-FOSS license, and there should not be any major issues regarding FOSS license or transparency.

Partially FOSS, with an Open Core

Partially

A significant, clearly defined, core part of project is free and open source.

Guidance

The project has a FOSS core which provides significant value by itself, but the project also provides optional elements or distributions which are under a non-free-or-open-source license and are advertised as part of the marketing/branding alongside the FOSS portion.

The project must be clear about how it differentiates between open source and non-open elements, and the license must be clear and up-front to users. If the project conflates their versions, or is non-transparent in their licensing, then this will instead be treated as one of the below categories.

Largely FOSS but with Issues

Issues exist

There's FOSS code here, but there's issues around licensing, marketing, or transparency.

Guidance

Large parts of the project use Free and Open Source code but there are significant current issues regarding licensing or transparency to users. Issues will be specified in the details of the project.

Not FOSS

Nope!

It's not FOSS, and it doesn't currently claim to be, although it may have been in the past.

Guidance

The project is simply not Free or Open Source, and it does not claim to be nor are there any significant FOSS-related issues. Such projects may be shown on this site if they were once previously FOSS, marketed as such, or if they are often thought of as FOSS due to being source available.

Not FOSS with Issues

Nope!

Not FOSS but there are FOSS related licensing, marketing, or transparency issues.

Guidance

The project is not FOSS but there are marketing and/or transparency issues in regard to being portrayed as free and/or open source software. Issues will be specified in the details of the project.