free software

software distributed under terms that allow users to freely run, study, change and distribute it and modified versions
class software_category Q341
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free software

Summary

free software is a software category[1]. It has Wikipedia articles in 30 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[2]

Key Facts

  • free software's instance of is recorded as software category[3].
  • free software is associated with the free software movement movement[4].
  • free software is a type of freely redistributable software[5].
  • free software is a type of source-available software[6].
  • free software is a type of open-source software[7].
  • free software is part of open source movement[8].
  • free software's Commons category is recorded as Free software[9].
  • free software's said to be the same as is recorded as open-source software[10].
  • free software's said to be the same as is recorded as free and open-source software[11].
  • free software is the opposite of proprietary software[12].
  • free software's topic's main category is recorded as Category:Free software[13].
  • free software's topic's main Wikimedia portal is recorded as Portal:Free software[14].
  • free software's facet of is recorded as computer program[15].
  • free software's has characteristic is recorded as four freedoms[16].
  • free software's different from is recorded as freeware[17].
  • free software's different from is recorded as freely redistributable software[18].
  • free software's different from is recorded as open-source software[19].
  • free software's different from is recorded as free software license[20].
  • free software's history of topic is recorded as history of free and open-source software[21].
  • free software's hashtag is recorded as freesoftware[22].
  • free software's Wikidata SPARQL query equivalent is recorded as ?item wdt:P275/wdt:P31/wdt:P279* wd:Q3943414[23].
  • free software's P6009 is recorded as 7305[24].
  • free software's social media followers is recorded as {'amount': '+24965'}[25].
  • free software's social media followers is recorded as {'amount': '+11000'}[26].

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for free software include Libera.Chat[27], an IRC network[28], in Sweden[29], founded in 2021[30]; freenode[31], an IRC network[32], founded in 1994[33]; it movement[34], a social movement[35]; Free Software Directory[36], a MediaWiki wiki[37]; Free Software Street[38], a street[39], in Spain[40], founded in 2010[41]; Open and Free Technology Community[42], an IRC network[43], founded in 2001[44]; Software Freedom Day[45], a holiday[46], founded in 2004[47]; and it community[48], a software ecosystem[49].

Why It Matters

free software has Wikipedia articles in 30 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[2] It is known by 31 alternative names across languages and contexts.[50]

Entities named for it include Libera.Chat[27], an IRC network[28], in Sweden[29], founded in 2021[30]; freenode[31], an IRC network[32], founded in 1994[33]; it movement[34], a social movement[35]; Free Software Directory[36], a MediaWiki wiki[37]; Free Software Street[38], a street[39], in Spain[40], founded in 2010[41]; and Open and Free Technology Community[42], an IRC network[43], founded in 2001[44].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [3] . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] . wikidata.org.
  3. [5] . wikidata.org.
  4. [6] . wikidata.org.
  5. [7] . wikidata.org.
  6. [8] . wikidata.org.
  7. [9] . wikidata.org.
  8. [10] . wikidata.org.
  9. [11] . wikidata.org.
  10. [12] . wikidata.org.
  11. [13] . wikidata.org.
  12. [14] . wikidata.org.
  13. [15] . wikidata.org.
  14. [16] . wikidata.org.
  15. [17] . wikidata.org.
  16. [18] . wikidata.org.
  17. [19] . wikidata.org.
  18. [20] . wikidata.org.
  19. [21] . wikidata.org.
  20. [22] . wikidata.org.
  21. [23] . wikidata.org.
  22. [24] . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [27] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [31] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [34] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [36] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [38] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [42] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [45] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [48] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [28] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [29] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [30] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [32] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [33] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [35] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [37] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [39] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [40] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [41] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [43] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  12. [44] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  13. [46] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  14. [47] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  15. [49] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  2. [50] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). free software. Retrieved March 8, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/free-software
MLA “free software.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 8 Mar. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/free-software.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_free-software_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{free software}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/free-software}, note = {Accessed: 2026-03-08}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): free software — https://4ort.xyz/entity/free-software (retrieved 2026-03-08)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 19d ago · Susmuffin · 2026-08-05 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Harper's tag free-computer-software
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P13772]]: free-computer-software, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/289928887|free computer software (#289928887)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalo"
  2. 5w ago · Sadads · 2026-07-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Consumer rights wiki article id 13889
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P14350]]: 13889, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/297028885|Free software (#297028885)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/8142|‎Consumer Rights Wi"
  3. 16w ago · Mariobanana · 2026-05-02 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Pixiv encyclopedia id 自由ソフトウェア
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ [[Property:P11408]]: 自由ソフトウェア"
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