News

GitHub Opens Developer Program to All

• By David Ramel
• April 18, 2017

GitHub Inc. has revamped its developer program with several changes, including opening it up to all developers for the first time.

Previously, the three-year-old GitHub Developer Program was available to only those developers who had paid accounts at the open source code repository and software development platform specializing in Git-based version control.

The company describes its developer program as a launchpad for developers, providing benefits and services for some 17,000 developers who use it for tasks ranging from testing applications to growing large businesses.

The program targets developers who create applications that integrate with the GitHub platform, taking advantage of its API.

"Now, we're excited to build on what's made the program successful for members and make it even more accessible," the company said in a blog post yesterday. "We're opening the program up to all developers, even those who don't have paid GitHub accounts. That means you can join the program no matter which stage of development you're in."

Also, those aforementioned benefits and services are expanding.

"We're also introducing participation levels that come with existing program perks from us and our partners, like development licenses for GitHub Enterprise, and a new category of benefits that help you build and scale even faster," the company said.

"Here's how it works: Depending on the size of your user base, you'll be placed into one of three levels. For each group, we've made a set of benefits, resources, and tools available to help you advance to the next stage of development. If you're already a member of the GitHub Developer Program, you'll get an e-mail with information about your level and available benefits."

Those resources include credits, network discounts, strategic consulting services and more.

For working with the GitHub API, the company provides an official Octokit library that comes in flavors for Ruby, Objective-C and .NET, while third-party libraries are available for many of the popular programming languages, including Java, JavaScript, Go, Clojure, Python and so on.

The program's site says membership is open to both individual and organizations who have in production or are building a project that uses the GitHub API and an e-mail address available for user support.