# Elasticsearch being open source

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-being-open-source/341632>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Created:** [August 24, 2023, 9:32pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-being-open-source/341632 "2023-08-24T21:32:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![JasonGoldman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/jasongoldman/32/124948_2.png) [@JasonGoldman](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/JasonGoldman)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 9:32pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-being-open-source/341632/1 "2023-08-24T21:32:26Z")

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[The GitHub repository of Elasticsearch](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) and [Elastic's website](https://www.elastic.co/about/free-and-open) should not be afraid to call Elasticsearch "open source". The upcoming release of the Open Source Definition (v1.11) will acknowledge that Server Side Public License (SSPL) is an open source license.

> **[GitHub - CollectiveSource/Open-Source-Definition: The Open Source Definition](https://github.com/CollectiveSource/Open-Source-Definition)**
>
> The Open Source Definition. Contribute to CollectiveSource/Open-Source-Definition development by creating an account on GitHub.

As more projects reject the "OSI approved" label and more developers recognize the OSI's failure at maintaining the open-source definition, there's an opportunity for Elastics to stay ahead of the curve and lead people in the right direction. The alternative choice would be to wait for the masses to lead the way and just follow them from a safe distance.

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**Author:** ![DavidTurner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/davidturner/32/22453_2.png) [@DavidTurner](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/DavidTurner)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 7:56am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-being-open-source/341632/2 "2023-08-25T07:56:31Z")

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I'm not sure there's a great reason to reopen this particular can of worms at present 😁 Clearly by some definitions the Elastic license could be called "open source", but the de-facto accepted definition for that term is today still the OSI one. Personally I'd love to see that change, but it's going to take a bit more than a 2-day-old Github repo to achieve that.

While things are still in flux it seems best to continue to use the distinctive "[Free and Open](https://www.elastic.co/about/free-and-open)" branding to avoid any confusion.

Certainly an interesting development, but maybe one to watch from a safe distance for now indeed.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 7:56am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-being-open-source/341632/3 "2023-09-22T07:56:38Z")

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