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Open Source Isn’t Free—It’s a Gift. Treat It Like One.

TL;DR

Table of Contents

Why am I writing this post?

Christmas is that rare time when we pause—when the year’s chaos slows just enough to reflect, celebrate, or reset. For many of us, it’s also when we realize how much we owe to things we take for granted.

Like open-source software.

Think about the tools you use daily: the Linux server hosting your favorite site, the tiny npm package that saved you hours, the text editor that’s become an extension of your thoughts. Someone wrote that. Someone maintains it. And most of them do it for free.

I’ve been on both sides of this. I’ve used free software without a second thought, and I’ve stayed up late fixing bugs in projects no one pays me for. Here’s the truth: Open source isn’t free. It’s a gift. And gifts deserve gratitude.

For some odd reason I don’t quite remember, I read this GitHub discussion (PrawnPDF), and it sparked a snowball of thoughts over the past few weeks.

Why this matters for all of us

We developers are lucky. Despite the noise about AI replacing us or “10x engineers” hogging the spotlight, we’re still needed. Hell, we’re needed more than ever—because the world runs on people, either writing code or overseeing the systems that do.

Here are some heavyweights we all have heard of:

These things don’t materialize out of thin air. They’re built by people who could be doing paid work instead. They’re acts of generosity.

How to give back (without overthinking it)

You don’t need to be rich or a corporate sponsor. You just need to pick one project and act.

1. Money (the fastest way to say “Thank You”)

Most of us can spare $5 or $10. That’s not much to you, but to a maintainer, it’s:

Where to start?

Are you lazy? Set up a yearly donation now—future you won’t even miss it.

2. Time or skills (if money’s tight)

3. Spread the word

The ripple effect

Here’s what happens when you donate:

  1. A maintainer sees your name and thinks, “Someone gives a damn.”
  2. They fix one more bug, write one more test, or—just as important—don’t lose their spark of joy.
  3. The project stays alive. Your tools stay free. The cycle continues.

This isn’t charity. It’s mutualism.
You’re not just giving back—you’re investing in the infrastructure of your own work.

My ask

This holiday, pick one project you rely on and give something back. Not next year. Not when you’re “less busy.” Now.

I donated to:

What’s yours?

A personal note

This year was a big one for me: I switched mostly from macOS to give Bazzite and Fedora a shot. It turned out to be a huge success and introduced me to a ton of new, free software I now rely on:

I’ll be donating to more of these over the next year. Of course, Pi-hole gets its annual tip! And OpenFreeMap, I love you.

Open source gave you a gift. Treat it like one.

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