What is Open edX used for?

Open edX is the open-source learning management system and course authoring tool, with LMS and Studio, used to run online education sites. It is a good fit for running an online course platform, and authoring and delivering university courses.

Is Open edX open source?

Yes. Open edX is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at openedx/openedx-platform and is written mainly in Python.

Yes. Open edX is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Open edX?

Yes. Open edX can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Open edX an alternative to?

Open edX is an open-source alternative to D2L Brightspace, Thinkific, Teachable and Coursera. Other open-source alternatives to D2L Brightspace include Frappe Learning, Moodle and Tutor.

Is Open edX actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Open edX was on 2 October 2026. The project has 8.2k stars on GitHub.

Open edX: open-source alternative to D2L Brightspace

About Open edX

Open edX Platform is the core code of the Open edX project, which provides an LMS, where learners take courses, and Studio, where course authors build them. The maintainers describe it as powering education sites around the world, and it is aimed at institutions and companies that run their own online courses.

The repository is a Python backend service released under the AGPL-3.0 licence, with named releases such as the Birch release. The project website could not be read when this entry was written, so details beyond the repository description are limited. Deployments are typically operated by the organization or by a hosting provider, rather than as a single downloadable application.

Key features

Learning management system for courses
Studio tool for authoring course content
Python backend service
Named community releases
AGPL-3.0 licensed code

Good fit for

→Running an online course platform
→Authoring and delivering university courses

Built with: Python
Tags: lms; education; e-learning; courses; python; open-edx; self-hosted

Open edX: questions and answers

What is Open edX used for?: Open edX is the open-source learning management system and course authoring tool, with LMS and Studio, used to run online education sites. It is a good fit for running an online course platform, and authoring and delivering university courses.
Is Open edX open source?: Yes. Open edX is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at openedx/openedx-platform and is written mainly in Python.
Is Open edX free?: Yes. Open edX is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Open edX?: Yes. Open edX can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Open edX an alternative to?: Open edX is an open-source alternative to D2L Brightspace, Thinkific, Teachable and Coursera. Other open-source alternatives to D2L Brightspace include Frappe Learning, Moodle and Tutor.
Is Open edX actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Open edX was on 2 October 2026. The project has 8.2k stars on GitHub.