In
software development,
upstream refers to a direction toward the
original authors or
maintainers of
software that is distributed as
source code, and is a qualification of either a
bug or a
patch. For example, a patch
sent upstream is offered to the original authors or maintainers of the software. If accepted, the authors or maintainers will include the patch in their software, either immediately or in a future
release. If rejected, the person who submitted the patch will have to maintain his or her own
distribution of the author's software.