What Is Free Software According to Write Free Software?

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Write Free Software (writefreesoftware.org) defines free software as "a global collaborative movement to build the world's best software in a manner that respects the essential rights and freedoms of its users and authors." The site centers that definition on four freedoms: the freedom to use, study, improve, and share your software. This is a definition of liberty, not of price — "free" here means freedom, not "free of charge."

The four freedoms, as the site presents them

Freedom What it means in practice
Use Run the software for any purpose, without asking permission
Study Examine how the software works and understand it
Improve Modify it to suit your own needs
Share Distribute it, including modified versions, to others

The site frames these as rights belonging to both users and authors, not as concessions granted by a vendor. That framing is the core of the definition: free software is software whose license and development model preserve these freedoms rather than restrict them.

Why "free" doesn't mean "free of charge"

This is the most common point of confusion, and the site's wording addresses it directly by tying "free" to freedom. A program can be sold commercially and still be free software, as long as users keep the four freedoms. Conversely, software given away at no cost but distributed under terms that forbid study, modification, or redistribution is not free software. The distinguishing factor is the license and the rights it grants, not the price tag.

What the site offers

Write Free Software is organized around three entry points:

  • Learn — material explaining free software concepts
  • Blog — ongoing posts on the topic
  • Community — ways to connect with others in the movement

The homepage also provides two direct actions: "What is free software?" and "Get started," aimed at readers who are new to the concept and want a path into it.

Who this definition is for

If you are trying to decide whether a piece of software qualifies as free software, the test is whether it grants all four freedoms. If you are a developer or author wondering how to release your own work in a way that respects these rights, the site's "Get started" path is the intended next step. The definition itself is the threshold: use, study, improve, and share — all four, for everyone.