Magento is an open-source ecommerce web application launched on March 31, 2008. It was created by Varien, building on components of the Zend Framework.

Magento is available under the Open Software License version 3.0. Since version 1.1.7 some parts are licensed under the Academic Free License version 3.0.

Magento Enterprise Edition, a paid for version of Magento aimed at larger companies, was launched on April 15, 2009. This version provides a service agreement with Varien. Varien is now Magento Inc. with 140+ employees.

Varien, the company that owns Magento, formerly worked with osCommerce. They originally planned to fork osCommerce but later decided to rewrite it as Magento. Magento officially started development in early 2007 Seven months later on August 31, 2007, the first public beta version was released. On May 30, 2010 Magento mobile was released, it allows store owners to create native mobile storefront apps

Magento supports installation of modules through a web-based interface accessible through the administration area of a Magento installation. Modules are hosted on the Magento eCommerce website as a PEAR server. Any community member can upload a module through the website and is made available once confirmed by a member of the Magento team. Modules are installed by entering a module key, available on the module page, into the web based interface.

There are three categories of modules hosted on Magento Connect:

  • Core Modules
  • Community Modules
  • Commercial Modules

Core and Community modules can be installed via the administration area. Commercial module pages provide price information and a link to an external website. With the growth of this platform, there are many providers who dedicated to release valued extensions for Magento, such as aheadWork Addons Store.