= Fedora's Mission and Foundations

.How do I get the software?
[[getfedora]]
[sidebar.width50]
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image:banner-getfedora_sq.png[Get Fedora,title="getfedora.org",float="right",role="pl-2",link=https://getfedora.org/]

Download one of the different editions of Fedora for your laptop/desktop,
server, or containers at https://getfedora.org[Get Fedora], or explore other
options provided by https://labs.fedoraproject.org/[Labs],
https://spins.fedoraproject.org/[Spins],
https://arm.fedoraproject.org/[ARM], and
https://alt.fedoraproject.org/[Alternative Downloads].

Everything included is open source and free software — not only is it
available at no cost to you, but you can share, remix, and modify.
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== What is Fedora?

[.lead]
The Fedora Project is a community of people working together to build a
free and open source software platform and to collaborate on and share
user-focused solutions built on that platform. Or, in plain English, we
make an operating system and we make it easy for you to do useful stuff
with it.


<<<


== What is Fedora all about?

The Fedora community includes thousands of individuals with different
views and approaches, but together we share some common values.
We call these the “*Four Foundations*”: Freedom, Friends, Features, and First.

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== Our Vision
____
_The Fedora Project envisions a world where everyone benefits from free and open source software built by inclusive, welcoming, and open-minded communities._
____

As a project, we want everyone to live in a universe of free and open source software; the user should be in control of their computing.
But it’s not enough that the software is there, waiting to be used.
It has to be accessible and usable.
This vision also reflects our community approach — the Friends foundation.
Fedora isn’t bits and bytes.
Fedora is our people, and we want the statement to include our vision of a healthy community.

== Our Mission

____
_Fedora creates an innovative platform for hardware, clouds, and
containers that enables software developers and community members to
build tailored solutions for their users._
____

At the operating system level, we don’t just integrate. We do new things
— we build a _platform_, not just a distribution. The _Features_ and
_First_ foundations drive us to innovate. We do all of this as a
transparent, collaborative community of _Friends_, and entirely as open
source and free software — _Freedom_.


== Our Method

The Fedora Project is a center for innovation in free and open source
software. In our community, contributors of all kinds come together to
advance the ecosystem for the benefit of everyone. The Fedora community
contributes everything it builds back to the free and open source world
and continues to make advances of significance to the broader community,
as evidenced by the regular and rapid incorporation of its features into
other Linux distributions. Regardless of which Linux distribution you
use, you are relying on code developed within the Fedora Project.

We believe software patents
are harmful, a hindrance to innovation in software development, and are
inconsistent with the values of free and open source software. While tightly
integrating proprietary and patent encumbered components might superficially
improve ease of use, this practice does not benefit the community in the
long run. The Fedora community prefers approaches that benefit the progress
of free software in the future over those that emphasize short term ease of
use.


== Our Community

Fedora is more than just software. It is a community of contributors
from https://fedoracommunity.org/[around the world], including volunteers
and Red Hat employees, who work with each other to advance the interests
of the free culture movement. Everyone is invited to join. No matter
what your skills are, we have a place for you in our community! We are
xref:package-maintainers::index.adoc[software engineers],
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Design[designers and artists],
xref:infra::index.adoc[system administrators],
xref:websites::index.adoc[web designers],
xref:fedora-docs::index.adoc[writers],
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Ambassadors[speakers],
xref:localization::index.adoc[translators], and more — and we are happy to help you get
started.

We believe that all contributors should
https://fedoraproject.org/code-of-conduct[be excellent to each other]. 
By creating an environment for constructive contribution, we can more
effectively and successfully compare and challenge different ideas to
find the best solutions for advancement, while building the size,
diversity, and strength of our community.


== Leadership and Governance

The xref:council::index.adoc[Fedora Council] is responsible for
stewardship of the Fedora Project as a whole, and supports the health and
growth of the Fedora Community. As in any large project, there are many
different levels of responsibility, accountability, and decision-making. As
a general rule, we want people working on a Fedora
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Subprojects[subproject] to be make meaningful decisions about their
areas of interest and expertise. More details are available on our page on
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Leadership[Fedora Leadership].
