Are opensource licenses enforcable?

I am preparing my app for launch and my plan is to make it opensource, but as a lot of people who are in similar position, I am also worried about the future of the app. It's possible that one of the big companies can take the source code and push it down their larger distribution channel and essentially make my app redundant.

I haven't researched this part properly, but I know there are some licenses that, on paper, prevents scenarios like this. I am not so worried about a company making this app their internal tool, but it would be nice if a company larger than certain size does this they have to purchase some sort of license to do so.

I guess my question is can I enforce such limitations on my open source apps using licenses so a big company neither distribute the product on their own or adopt it internally without any license.

https://redd.it/1n6icyt
@r_opensource

What do you get back from your project?

I am wondering how people with an open source project keep it up? I've recently saw a meme where a company takes a open source project and just sell it as being it their own.
So it made me wonder what do you get in return? do you receive any sponsoring? are you getting a referral bonus? And is this enough?

https://redd.it/1n6hvvi
@r_opensource

How a market-leader open source software was born

I was working as an architect of a specific technical domain in a fairly big company. I was young and idealist, and loved my work. You know, the type of guy who only accepts the job if the copyright and confidentiality part of the contract is changed to allow to develop open source. I had to use some closed components, but my hand was mostly free (after quite an amount of discussion, it was probably around the time when the term Open Source was born) to use free software.

There was a specific functionality which needed interoperability between different flavors of unixen (yeah, at that time Linux was considered unreliable and primitive, not the only unix which any sane tech guy even think of. I used it nevertheless, because in reality it was already better than the others), and all the implementations were either utterly unreliable or not interoperable. I have found an open source implementation with a BSD license which had the right specification... And also practically unuseable. I persuaded my boss that this is the right way to go, we should hire someone to fix it.

Remember, it was a big company, where every software project needed miles of red tape and at least 5kUSD. My boss said yes, so I wrote an email to the Linux mailing list of the country searching for someone doing it. A guy answered. He happened to be studying in the same university, where I came from, just one year younger (yes, I was that young as well). He knew me, but I didn't remember him. So we talked, and he gave an offer. Of 100USD. I happily told it to my boss, who nearly got an instant heart attack. The boss told me that he is afraid this will be low quality, and the guy can ask for more, but make sure that everything is perfect. So I went back to the guy, and told him that. So we got a new offer. Of 250USD😁

So we made the contract. I put in that it should be delivered both as source code and as packaged for the unix flavors and Linux distros we use. I also put in that the source should be GNU GPL. If you can close a BSD software, you can open it as well, right?

The software was delivered and working great. But the maintainer of the software we fixed - and the BSD community in general - was not too happy. They said we cannot modify the licence. That we have stolen it. I said if closed vendors can change the licence, why we cannot. We gave credit where credit is due. Bazsi - the dev guy - said that he thought about how the internal structure of the software can be made better and he does not want conflict, so he rewrote the whole stuff from the ground up, making it even better in the process. It went so well that for a time it became the default package for the job in multiple Linux distribution, hence the market leader.

This is how syslog-ng was born.


https://redd.it/1n6krsr
@r_opensource

ReqRes - native HTTP(S) traffic monitor & debug tool for macOS

Hey everyone,

I'd like to share with you the ReqRes. It's a native HTTP(S) traffic monitor & debug tool for macOS. You can find the app here: https://github.com/OloApps/ReqRes

The app allows you to investigate and manipulate the network traffic on your macOS. In case you're a Software Engineer, there are multiple use cases when you can find this app useful. For instance, the app can overwrite the original server's response for testing purposes, including responses with static files (Map Local tool).

Any feedback is much appreciated, and I hope you find the app useful.

https://redd.it/1n6ncf8
@r_opensource

How to acquire any open source project?

I am building something similar to Twilio but only for WhatsApp.

For my Product, my target audience is software developer or a CTO.

Now as a developer, I personally hate any kind of marketing targeted to me.

