Definition
A software development model in which the source code of a program is made publicly available for anyone to view, use, modify, and distribute. Open source software is foundational to the creator economy's technical infrastructure — tools including OBS Studio (streaming), Audacity (audio editing), GIMP (image editing), WordPress (web publishing), and countless others are open source. For creators, open source tools provide professional-grade capabilities without licensing costs, while the open source philosophy of shared knowledge and community contribution aligns with many creators' values around education and accessibility.