Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Upstream (software development)
open-in-new
<p>In <a href="/facts/Software_development/UUfsAaYY">software development</a>, when software has been <a href="/facts/Fork_(software_development)/D6khxhpr">forked</a> or uses a chain of <a href="/facts/Library_(software)/xRzL3P7q">libraries</a>/<a href="/facts/Dependency_(software)/QEeSaXF3">dependencies</a>, upstream refers to an issue that occurs in software related to the chain. It is the direction that is toward the <a href="/facts/Software_engineering/KX6cE9kz">original authors</a> or <a href="/facts/Maintenance_mode/8oD1e3dk">maintainers</a> of <a href="/facts/Computer_software/RP79lVSW">software</a>. It is usually used in the context of a version, a <a href="/facts/Software_bug/I1uSXySv">bug</a>, or a <a href="/facts/Patch_(computing)/sIHVBPls">patch</a>. </p><p>Upstream development allows other distributions to benefit from it when they pick up the future release or merge recent (or all) upstream patches. Likewise, the original authors (maintaining upstream) can benefit from contributions that originate from custom distributions, if their users send patches upstream. </p><p>The term also pertains to bugs; responsibility for a bug is said to lie upstream when it is not caused through the distribution's <a href="/facts/Porting/7s6tFs8B">porting</a>, non-upstream modification or integration efforts. </p>