So for my Product, I am thinking of acquiring few open source project in some kind of messaging space and improve it by adding resources to it.

I am not quite sure how acquisition happens for open source software.

https://redd.it/1n6o1gd
@r_opensource

I created Ducky, a free, open-source networking tool with a tabbed terminal, topology mapper, and security scanners. What should I build next?

Hey everyone, So, like a lot of you, I spend my days jumping between PuTTY, a subnet calculator, Nmap, a separate notes app, and a dozen other little utilities just to get my work done. It got pretty frustrating. I decided to do something about it and started building Ducky, a free, open-source "all-in-one" tool for Windows that puts everything in one place. It started as a personal project to scratch an itch, but it's gotten to a point where I think it might actually be useful to others.

Right now, it has:

A tabbed serial terminal (so you can connect to multiple routers/switches)
Network scanner/topology mapper (still basic, but it finds devices)
Subnet calculator
Ping, Traceroute, and a Port Scanner
A few basic security tools (CVE lookup, password strength checker, hash tool)
A dockable notepad for scribbling down configs.

My real question for all of you pros and hobbyists is: If you could have any feature in a tool like this, what would it be? What’s that one thing you always find yourself wishing your terminal could do? Or a check you constantly have to run from a separate noscript? I'm looking for ideas to make this actually useful for the community. No idea is too big or too small. I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks for taking a look!

https://redd.it/1n6p6q8
@r_opensource

projects monetizing their popularity

I've just noticed that some open source project monetize on their popularity, in particular on the value of their own websites in term of SEO. The more relevant the project is, the more the website is linked on the internet, the more the site itself increases its authority, the more its external links acquire value. And the links can be actually "sold", in form of credits for donations.

I've found it in Datatables, WinSCP, and the "Donations" page of XChat is quite explicit about this mechanism.

I think this is totally legit, and indeed a smart way to collect some economic resource (as selfless donations by users are not so common as desirable and necessary...).

Do you know more projects applying this strategy?

https://redd.it/1n6qop0
@r_opensource

On the subject of README ads

I have started to see ads for the Warp Terminal on various open-source projects' READMEs. I am concerned about the precedent that would send.

Ads do not belong in documentation. This is a slippery slope to more and more intrusive ads in READMEs, or even other documentation such as manpages, in text that should be considered reserved for informational purposes.

I understand that open-source need funding; but exposing critical documentation to be cluttered with ads shifts the balance in favor of companies who have every incentive to make open-source as useless as possible. Warp is the only product I have seen doing this but its only a matter of time before other companies go "it's free real estate!"

Ads do not belong in READMEs and we should oppose this shift before it gets too large. What do y'all think?

https://redd.it/1n6sask
@r_opensource

A comprehensive Linux guide worth checking out

Hey folks,

If you’re learning Linux or just want a solid reference to keep around, I found The Complete Reference: Linux (6th Edition) super helpful.

It covers everything from the basics to managing users, networks, filesystems, and even configuring Internet services. Honestly, it’s the kind of book you can flip open any time you get stuck.

I’m sharing a free copy here 👉 Book

Hopefully it helps someone who’s on their Linux journey 🚀

https://redd.it/1n6vp9s
@r_opensource

I built LazySSH: A terminal-based SSH manager with a simple UI

Hey folks,

I just released a new open-source project: **LazySSH**.

[https://github.com/adembc/lazyssh](https://github.com/adembc/lazyssh) ⭐️

Managing a growing number of servers through `~/.ssh/config` became painful for me — remembering aliases, editing entries, and staying organized was a constant struggle. As a fan of TUI tools like *lazydocker* and *k9s*, I built my own solution.

**LazySSH** is a **terminal-based, keyboard-driven SSH manager** that makes it easy to browse, connect to, and manage your servers directly from the command line.

