Ask HN: Should I open source my project? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Should I open source my project?

3 pointsrish1_24 comments

I'm thinking about open sourcing my project but there are multiple hurdles to this.

1. I have aws services including serverless, cognito, dynamodb, amplify on the project as the initial intention was not to open source.

2. The open source parts run on container services and kubernetes and the whole server side might be expensive for indie's to run just for the benefits of creating a conflict free schedule on google calendar

3. If I open source it, do I have to rewrite all the aws services into open source alternatives?

What do you guys think?

What are benefits vs risk?

I think there will be an increase level of trust if I open source but AWS services adds a whole lot of complexity for anyone to self host.

Plus V2 of the project (work in progress) which is a hybrid between clockwise and doodle would also be open source if I open source v1.

Why do you want to open source it?

Almost no projects get contributors, if that's what you're looking for.

No, don't rewrite to use open source alternatives. Write what you need.

I've written open source code which depends on proprietary packages. It's not a problem.

Without knowing why you want to open source it, it's hard to be more definite.

My main reason is to build trust and let others modify it to their own purpose if necessary. If people can examine the code, then they don't have to worry about a situation where I might discontinue the service. They can just host it themselves but they would have to start from scratch for any data they stored which is not that hard.

I don't think that's a good reason to switch to a non-AWS system, or make it portable to multiple systems.

If they are paying you for your service then they would be willing to use AWS, even if AWS is proprietary.

You don't need to open source your code. You can have it "source available", or have a clause in the contract that if the service is discontinued then you'll release the source code to your customers, or some other escrow scheme.

If it wasn't designed to be open-source from the outset you could be too late. If it's hard to strip all the AWS mechanics away, then don't do it. All my code is modular anyway, and I open source specific single-duty modules on Github.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com