# Capistrano

> software

**Wikidata**: [Q1034630](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1034630)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capistrano_(software))  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/capistrano

## Summary
Capistrano is a free software utility distributed under the MIT License, created by Jamis Buck. It is classified as free software, allowing users to freely run, study, change, and distribute it. The tool is widely available across numerous operating systems and package managers, including Debian, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, and Gentoo.

## Key Facts
- **Entity Type:** Free software (utility/software).
- **Creator:** Jamis Buck.
- **License:** MIT License.
- **Source Repository:** hosted on GitHub (`capistrano/capistrano`).
- **Website:** `http://www.capistranorb.com`.
- **Latest Recorded Version:** 3.20.0 (dated 2025-12-13 in provided data).
- **Package Availability:** Available in Debian (stable), AUR (Arch), FreeBSD ports, OpenBSD ports, NetBSD, Gentoo, and MacPorts.
- **Language Support:** Wikipedia entries available in German, English, French, Japanese, Turkish, and Cantonese (zh_yue).
- **Copyright Status:** Copyrighted.
- **Software Quality Assurance:** Uses Continuous Integration (referenced via Travis CI).

## FAQs
### Q: What licensing terms apply to Capistrano?
A: Capistrano is distributed under the MIT License. As an instance of free software, it grants users the freedoms to run, study, change, and distribute the software and its modified versions.

### Q: Who created Capistrano and where is it maintained?
A: The software was created by Jamis Buck. The source code is currently maintained in a repository on GitHub, and it utilizes Travis CI for continuous integration testing.

### Q: In which software repositories is Capistrano available?
A: Capistrano is widely distributed across multiple platforms, including the Debian stable repository, Arch User Repository (AUR), FreeBSD ports (`sysutils/rubygem-capistrano`), OpenBSD ports, NetBSD, Gentoo (`dev-ruby/capistrano`), and MacPorts.

### Q: What is the classification of Capistrano?
A: Capistrano is classified as "free software." It is distinct from proprietary software and freeware, aligning with the definitions established by the free software movement.

## Why It Matters
Capistrano matters as a prominent example of free software within the open-source ecosystem. By being distributed under the MIT License, it embodies the "four freedoms" defined by the free software movement: the ability to run, study, change, and distribute the code. Its widespread inclusion in major package repositories (such as Debian, FreeBSD, and Gentoo) highlights its utility and relevance to system administrators and developers. The software's active release cycle, documented through extensive versioning up to 3.20.0, demonstrates sustained development and community engagement. It serves as a practical implementation of the open-source philosophy, offering a non-proprietary alternative for automation and deployment tasks.

## Notable For
- **Free Software Classification:** Explicitly defined as free software with permissions to run, study, change, and distribute.
- **Cross-Platform Availability:** Uniquely present in a vast array of package managers including Debian, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, Gentoo, and MacPorts.
- **Active Development History:** Documented release history spanning from version 3.4.0 (2015) to 3.20.0 (2025).
- **MIT Licensing:** Distributed under the permissive MIT License.
- **Creator Attribution:** Attributed to software developer Jamis Buck.

## Body
### Identity and Classification
Capistrano is a software utility explicitly classified as **free software**. It is a facet of a computer program that falls under the software category of freely redistributable and source-available software. As free software, it is defined by the "four freedoms," allowing users to freely run, study, change, and distribute it, including modified versions. It is philosophically aligned with the free software movement and the open-source movement, standing in contrast to proprietary software.

The software is also known by aliases including *Capistrano (Utilitaire)*, *Capistrano (informatique)*, and *Capistrano (Software)*. It has a Freebase ID of `/m/06bmn8` and is listed in the Free Software Directory.

### Development and Licensing
The creator of Capistrano is **Jamis Buck**. The project is maintained as open source, with its source code repository hosted on GitHub (`https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano`). It is distributed under the **MIT License**, a permissive free software license.

The project employs software quality assurance measures, specifically **Continuous Integration**, referenced via a `.travis.yml` file pointing to the Travis CI platform.

