What is free-books?

ruanyf/free-books — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24 · repo last pushed 2024-03-28

★ 15,846Audience · developerComplexity · 1/5DormantSetup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    Categories
      Web development
      Programming languages
      System administration
      AI and ML
    Languages covered
      Python
      Go
      Rust
      JavaScript
    Format
      Links only
      No books hosted
    Audience
      Students
      Self-learners

mindmap root((repo)) Categories Web development Programming languages System administration AI and ML Languages covered Python Go Rust JavaScript Format Links only No books hosted Audience Students Self-learners

Click or tap to explore — scroll the page freely

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Find a free book to learn a specific programming language like Rust, Go, or Python without buying a textbook.

USE CASE 2

Discover free online resources for Linux system administration, networking, and containers.

USE CASE 3

Browse free AI and machine learning books and tutorials all organized in one place.

How does it compare?

	ruanyf/free-books	521xueweihan/git-tips	cvat-ai/cvat
Stars	15,846	15,849	15,837
Language	—	—	Python
Last pushed	2024-03-28	—	—
Maintenance	Dormant	—	—
Setup difficulty	easy	easy	moderate
Complexity	1/5	1/5	3/5
Audience	developer	developer	data

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

So what is it?

This is a curated list of free computer science books available on the internet, written in Chinese. The collection is organized into eight categories: web development, system administration, programming languages, databases, software engineering, artificial intelligence, mathematics and theory, and miscellaneous topics. Resources without a language label are in English. The web development section covers JavaScript, including tutorials on modern JavaScript, TypeScript, and topics like GraphQL and OAuth. The system administration section includes guides on Linux, the command line, networking, and containers. The programming languages section has resources for languages including C, C++, Go, Python, and Rust. The Python section alone lists more than twenty free books covering everything from beginner tutorials to data science and machine learning applications. This repository is essentially a bookmark list, a starting point for anyone who wants to learn computer science or software development without paying for textbooks. It does not contain the books themselves, only links to where they can be found online. It is aimed at Chinese-speaking developers and students, though a significant portion of the linked resources are in English. The full README is longer than what was provided.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

I want to learn Rust using a free book from the ruanyf/free-books list. Help me create a 4-week study plan with daily exercises based on what is available there.

Prompt 2

Based on the Python data science books in the free-books collection, recommend a learning path for someone who knows basic Python and wants to get into machine learning.

Prompt 3

I'm learning Go and want to work through a free book from ruanyf/free-books. Help me set up a small project to practice the concepts chapter by chapter.

Frequently asked questions