Following the recent announcement of pull rate restrictions for unpaid users, Docker has revealed further promised policy updates designed to restore unrestricted access to open source projects.

Under the terms of the new Open Source Program, teams that qualify for Docker’s definition of OSS developers can get unlimited pulls for the namespaces of appropriate projects, reviewed annually, for themselves and their users.

To qualify for the program, Docker said, all of the repos within the Publisher’s Docker namespace must be public, non-commercial, meet all Open Source Initiative (OSI) definitions for free distribution, openness and integrity of source code, and be non-discriminatory. Images must be distributed under an OSI-recognised licence and, of course, applications must be available as Docker images.

Those wanting to take part in the program can apply by an online form, which Docker will then check for qualification.

Once approved, projects must then enter a cross-promotion agreement with Docker, who’ll talk about them in blogs and publicity while the projects will become Docker references and publicise their links with the company.

Chris Clark, technical operations manager at Cloud Foundry Foundation, said in a statement: “DockerHub has been a de-facto standard for open source container image distribution for years now, and the continued support of Docker to provide this resource to open source communities is very much appreciated.”

Projects are free to maintain other Docker namespaces that don’t fully or partially qualify for the open source program, Docker said, but those will run under normal rules for free and paid-for subscribers. And of course, Docker says that if necessary it can review, change or terminate participation in the program at any time if it becomes necessary.