### Version History
The knowledge base contains a detailed record of Capistrano's release history, indicating frequent updates. Key versions and their recorded release dates include:
- **3.4.0**: 2015-03-02
- **3.7.0**: 2016-12-10
- **3.10.0**: 2017-10-23
- **3.11.0**: 2018-06-03
- **3.12.0**: 2020-02-11
- **3.13.0**: 2020-04-07
- **3.14.0**: 2020-05-06
- **3.15.0**: 2021-01-05
- **3.16.0**: 2021-02-28
- **3.17.0**: 2022-03-12
- **3.18.0**: 2023-10-18
- **3.19.0**: 2024-06-24
- **3.20.0**: 2025-12-13 (Listed as stable/preferred)

### Distribution and Ecosystem
Capistrano is widely integrated into various operating system distributions and package managers, indicating broad utility:
- **Ruby Ecosystem:** It is registered as a gem on RubyGems (`capistrano`) and has a Repology project name of `ruby:capistrano`.
- **Linux Distributions:** Available in Debian (stable package: `capistrano`), Gentoo (`dev-ruby/capistrano`), and the Arch User Repository (`capistrano`).
- **BSD Systems:** Present in FreeBSD (`sysutils/rubygem-capistrano`), OpenBSD (`sysutils/ruby-capistrano`), and NetBSD (`sysutils/capistrano`).
- **macOS:** Available via MacPorts (`rb-capistrano`).

### Documentation and Community
The official website for the software is `http://www.capistranorb.com`. Documentation includes a user manual URL hosted on GitHub (`CONTRIBUTING.md`), which is flagged as a "FLOSS contributor" resource.

The software has a presence on Stack Exchange under the tag `capistrano`. It also possesses Wikipedia titles in multiple languages, including English, German (de), French (fr), Japanese (ja), Turkish (tr), and Cantonese (zh_yue). The logo for the software is hosted on Wikimedia Commons.

## References

1. [GitHub](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/blob/master/LICENSE.txt)
2. [2025](https://github.com/EvanLi/Github-Ranking/blob/master/Data/github-ranking-2025-07-06.csv)
3. [Release 3.7.1. 2016](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.7.1)
4. [Release 3.7.0. 2016](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.7.0)
5. [Release 3.6.1. 2016](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.6.1)
6. [Release 3.6.0. 2016](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.6.0)
7. [Release 2.15.9. 2016](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v2.15.9)
8. [Release 3.5.0. 2016](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.5.0)
9. [Release 3.7.2. 2017](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.7.2)
10. [Release 3.8.0. 2017](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.8.0)
11. [Release 3.8.1. 2017](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.8.1)
12. [Release 3.8.2. 2017](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.8.2)
13. [Release 3.9.0. 2017](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.9.0)
14. [Release 3.9.1. 2017](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.9.1)
15. [Release 3.10.0. 2017](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.10.0)
16. [Release 3.10.1. 2017](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.10.1)
17. [Release 3.10.2. 2018](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.10.2)
18. [Release 3.11.0. 2018](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.11.0)
19. [Release 3.11.1. 2019](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.11.1)
20. [Release 3.11.2. 2019](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.11.2)
21. [Release 3.12.0. 2020](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.12.0)
22. [Release 3.12.1. 2020](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.12.1)
23. [Release 3.13.0. 2020](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.13.0)
24. [Release 3.14.0. 2020](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.14.0)
25. [Release 3.14.1. 2020](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.14.1)
26. [Release 3.15.0. 2021](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.15.0)
27. [Release 3.16.0. 2021](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.16.0)
28. [Source](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.17.1)
29. [Release 3.17.0. 2022](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.17.0)
30. [Release 3.17.2. 2023](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.17.2)
31. [Release 3.17.3. 2023](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.17.3)
32. [Release 3.18.0. 2023](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.18.0)
33. [Release 3.18.1. 2024](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.18.1)
34. [Release 3.19.0. 2024](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.19.0)
35. [Release 3.19.1. 2024](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.19.1)
36. [Release 3.19.2. 2024](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.19.2)
37. [Release 3.20.0. 2025](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano/releases/tag/v3.20.0)
38. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
39. [Source](https://api.github.com/repos/capistrano/capistrano)
40. [Source](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano)