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Are BadgePirates badges open source?

Most are, yes. We strongly believe in open hardware and open firmware, and the vast majority of our badge designs — schematics, PCB files, firmware source — are published on our GitHub under permissive licenses.

Where to find the source

Head to github.com/BadgePiratesLLC. Repos are roughly organized by event or project:

  • Conference badges are usually named after the event (e.g. CactusCon14, BSidesKC_2023, BiohackVillage_DC30)
  • SAOs are prefixed SAO_ (e.g. SAO_BadgePirates, SAO_HankPropane)
  • Learn-to-Solder kits are prefixed LTS- (e.g. LTS-Level1, LTS-SnowFlake)
  • Shared libraries like footprints and logos live in BadgePirates_Common_Library

A curated public index is at BadgePiratesLLC/Project_Index.

What licenses do we use?

For most projects:

  • Firmware — typically MIT or similar permissive software licenses
  • Hardware — typically CERN-OHL-P v2 or similar open hardware licenses

We have a dedicated FAQ on licenses for badge firmware and hardware if you want the longer version.

What's NOT open?

A small number of projects are kept private — usually because they're still in development, or because they involve a partner who hasn't agreed to open release. If you see a badge of ours that's not on GitHub, that's why. You're always welcome to ask on Discord about a specific project.

Can I use your designs?

Yes! That's the whole point of publishing them. If you build something cool based on our work, we'd love to hear about it — drop a note in Discord or tag us on social.

We just ask that you respect the licenses and (where the license requires it) credit BadgePirates in your derivative work.