Transparency in Action: Free Code Camp is Now Open Source

In an unprecedented move for an online education platform, Free Code Camp announced in December 2014 that its entire codebase and curriculum are now fully open source. The code behind the popular coding platform, which has helped over 1 million aspiring developers to date, is now publicly available on GitHub for anyone to freely use, modify, and contribute to.

This shift to open source marks a major milestone in Free Code Camp‘s mission to provide free, high-quality coding education to as many people as possible worldwide. By opening up its codebase, Free Code Camp is not only cementing its commitment to transparency and accountability, but also empowering its community to take an active role in shaping the future of the platform.

The Journey to Open Source

Free Code Camp‘s journey to open source began with a realization that the technologies used to teach students should align with the tools and practices most relevant to the software industry. As Free Code Camp‘s curriculum shifted to focus on full-stack JavaScript development, it became clear that the platform itself needed to be rebuilt using Node.js and modern JavaScript frameworks.

Founder Quincy Larson, a seasoned software engineer and teacher, took on the challenge of rewriting Free Code Camp from the ground up. In the span of a few weeks, he taught himself Node.js and leveraged the popular Hackathon Starter app to quickly prototype a new version of the platform using Express.js, MongoDB, and Bootstrap.

This new JavaScript-based architecture laid the foundation for Free Code Camp‘s open source future. Quincy and the core team continued to iterate on the codebase, refactoring and optimizing it for performance and scalability. All the while, they meticulously documented the code and project structure, laying the groundwork for a successful open source launch.

Opening Up the Code

On December 16, 2014, after months of preparation, Free Code Camp flipped the switch and pushed its codebase to a public GitHub repository under the BSD 3-Clause open source license. In an instant, the inner workings behind the learning platform, API integrations, and developer tools were available for inspection and collaboration by Free Code Camp‘s global community.

According to the repository‘s README, the newly open sourced components include:

• Learning Platform – The core Free Code Camp app where students progress through coding challenges and build projects. This includes the curriculum content, user authentication, progress tracking, and project submissions.

• API – A set of REST API endpoints used to integrate Free Code Camp with external services and power features like user certificates and project sharing.

• Forum – A Discourse-based discussion forum where the Free Code Camp community can ask questions, get help, and collaborate on projects.

• Developer Tools – A suite of tools and scripts used to develop, test, and deploy the Free Code Camp platform. This includes the build system, testing frameworks, and Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines.

By open sourcing these key components, Free Code Camp gave developers unprecedented access to study, modify, and extend the platform to their needs. Within days of the launch, community members were already digging through the code, submitting bug reports and feature requests, and contributing their first patches and improvements.

The Benefits of Transparency

The decision to open source Free Code Camp‘s platform has unlocked a host of benefits for both the organization and the wider community:

1. Accountability and Trust

As an educational institution, Free Code Camp has a responsibility to be transparent about how it operates and handles student data. By opening up its codebase, Free Code Camp is holding itself accountable to the highest standards of security, privacy, and performance.

Students and contributors can now verify for themselves that Free Code Camp is delivering on its mission and handling sensitive information appropriately. This level of transparency strengthens trust with the community and sets a positive example for other educational platforms to follow.

2. Community Collaboration

Open sourcing Free Code Camp has unleashed the collective power of its community to improve and extend the platform in ways that were previously impossible. Now, any developer can contribute bug fixes, performance optimizations, or new features to help accelerate Free Code Camp‘s development.

Since launching, the Free Code Camp repository has received over 200 pull requests from community members around the world. These contributions have ranged from small typo fixes to major improvements like:

• Migrating the codebase to ES6 and React.js
• Localizing the curriculum into multiple languages
• Implementing a new challenge map and onboarding flow
• Optimizing server-side rendering for faster page loads

Each contribution, no matter how small, has helped to make Free Code Camp a better experience for all learners. By leveraging the diverse skills and perspectives of its community, Free Code Camp has been able to ship new features and improvements at a rapid pace.

3. Extensibility and Customization

With an open codebase, developers now have the freedom to customize and extend Free Code Camp to fit their specific needs and use cases. This has opened up new opportunities for educators, companies, and communities to adapt the platform for their own learning initiatives.