✨ **Current features:**

* Browse & manage servers from your `~/.ssh/config`
* Add, edit, pin, ping, and delete entries in an interactive UI
* Fuzzy search, tag, and sort servers
* One-keypress SSH into any host

🛠 **Coming soon:**

* Copy files with a picker UI (no more long `scp` commands)
* Port forwarding directly from the UI
* SSH key management

If you’re a DevOps engineer, sysadmin, or anyone managing lots of servers, I’d love for you to give it a try and share your feedback!

https://redd.it/1n6sq6g
@r_opensource

File protection: anonymous, open source and fast

For the past few weeks, I've been working on a new version of my privacy site, which allows you to remove metadata from your files.

This version is faster, more secure, and more anonymous: logins are now made with anonymous IDs, without collecting personal information.The site supports more file types than before and remains largely open source. Everything is processed server-side and immediately returned to the user, without backup. Files are managed only in temporary variables and deleted at the end of the process.

The goal remains the same: to protect your privacy. Many people are unaware that shared files often contain sensitive information:
Photos → GPS location, date, device model
Documents → author's name, edit history, comments

This data can be used for tracking, OSINT, to feed AI, or even for identity theft. In the future, I plan to add:
A lightweight API to automate certain tasks
New privacy-related tools
Lots of educational content If you like the idea, feel free to test the site.

I just uploaded the new version; there are probably some bugs. I don't know many thing about open source, so if someone want to help me to understand that would be kind. (:
I can drop the link if you want.

https://redd.it/1n6wxs3
@r_opensource

GitHub actions dashboard

Actions Dashboard

I’ve been working on a project that I’m calling pipeline vision. The idea for this project was because I was annoyed there was no good way to view all my workflows across multiple repositories in the same organization. We have over 80 repositories within our organization all with different workflows so it can be extremely cumbersome to go into each to look at the jobs that are running,failed,etc.

It is also annoying there is no central place to manage self hosted runners which is what we primarily use.

The last thing is notifications not being centralized.

So I started working on a solution that fixes these 3 things.
1. Centralized dashboard of all jobs, and workflows as well as detailed views of each workflow.
2. Centralized runner dashboard
3. Notifications for failed jobs , and successful jobs.

I want to make this project fully open source and was just curious if there is even a need/want for something like this and if so, what other pain points has anyone had with the GitHub UI for action related things. I would love any and all feedback. If I get enough traction I will make it open source for others to use.


Tech stack:
Frontend - NextJS
Backend - FastAPI
DB - Postgres


https://ibb.co/2VtnNGf
https://ibb.co/j9L6f5m7
https://ibb.co/57Yyfqy


https://redd.it/1n70hyk
@r_opensource

Looking for an android mileage tracking app

I recently started to pay attention to mileage, lost track of it,

Started to log it properly in an app called fuelio by sygic. But i thought, why not open-source?

So here i am Looking for an open-source alternative to simply support such projects,

if any bells ring in your mind please do share

https://redd.it/1n72cxq
@r_opensource

A new, easy-to-use, free+open way to run LLMs on your own PC

Lemonade (the LLM aide) is a local LLM server designed around these three ideas:

1. Strictly open source.
2. Auto-optimizes for any PC, including off-the-shelf llama.cpp, our own custom llama.cpp recipes (e.g., TheRock), or integrating non-llama.cpp engines (e.g., OnnxRuntime).
3. Dead simple to use and build on with GUIs available for all features.

\#2 and #3 are works in progress, but that’s the concept. There’s a lot of projects in the LLM space, but none that are going for all three.

Check out the GitHub if it sounds interesting: https://github.com/lemonade-sdk/lemonade

https://redd.it/1n73vrs
@r_opensource

NomadMind
https://nomadmind.in

https://redd.it/1n79dbc
@r_opensource

Automating doc updates from code changes (CLI)

TL;DR: We open-sourced **Cocode**, a python CLI that turns 1-hour doc updates into a \~30s command. GitHub: [https://github.com/pipelex/cocode](https://github.com/pipelex/cocode)

You know the drill - you make a small change in your codebase, then spend your entire afternoon hunting through documentation files, updating examples, and writing changelog entries for what should have taken 10 minutes total.

