> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lerian.studio/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Open by design

> Why Lerian builds open-by-design financial infrastructure around Midaz, our source-available core: transparency, independence, extensibility, and trust.

We believe financial infrastructure should be inspectable, extensible, and owned by those who operate it.

Open by design is an architectural principle.

Midaz, our core ledger, is source-available under Elastic License 2.0 because financial systems require transparency, control, and long-term sustainability. Its Tracer component is source-available in the same Midaz repository and release, while remaining a separately deployed runtime. Lerian licenses its other products to customers.

## Why Source-available at the core?

***

A source-available core creates structural advantages.

By keeping Midaz source-available, we enable:

* **Transparency**: Every line of the core ledger is visible and auditable.
* **Independence**: Institutions control their stack and retain access to the source code of the ledger that holds their money.
* **Extensibility**: Teams can adapt the ledger to their regulatory, operational, and product requirements.
* **Trust by design**: Visibility reduces systemic risk. You understand how your core infrastructure behaves because you can inspect it.

## What this means for your business

***

* **Source-code access**: Midaz is source-available under Elastic License 2.0, so your team retains access to the ledger source code.
* **Third-party auditability**: Your security team, auditors, or regulators can inspect the Midaz code directly.
* **Extensibility**: Your engineers can inspect and extend Midaz to meet operational requirements.

## Join the community

***

Building an open core only works when it is collaborative.

Whether you are a developer, architect, or financial operator, you can:

* Contribute code
* Propose architectural improvements
* Report issues
* Build extensions and integrations
* Share implementation patterns

We welcome practical contributions.

[Join our Discord community →](https://discord.lerian.studio/)