Open Source Sustainability

Definitions

1. The challenge of keeping open source projects viable over the long term through funding, governance, contributor health, maintenance capacity, and realistic support expectations. It has become a central concern as critical infrastructure increasingly depends on under-resourced maintainers.

   In plain English: The problem of making sure important open source projects can keep operating and being maintained.

   Example: "The security issue exposed how fragile open source sustainability can be when one package depends on volunteer labor."

Related Terms

• AOSP
• Cathedral and the Bazaar
• IRC
• Open Source Maintainer
• The Cathedral
• Gratipay
• Project Health
• Sponsorship
• Tidelift
• Upstream Contribution
• Upstream First
• Codebase Health
• Project Funding