Open-Source Development Timeline
A journey through the milestones that shaped the open-source movement
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Milestone
UNIVAC's A-2 compiler source code shared with users
Why It Matters
First recorded instance of software distributed with source, inviting user improvements -
Milestone
ARPANET goes live
Why It Matters
Pre-internet network that let researchers exchange code and laid the groundwork for remote collaboration -
Milestone
EMACS editor created
Why It Matters
Early "hacker culture" project that remained continuously developed for decades -
Milestone
First Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) released
Why It Matters
Introduced the permissive BSD license family that still powers modern systems -
Milestone
Richard Stallman announces the GNU Project
Why It Matters
Launches the free-software movement and goal of a completely free UNIX-like OS -
Milestone
Free Software Foundation (FSF) founded
Why It Matters
Provides legal and organizational base for the movement and funds key GNU tools -
Milestone
GNU General Public License v1 published
Why It Matters
Copyleft model ensures derivative works remain free, becoming the backbone of many projects -
Milestone
Linus Torvalds releases the Linux kernel
Why It Matters
Paired with GNU userland to form the first fully free operating system -
Milestone
Debian Project founded by Ian Murdock
Why It Matters
Pioneers community-driven, fully open distribution; later births Ubuntu and dozens of derivatives -
Milestone
Apache HTTP Server starts
Why It Matters
Quickly becomes (and stays) the world's most-used web server, proving the commercial viability of open source -
Milestone
"Open Source" term coined; Open Source Initiative created
Why It Matters
Rebrands free software for business audiences and formalizes the Open Source Definition -
Milestone
Netscape releases browser code as Mozilla
Why It Matters
First major corporation to open its flagship product, inspiring others to follow -
Milestone
OSI-approved license list published
Why It Matters
Establishes the canonical list of licenses meeting the Open Source Definition, giving legal clarity -
Milestone
Linus Torvalds creates Git
Why It Matters
Distributed version control built for Linux scaling; becomes the de-facto standard for code collaboration -
Milestone
GitHub goes live
Why It Matters
Social coding platform makes Git accessible; hosts 100 million developers by 2023 -
Milestone
Docker open-sourced
Why It Matters
Simplifies Linux containers, triggering the modern cloud-native era and micro-services boom -
Milestone
Google releases Kubernetes
Why It Matters
Open-source orchestration turns containers into production infrastructure; 88,000+ contributors by 2024 -
Milestone
Open Container Initiative (OCI) launched
Why It Matters
Vendors standardize container image & runtime specs, preventing fragmentation -
Milestone
Microsoft acquires GitHub; Big Tech embraces open source
Why It Matters
Signals full corporate acceptance that open source underpins modern software stacks -
Milestone
Kubernetes 10-year anniversary; CNCF hosts 200+ projects
Why It Matters
Confirms Kubernetes as the second-largest open-source project after Linux -
Milestone
Git turns 20; Docker Hub exceeds 11 billion monthly pulls
Why It Matters
Open source is now the default model for infrastructure and developer tooling