CockroachDB license change

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Scope of the Change

  • Core edition is being eliminated; a single Enterprise edition remains, with:
    • Free use for orgs under $10M annual revenue.
    • Proprietary “source-available” license; prior BSL/DOSP path to eventual open source appears to end.
  • Some see this as an expected continuation of the 2019 move away from Apache 2.0; others call it a rug pull and the end of any open-source pretense.

Telemetry, Licensing, and Compliance

  • Free self-hosted use requires:
    • Annual license keys.
    • Mandatory telemetry (with “technical countermeasures” if blocked), except for short‑lived clusters.
  • Many call this a non‑starter for regulated, air‑gapped, or security‑sensitive environments; unclear how air‑gapped use is supposed to work.
  • Revenue‑based eligibility is seen as:
    • Simple and generous by some.
    • Risky and burdensome by others (self‑reporting, audits, “Unity‑style” worries).

Business Model, Pricing, and Vendor Lock‑In

  • Multiple reports that Enterprise pricing is very high vs alternatives (e.g., Spanner, PlanetScale), with “contact us” quotes and per‑core fees leading to anxiety about scale‑up costs.
  • Some argue the move is reasonable: small users get full features; larger, >$10M orgs should pay for critical infra.
  • Others fear Oracle‑style lock‑in: no open fallback, proprietary features, and opaque pricing make long‑term dependence risky.

Open Source, CLAs, and Trust

  • Strong pushback on “source available” being framed as “open source”; OSI definitions and BSL text are repeatedly cited.
  • Pattern noted: VC‑backed infra projects start open, grow, then relicense once stable and popular.
  • Contributor license agreements are widely discussed:
    • Many see CLAs (and copyright assignment) as an early warning for potential relicensing.
    • Others note exceptions (e.g., some foundations) where CLAs exist mainly for enforcement, not commercialization.

Technical Positioning & Alternatives

  • CockroachDB remains valued for:
    • Globally distributed, multi‑region, multi‑master SQL with serializable transactions; often likened to Spanner without atomic clocks.
  • Alternatives frequently mentioned:
    • Postgres (with Citus, manual sharding), MySQL/Vitess/PlanetScale, TiDB, YugabyteDB, FoundationDB, and others.
  • Some users state Core was viable in production; others felt it was too crippled (e.g., missing advanced backups, multi‑region features).