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Comment by dreamfactory2 | Hacker News Reader

Is it fully open source e.g. can I run my own crowsnest server for free, fork etc? And is there anything around federation and discovery?

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Our API / cloud service is not. The device integration framework (which runs locally on the RPi) is going to be open source, so that anyone can create plugins / integrations for any IP device.

Although we don't have it specced out yet, we have been talking a lot internally about using some kind of discovery protocol so that devices can report their capabilities and get up and running without an explicit integration plugin.

If you have any ideas or best practice thoughts for doing the discovery, we'd love to hear them.

Not meant as anything but constructive observation - but not open sourcing the core means it could be seen as another closed platform play, with open source plugins being used as a way of getting free features. My guess is that if this idea is compelling enough to get traction, a FOSS version would emerge in any case - for reasons of privacy, price, technical roadmap ownership etc. and the real money would be in offering services and products around that (I'm thinking Wordpress/Automattic). It's an obvious pov and I could be completely wrong of course :p (I guess IFTTT is the counterexample)

Yeah, releasing parts of Crowsnest as FOSS is a hotly debated topic internally. We would certainly be interested to talk to anyone who has experience running a business with a core product that is open source, especially if they were able to raise capital.

At Singly, we raised about $9mm of VC with 100% of our code open source. We saw that as absolutely essential in creating an ecosystem and it was a huge benefit in reducing customer concerns around lock in.

I like what you guys are doing and would be happy to chat if it's helpful!

If you're available, we would love to set up a call or video chat to hear more about your experience! Send me an email: ian at crowsnest dot io

Could be worth talking to Automattic, Acquia, Red Hat - lots of money there

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