For example, a local coding Meetup could fork the Free Code Camp repository and tailor the curriculum and challenges to focus on the programming languages and frameworks most relevant to their job market. Or a high school computer science teacher could integrate Free Code Camp‘s project-based learning approach into their existing classroom curriculum.

The modular architecture of the Free Code Camp codebase makes it easy to swap out components or add new features without disrupting the core functionality. This flexibility has paved the way for an ecosystem of plug-ins, extensions, and third-party tools that can augment the Free Code Camp learning experience.

4. Open Source Learning

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of open sourcing Free Code Camp is the opportunity it provides for students to gain practical experience working with a production codebase. Aspiring developers can now learn best practices, coding patterns, and DevOps workflows by exploring and contributing to a large open source project.

Free Code Camp‘s codebase serves as a living example of how to build and maintain a modern, scalable web application using popular tools and frameworks. By digging through the code and participating in discussions on GitHub, students can gain a deeper understanding of software architecture, testing, deployment, and more.

Furthermore, contributing to Free Code Camp can help students build up their development portfolios and gain valuable experience working with remote teams. Many employers now view open source contributions as a positive signal of a candidate‘s technical skills and ability to collaborate effectively.

An Open Source Future

Free Code Camp‘s shift to open source is part of a larger trend towards transparency and collaboration in the world of education. In recent years, a growing number of universities, online learning platforms, and coding bootcamps have begun to embrace open source as a way to enhance the quality and reach of their programs.

For example, initiatives like MIT OpenCourseWare and Harvard Open Access Project have made thousands of high-quality course materials freely available online under open licenses. These projects have enabled learners around the world to access educational resources that were once restricted to a privileged few.

Similarly, open source platforms like Khan Academy and edX have built thriving communities of developers and educators who collaborate to create and improve free online courses. By open sourcing their codebases and content, these organizations have been able to tap into the collective intelligence of their communities and iterate more quickly.

As Free Code Camp continues to grow and evolve, it is committed to staying true to its open source roots. All significant changes and new features will continue to be developed in the open, with input and contributions from the community. As Quincy explained:

"We‘re more interested in evolving out in the open, like the internet did, than making an explosive debut, like the atomic bomb did. We believe the Open Source refrain that ‘With enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow‘, and welcome any ideas you have for making Free Code Camp a better, more efficient place for busy people to learn to code."

With an engaged community of contributors and a transparent, iterative development process, Free Code Camp is well positioned to keep pushing the boundaries of what‘s possible in coding education. As the project enters its next phase of growth, it will continue to rely on the power of open source to help fulfill its mission of making technology education accessible to all.

How You Can Get Involved

Free Code Camp‘s open source journey is just beginning, and there are many ways for you to get involved and make an impact. Whether you‘re an experienced developer looking to give back or a coding newbie eager to learn, there are opportunities to contribute at every level.

Here are a few ways you can support the project:

1. Explore the Code – Take a look through the Free Code Camp repository and familiarize yourself with the codebase. Read through the documentation, run the code locally, and experiment with making changes.

2. Submit Bug Reports – If you encounter any issues or glitches while using Free Code Camp, head over to the GitHub Issues page and submit a bug report. Be sure to include as much detail as possible about the problem and steps to reproduce it.

3. Contribute Code – Ready to start coding? Check out the repository‘s contributor guidelines and look for open issues labeled "first timers only" or "help wanted". You can also propose your own improvements by submitting a pull request.

4. Provide Feedback – Have ideas for how to make Free Code Camp better? Share your thoughts and feedback on the Free Code Camp Forum or GitHub Discussions. The team is always looking for ways to improve the platform based on user insights.

5. Spread the Word – Finally, one of the most valuable things you can do is simply spread the word about Free Code Camp and its open source mission. Share the repository with your friends and colleagues, write about your experience contributing, and encourage others to get involved.

With your help, Free Code Camp can continue to grow and evolve as a leading platform for free, open source coding education. Together, we can build a more transparent, collaborative, and accessible future for technology learning.