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title: Free software
author: The GNU Assembly
---
# What’s “free software”?
The GNU Assembly produces _free software_, also referred to as “_libre_
software”, “liberating software”, or “open source” — but that last one
fails to convey the main idea, that the goal is freedom. Software
is “free” if it _respects its user’s freedom_, namely the following four
essential freedoms:
1. The freedom to run the program as the user wishes, for any purpose.
2. The freedom to study how the program works and to change it to suit
their needs.
3. The freedom to redistribute it.
4. The freedom to distribute copies of modified versions.
These criteria were spelled out by Richard M. Stallman in the 1980s.
The defense of the freedom of computer users are at the core of the
[Social Contract](/en/documents/social-contract) of the GNU Assembly.
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