On 25 Feb 2014 Thoughtworks announced that GoCD will soon be available under the Apache 2.0 open source license. We're really excited for the next chapter! We're working hard to get the source code updated with license information, public GoCD servers for building and testing and other things in place. It should be available in the next couple months.

You can download GoCD and use it for free right now.

We've had quite a few questions about the change. Here are a few of them…

Why the change?

  • It's the right thing to do for today's market

    • Organizations expect it. We've observed a shift where organizations' insist that the components that make up their production platform be almost exclusively open source software. While GoCD doesn't "run" in production, it does manage what is and isn't in production, and it's therefore "platform" infrastructure. (Many things drive this like the ability to contribute, ability to see the source and know how stuff works, significantly lower likelihood of security holes, etc.)

    • Practitioners expect it. In selling commercial GoCD we often have prospects tell us that they prefer open source software. The objection is rarely about price, rather the feeling that it's the right thing to do and the ability to make the changes that are important for their usage. Many existing customers have asked to be able to make their own modifications.

    • Grow the practice of continuous delivery. Several years ago, before Thoughtworks had a product division, we created something called CruiseControl for continuous integration (CI). We believe that product had a lot to do with the adoption of CI practices, and we want to enable the same kind of change for continuous delivery (CD).

Is Thoughtworks still working on GoCD?

  • Yes! The current GoCD development team at Thoughtworks is definitely still working to enhance the product as well as help others who may wish to participate in the new open source program.
  • Thoughtworks still provides professional help There is still a 20+ year old global company that has solidly invested in GoCD providing support to organizations who desire a commercial channel. You can learn more about their offerings on Thoughtworks' website.

How will the project be run?

  • As a "proper" open source project. Anyone who wishes to participate in the future of GoCD is encouraged to do so. We're currently working hard on making the source code available for GoCD, and will update this site as soon as it is. You can also sign up to stay informed.

    • Push Access If a person makes quality contributions on a regular basis they may be nominated by the current committers to be granted push access to the GitHub repositories. When someone is nominated, the current committers will vote. The process will be the same for everyone.

    • Types of participation All participation is encouraged. This could mean helping out on the mailing lists, making documentation updates, fixing bugs or any of the other things involved in creating a solid software product.