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Do you actually audit open source projects you download? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 5 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The question is simple. I wanted to get a general consensus on if people actually audit the code that they use from FOSS or open source software or apps.

Do you blindly trust the FOSS community? I am trying to get a rough idea here. Sometimes audit the code? Only on mission critical apps? Not at all?

Let's hear it!

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[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Yes, but with an explanation.

You don't necessarily need coding skills to "audit", you can get q sense of the general state of things by simply reading the docs.

The docs are a good starting point to understand if there will be any issues from weird licensing, whether the author cares enough to keep the project going, etc. Also serious, repeated or chronic issues should be noted in the docs if its something the author cares about.

And remember, even if you do have a background in the coding language, the project might not be built in a style you like or agree with.

I'm pretty proficient at bash scripting, and I found the proxmox helper scripts a spaghetti mess of interdependent scripts that were simply a nightmare to follow for any particular install.

I think the overall message is do your best within your abilities.

this post was submitted on 29 May 2025

170 points (98.9% liked)

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