status: active
timestamp: 2026-06-21
tags: [decision, license, mit, oss-eligible]
MIT license on all 41 chirag127/oriz* repos
MIT license across all repos \ to MIT on 2026-06-21. Unlocks every free-for-OSS perk (Sentry for OSS, Crowdin\ \ for OSS, BrowserStack OSS, FOSSA, etc.) and clarifies commercial use is fine \u2014\ \ the family still monetises via ads/affiliate/subscription, that's orthogonal to\ \ the source license."
MIT license on all 41 chirag127/oriz* repos
Decision
Every chirag127/oriz* repo is MIT licensed as of 2026-06-21.
Scope: 17 npm packages (repos/oriz/own/lib/npm/*-npm-pkg) + 26 apps (repos/oriz/own/prod/apps/*/*/) + 2 APIs (repos/oriz/own/svc/api/*) + any future submodule. The master umbrella (chirag127/workspace) is also MIT.
Why
The previous “source-available all-rights-reserved” stance was vanity. It blocked the family from applying to free-for-OSS programs (Sentry for OSS = 1000× upgrade, Crowdin for OSS = unlimited i18n, BrowserStack for OSS = unlimited cross-browser testing, FOSSA, Mintlify Pro, Greptile, etc.) — all of which require an OSI license.
Commercial-use concerns are orthogonal to the source license. MIT licensing the source code doesn’t stop the family from monetising the apps via ads / affiliate / subscription — those are services + product offerings, not the source code itself. Anyone can take the MIT source and run their own copy; that has cost them the effort of running it, which is exactly the friction that protects the family’s business.
What changed
LICENSEfile in every repo: replaced with standard MIT template, copyright “2026 Chirag Singhal”package.jsonlicensefield: changed from"SEE LICENSE IN LICENSE"to"MIT"README.mdlicense badge: changed fromlicense: source-available(red) tolicense: MIT(blue)- Any “no license granted” / “all rights reserved” prose in READMEs: removed
- The master umbrella’s
LICENSEalso updated to MIT
Memory file free-for-developer-not-for-services superseded
The earlier memory note interpreting “free for the developer” as “no license to others” is no longer accurate. Updated interpretation: “free for the developer” means the family doesn’t pay recurring service fees (the no-card-on-file rule). The SOURCE LICENSE is now MIT — anyone can use the code; the user just doesn’t pay to host any of it.
OSS programs now applicable
After MIT switch, the family is eligible for:
- Sentry for Open Source (5M errors + Business features)
- BrowserStack for Open Source (unlimited cross-browser)
- Sauce Labs Open Sauce
- LambdaTest for OSS
- FOSSA for OSS
- Crowdin for OSS / Weblate Hosted Libre / Translation.io OSS
- Mintlify OSS Pro ($300/mo value)
- GitBook OSS / Algolia for OSS / Zulip Cloud for OSS
- Atlassian Open Source / JetBrains for OSS / 1Password Teams for OSS
- Docker-Sponsored Open Source
- Greptile for OSS
Apply for each via [[apply-to-oss-programs]] runbook (TODO: revive that runbook now that we’re eligible).
What this does NOT change
- App monetisation continues: ads (Ezoic / Mediavine / AdSense), affiliate (cards-app, lore-app), one-subscription-unlocks-all flow (via @chirag127/astro-billing + Razorpay).
- Source-available-only programs: a couple of services explicitly only accept “non-commercial OSS” (Mintlify free tier non-commercial, Codeberg Pages FOSS-only). These remain unavailable because the family is commercial. No-card free tiers and “OSS via OSI license” programs are what we just unlocked.
Cross-refs
- The catalog of newly-eligible services → [[services/easy-free-tier]]
- The runbook for applying → [[apply-to-oss-programs]] (revive)
- Memory: free-for-developer-not-for-services (superseded interpretation)