01
Post
Sign in, add a link to your work, a short description, a sector and a contact. That is the whole form.
BOSL: Botswana Open Source Library
Open source,built for Botswana.
A national home for open work made for Botswana, by Botswana: software, research, datasets and hardware designs.
Four kinds of work
Find open work by type
Every project links to the place it lives: a repository, a publication or a data portal.
01
Software
Apps, libraries and tools. Software projects show live activity from their repository.
Browse software02
Research
Papers, reports and studies, with the authors, the abstract and a link to the publication.
Browse research03
Dataset
Open data about Botswana, with its format and how it was collected described.
Browse datasets04
Hardware/Design
Open hardware and design files, with documentation and a bill of materials where needed.
Browse hardware and designBuild it, share it, get verified, present it
How it works
No approval queue. Verification is optional and run by committee reviewers.
02
Live
Your project goes live at once and appears in the directory, with live repository data for software.
03
Verify
Ask for a review. Committee reviewers check substance, documentation, licence, relevance and activity.
04
Present
Verified work can be put forward to be shown at OSCB events, and carries a badge for your README.
Good questions
A few things
to know.
Who can post, which licences are accepted and what verification means.
Still curious?
Reach out and we will get back to you.
Email the teamWhat is BOSL?
The Botswana Open Source Library is a showcase and directory for open work made for Botswana, by Botswana. It links to work that lives elsewhere and shows it as project blocks. It does not host code or files.
Who can post a project?
Anyone who signs in with GitHub or Google. Signing in is not an approval step: your project goes live straight away. It exists so you can edit your listing, so spam can be controlled and so verification has an owner.
Which licences are accepted?
When you post, you choose from a list of common open licences for software, data, research and hardware. A licence is not needed to post, but verification needs one. The verification page sets out what reviewers expect for each type.
What does verified mean?
A committee reviewer checked the project against five criteria at the time of review: substance, documentation, licence, relevance and activity. It is a quality check, not an endorsement or a security audit. Read how verification works.
How long does verification take?
Reviewers aim to decide within 10 working days of your request. Overdue requests are flagged in the review queue so none are forgotten.
Does BOSL store my code, data or papers?
No. BOSL stores a link and a description, and for Git hosted software it reads public repository details such as language, licence and recent activity. Direct file uploads are not part of this release.