frontpage.
newsnewestaskshowjobs

Open Source @Github

fp.

Open in hackernews

Windmill.dev is not "fully open-sourced (AGPLv3)"

8•alpine-rockies•5h ago
I think Windmill.dev (https://github.com/windmill-labs/windmill) is really cool, and fully support their desire to be paid for their work.

However, their README says:

> “Windmill is fully open-sourced (AGPLv3)…”

But their LICENSE says:

> ... The files under backend/ are AGPLv3 Licensed, except any snippets of code under the compile flag ‘enterprise’. Those snippets and files are under a proprietary and commercial license. Private and public forks MUST not include the proprietary/commercial code mentioned above.

I dove deeper into the code, there are around 300 files in the codebase that contain references to enterprise or private features, so it's not a clearly separated directory that can just be removed.

They have 1.1k forks of their repository that I can see on Github, and I doubt all of them took the time to strip the proprietary code to comply with the license.

So at this point, it feels like a licensing trap for anyone that clicks the fork button on Github or is attracted by the AGPL license

Don't get me wrong, I wish more companies made their code open-source if for no other reason other than to be transparent. But calling this mixed source repository "fully open-sourced (AGPLv3)" feels like false advertising that actively leads users to violate the terms unknowingly.

Also, even if that line was removed from the readme or fixed, it does not feel right to have: "...Private and public forks MUST not include the proprietary/commercial code mentioned above..." and the Github Fork button right next to each other. It's like a giant violate-the-license button next to the license.

Comments

wmf•4h ago
Unfortunately AGPL has been a scam for years. It's now an anti-freedom license.

Why it's appearing sorry message when I trying to post?

2•Edymilson•31m ago•0 comments

Ask HN: GitHub employees what's going on? Why?

321•sharts•4d ago•260 comments

Robotics Software

3•erardaiden•5h ago•0 comments

Windmill.dev is not "fully open-sourced (AGPLv3)"

8•alpine-rockies•5h ago•1 comments

Ask HN: Why is HN missing a "go to top" link on long posts?

4•KellyCriterion•5h ago•3 comments

Ask HN: OpenCode no longer including DeepSeek?

7•dv35z•9h ago•5 comments

Ask HN: How to Relicense an Old Project

3•gradschool•6h ago•0 comments

SearXNG running on OpenBSD on a ThinkPad t420

2•open-search•8h ago•0 comments

Ask HN: Alternatives to GitHub

645•dhruv3006•4d ago•432 comments

Authenticated Git-fetch-over-HTTPS against gitlab.com is failing

2•basilgohar•8h ago•0 comments

Coding Agents killed my identity. How do you feel?

8•bah9•9h ago•31 comments

Ask HN: Is GitHub Down Again?

11•delduca•10h ago•7 comments

Tell HN: Cloudflare silently injects its analytics when you switch nameservers

656•stagas•5d ago•202 comments

Ask HN: I've quit six systems for tracking my illness. What works?

52•Abh1Works•6d ago•89 comments

Ask HN: How do you keep notes organized across long-running side projects?

5•hackerstest•12h ago•2 comments

Ask HN: Do teams really need to use GitHub?

5•avinoth•12h ago•5 comments

Ask HN: Do you need Google ads help?

5•cosbgn•15h ago•1 comments

You've reached the end!