# Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)

Free and open source software, or FOSS, is software whose source code can be inspected, used, modified, and shared under its license.

## Why it matters

Open source rights come from the software license, not from the code merely being downloadable. Teams adopting open models or AI tools must review license obligations, model and data licenses, security maintenance, and the cost of operating the software.

## Example

An engineering team records the license and version for an inference server, model weights, tokenizer, and supporting libraries before approving them for commercial use.

## FAQ

### What is Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in simple terms?

Free and open source software, or FOSS, is software whose source code can be inspected, used, modified, and shared under its license.

### Why does Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) matter for teams using AI?

Open source rights come from the software license, not from the code merely being downloadable. Teams adopting open models or AI tools must review license obligations, model and data licenses, security maintenance, and the cost of operating the software.

### What is a practical example of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)?

An engineering team records the license and version for an inference server, model weights, tokenizer, and supporting libraries before approving them for commercial use.


Source: https://www.luffy.so/ai-glossary/free-and-open-source-software-foss

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