So we built and open-sourced Cocode, a CLI tool that uses Pipelex AI workflows to automate the tedious parts:

* `cocode swe-from-repo-diff write_changelog v0.8.0` → Generates complete changelog from your git diff
* `cocode swe-doc-update v1.0.0` → Proposes docs rewrites based on code changes
* `cocode swe-doc-proofread --doc-dir docs` → Finds every existing mismatch between your docs and your codebase, as well as typos

**What it solves:** The 4 hours you spend manually cross-referencing code changes with existing docs, writing changelog entries from git diff, and proofreading for inconsistencies.

**Real talk:** Last week I updated a single function parameter. Coding took 10 minutes. Manual doc updates took 1 hour. With Cocode, the whole thing would be done in under 30 seconds.

**How it works**: I use Pipelex technology to scaffold LLM Pipelines. It enables me to split the documentation into smaller sections, process it in parallel, batching, and apply specific LLM prompts.

Been testing it for a few weeks and it's saved me probably 5-6 hours already. Curious what pain points others have with documentation workflows?

Its still in the early days of cocode, but feel free to help us make it better.

demo: [https://youtu.be/T56MOkoZwm8?si=z1zlampMXQaZj1rF](https://youtu.be/T56MOkoZwm8?si=z1zlampMXQaZj1rF)

repo: [https://github.com/pipelex/cocode](https://github.com/pipelex/cocode)



https://redd.it/1n7aqqt
@r_opensource

Looking for a YouTube watch together where i can force full screen and still remote control

I'm working on a vtuber setup in warduo where i wanna do watch together so me and friend are watching the video but 3rd user is what audiance sees

Warduo screen is a non interactive screen so if you use a browser website you get full page but unable to interact or scroll (is mainly for chat which eh)

I found open source watch party sites which is good but I can't just say insert full screen link to screen then i press play on my actual browser

Anyone got any ideas of making this work with Any open software

https://redd.it/1n7chy8
@r_opensource

I need to setup a family calendar/task list on a touch-screen monitor in my kitchen...

How would you suggest I approach this? From an app standpoint I can vibe-code something in no time -- that's not hard since most of the data will be pulled from Google but what are my options when it comes to getting a "blank" reasonably-priced touchscreen monitor?

I'm thinking I have two options:

1/ I can create a web app and open it up in a browser on the monitor

pros:

a/ easy & fast to develop the app
b/ easier to update the app when needed

cons:

a/ user interactions (clicking, navigation) might be clunky in the browser via touch-screen
b/ keeping the screen on all the time (which I want) is harder

2/ Create an android or iOS app

pros:

a/ user experience is much more configurable
b/ easier to manage the ecosystem (keeping the screen on, etc)

cons:

a/ harder to update app
b/ harder to develop


Am I overthinking this? Is there an easier option? I know there's a bunch of pre-paid solutions out there but they start at $600 and have a monthly fee which I want to avoid.

Thanks!

https://redd.it/1n7h8o8
@r_opensource

microfolio - Static Portfolio Generator / free & open-source
https://microfolio.net/

https://redd.it/1n7ibj4
@r_opensource

Easy way to manage/organize your code projects: archivador CLI.

I notice that every day I repeat the same commands to change projects, set up services for work, and launch the code editor (obviously nvim, haha). So I created a simple tool to have an easy way to switch between projects and start coding, and maybe it can help you too. I’m sharing the repo here; it’s written in Rust. As I said, it’s a simple tool, but it helps me organize my code projects and prevents me from repeating many commands (it also remembers project paths).

https://codeberg.org/a-chacon/archivador

https://redd.it/1n7k2km
@r_opensource

This is Vercel for backend
https://github.com/MotiaDev/motia

https://redd.it/1n7kziz
@r_opensource