Credit the people we build on

Built on giants.

Almost nothing here is ours. Fork Along works because thousands of people built brilliant software and gave it away — the operating system, the terminal, the language, the tools. They're the real heart of this.

"Most of this works because someone else did the hard part, and gave it away. We name them, thank them, and help them."

So here's a running list of what we stand on — and where to send a few bucks back. We update it after every episode: what we forked, what we used, and who made it.

◆ The ground you stand on

Linux (the kernel)

used in ep. 1

Every server, phone and fork you'll ever run sits on it. Ubuntu included.

Debian

The free operating system Ubuntu itself is built on. Volunteer-run since 1993.

GNU / Free Software Foundation

The tools — and the licence — that made "free" actually mean free.

Git

used in ep. 1

Version control — the whole reason "fork" is even a word here. Home: Software Freedom Conservancy.

curl

The little command quietly moving data behind nearly everything online.

Python

The language a total beginner and an AI can both read out loud.

PostgreSQL

The rock-solid database that just quietly keeps your data safe.

Let's Encrypt

Free HTTPS for the entire web — the padlock on this very page.

◆ Tools & the commons

Blender

Professional 3D and animation, given away to the whole world.

GIMP

Serious image editing with no subscription, ever.

Krita

Digital painting built by artists, free for artists.

Inkscape

Vector graphics — logos, icons, this fork mark's cousins — for free.

Godot Engine

Make games you actually own, on an engine that takes no cut.

VLC / VideoLAN

Plays anything you throw at it, asks for nothing.

Wikipedia / Wikimedia

The commons we all quote, kept free of ads by donations.

OpenStreetMap

The map of the world that anyone can own and improve.

Signal

Private messaging for everyone, funded entirely by people like us.

Lucide

The open-source icon set this very site is drawn with (ISC).

A living tracker. This grows with the show — each episode adds what we forked and built on.

Fork Along — a Mergodon Pty Ltd project.