> [!TIP]
> A great place to start contributing is to check the [backlog](resources/dev/BACKLOG.md) and determine their status to go on the list. For more information on [contributing](.github/CONTRIBUTING.md) and [guidelines](.github/GUIDELINES.md) for open-source software submissions, consult their respective pages.

> [!NOTE]
> My MacOS [configuration](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QF7wpvlFG7mfWtCGrFfyIUwgYzOYeSBDAIDvgiIJk44/edit?usp=sharing).

##

<h4 align="center">
  <a href="https://github.com/mustbeperfect/definitive-opensource/blob/main/readmes/windows.md">Windows</a>
  <span> · </span>
  <a href="https://github.com/mustbeperfect/definitive-opensource/blob/main/readmes/macos.md">MacOS</a>
  <span> · </span>
  <a href="https://github.com/mustbeperfect/definitive-opensource/blob/main/readmes/linux.md">Linux</a>
  <span> · </span>
  <a href="https://github.com/mustbeperfect/definitive-opensource/blob/main/readmes/selfhost.md">SelfHosted</a>
</h4>

##

**Our Goal -** There's plenty of awesome lists on GitHub, many focusing on open source specifically. However I've found them including many long-deprecated apps, cluttered with smaller projects on the verge of extinction, or missing a lot of modern open source projects. 

This list aims to serve as a single centralized location for the best of open source, characterized by a solid user base, solid set of contributors, visible long term growth, and overall product quality. 

<details>
  <summary><b>More Information</b></summary><br />
  Definitive-opensource aims to consolidate only the best open source projects. Our guidelines include strict minimum requirements and additional research for vetting. For a project to pass it's likely popular enough to survive far into the future, however we continously monitor projects on the list and remove anything that no longer fits the criteria. 
  <p>&nbsp;</p>
  It is a fundamental goal for this list to be as neutral as possible and simply present options, not persuade or redact, regardless of the maintainer's opinion. Projects that fit the criteria, which by passing will inherently be used by thousands to millions, are put on the list. This list is "curated" - not relative to opinion but statistics and facts.
  <p>&nbsp;</p>
  Although the list is called definitive, in this context it doesn't quite mean the implied dictionary definition of finality. This project can only survive and thrive through continuous contributions by the community, as this list is, in itself, open source. 
</details>

<details>
  <summary><b>How The List Works</b></summary><br />

  Definitive-opensource was initially a single markdown file that was edited directly. However, as the list scaled, this manual approach proved cumbersome and limited. Additionally, as popularity increased, we recieved many requests for README's of individual platforms - something that would be not be realistic to do manually.
  <p>&nbsp;</p>
  As of v0.6.2-beta, the project was fundamentally re-made. Categories and applications were put in categories.json and applications.json, respectively. Python scripts were made to generate one main list and more platform-specific lists. This was paired with GitHub actions to run the scripts when any changes were made. This opened up a world of possibilies, making refactoring the list format far easier whilst eliminating typos. 
  <p>&nbsp;</p>
  This list aims to stand in the middle ground between human input and automation. Mostly automated websites exist for finding open source projects, but statistics alone fails to encompass the complete picture. This list has scripts to automate markdown formatting, updating stats, and finding potentially abandoned projects. However, the actual processes of choosing which projects make it onto the list, which ones should be removed, and what tags to assign are controlled entirely by humans. 
</details>

## Project Status
```css
Active - Active Development
```
```
Incremental - Minor Updates
```
```
Maintenence - Critical Fixes
```
```
Idle - Temporarily Paused
```
```
Abandoned - Development Halted
```