DCO
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Software
| Stands for | Developer Certificate of Origin |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
DCO stands for Developer Certificate of Origin, a software abbreviation.
Short statement, created for the Linux kernel in 2004, by which a contributor certifies they have the right to submit their code under the project's license. Contributors agree by adding a "Signed-off-by" line to each commit.
Example: Add -s to git commit so the DCO sign-off line is included.
Usage notes
The DCO was introduced after the SCO Group's lawsuits raised questions about where kernel code came from. It is lighter than a CLA: no separate legal document is signed, and copyright stays with the contributor. Git's -s flag adds the Signed-off-by trailer automatically, and many projects enforce it with automated checks on pull requests.
Related abbreviations
More software abbreviations
- CC BY – Creative Commons Attribution License
- CC0 – Creative Commons Zero
- CE – Community Edition
- CLA – Contributor license agreement
- COTS – Commercial off-the-shelf
- DAW – Digital audio workstation
- DLL – Dynamic-link library
- DRM – Digital rights management
- EE – Enterprise Edition
- EOL – End of life
- ESR – Extended Support Release
- ESU – Extended Security Updates