The Open Tree of Life project aims to create a complete and freely accessible digital tree of life drawing from published phylogenetic studies and taxonomies. It has synthesized data from over 4,800 phylogenetic trees representing over 2,300 studies and 2.6 million taxonomic names. The synthesis process involves filtering and combining source trees from published studies into a single consensus tree using a graph database, while taxonomies provide taxon coverage. The resulting public tree of life is being refined with user feedback and new data. Future goals include improving the draft tree, developing synthesis methods, and adding user features like comparing trees and on-demand synthesis.