I want to clarify that Stalwart can absolutely be compiled without any proprietary code. All you need to do is omit the Enterprise feature flag during compilation [0], and what you get is a 100% AGPL-3.0 build. The Arch package removal wasn’t because the software suddenly became non-free, but rather due to a packaging requirement: Arch needs a clean separation of the Enterprise code from the source tree, and that’s something we haven’t done yet (it will be implemented as a script). The delay isn’t due to any unwillingness to comply, it’s simply been a matter of prioritization. Over the past few months, the focus was on delivering major features like WebDAV support. That said, I'm still fully committed to resolving the packaging issue because we want Stalwart back in Arch as much as you do.
It’s also worth noting that only about 5% of the codebase is Enterprise, and that small slice helps fund ongoing development and expansion of the team [1]. As much as I'd love to be completely sponsor-funded, the reality is that open source projects still need to cover real-world costs. For what it's worth, Stalwart has received two NLNet grants [2] [3] to support open protocol work, which hopefully reinforces our commitment to open source.
So while the optics of this situation may look rough from the outside, I promise it’s not some “open source in name only” kind of thing. It’s just one of those painful balance acts between building features, maintaining packages, and paying the bills.
And hey, if you're heading back to Maddy, no hard feelings. But the door’s always open if you want to give Stalwart another shot down the road.
[0]: https://stalw.art/docs/development/compile
[1]: https://stalw.art/compare/#faq
[2]: https://nlnet.nl/project/Stalwart/
[3]: https://nlnet.nl/project/Stalwart-Collaboration/
It’s also worth noting that only about 5% of the codebase is Enterprise, and that small slice helps fund ongoing development and expansion of the team [1]. As much as I'd love to be completely sponsor-funded, the reality is that open source projects still need to cover real-world costs. For what it's worth, Stalwart has received two NLNet grants [2] [3] to support open protocol work, which hopefully reinforces our commitment to open source.
So while the optics of this situation may look rough from the outside, I promise it’s not some “open source in name only” kind of thing. It’s just one of those painful balance acts between building features, maintaining packages, and paying the bills.
And hey, if you're heading back to Maddy, no hard feelings. But the door’s always open if you want to give Stalwart another shot down the road.
[0]: https://stalw.art/docs/development/compile [1]: https://stalw.art/compare/#faq [2]: https://nlnet.nl/project/Stalwart/ [3]: https://nlnet.nl/project/Stalwart-Collaboration/