this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2024
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Pull request #10974 introduces the @bitwarden/sdk-internal dependency which is needed to build the desktop client. The dependency contains a licence statement which contains the following clause:

You may not use this SDK to develop applications for use with software other than Bitwarden (including non-compatible implementations of Bitwarden) or to develop another SDK.

This violates freedom 0.

It is not possible to build desktop-v2024.10.0 (or, likely, current master) without removing this dependency.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 4 days ago (13 children)

Nobody here talks about keepassxc ? I've been using it for almost a decade, it can be used with sync tools to be shared, I've managed to have db keepass file opened on several computers and it did work well. Gplv3 here https://keepassxc.org/

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (5 children)

i was about to replace my glorified encrypted text file for a password manager. guess relying on 3rd parties in a late-stage capitalist world is not a viable alternative.

ill stay with my encrypted text file until they privatize encryption. by then ill probably be carving my passwords out on stone. or burning down the servers of these fucking pigs trying to make us identify ourselves for everything on the internet now.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Looks like I might be moving to Proton Pass after all! I'll give them some time to see what they do about this, but will happily give my money to someone else and migrate friends/family as well.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Uh oh. Android user here. Time to jump ship? If so...proton??

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

Okay, we'll I've been using vaultwarden. When should I switch to something new, and what's a good alternative?

[–] [email protected] 50 points 4 days ago (9 children)

If this is not resolved I will likely switch to another service. Free software compatibility was the main reason I paid for bitwarden over its competitors.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 days ago

I will change for sure, as well. Let's see.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Does this affect valtwarden?

[–] [email protected] 41 points 4 days ago

Yes because it is about, ultimately, making the major clients incompatible with vaultwarden on both a legal and technical level.

A likely outcome if they don't reverse course is a split where FOSS Nerfs fork the clients and have to maintain their own versions. That's the outcome Bitwarden wants. This reeks of a bazinga, "how dare they benefit from our work and take our users", which is hilarious for a FOSS ecosystem that almost universally benefits corporations with free labor.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 5 days ago

Vaultwarden is only the server, no? So any clients that you use to access Vaultwarden are built and maintained by 8bit solutions a.k.a. Bitwarden, including the desktop client that is the subject of this post.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 5 days ago

Ever since BitWarden got mired in capitalism, I've been dreading that something like this would happen.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Thanks for sharing your concerns here. We have been progressing use of our SDK in more use cases for our clients. However, our goal is to make sure that the SDK is used in a way that maintains GPL compatibility.

  • the SDK and the client are two separate programs
  • code for each program is in separate repositories
  • the fact that the two programs communicate using standard protocols does not mean they are one program for purposes of GPLv3

Being able to build the app as you are trying to do here is an issue we plan to resolve and is merely a bug.

I.e. "fuck you and your foss"

[–] [email protected] 20 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 30 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I doubt it. What'll probably happen is them moving more and more of the logic into the SDK (or adding the back-end of new features there), and leaving the original app to be more or less an agpl-licensed ui, while the actual logic becomes source-available. Soo, somewhat red-hat-esque vibes: no-no, we don't violate no stupid licenses, we just completely go against their spirit.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

go against their spirit

I think this is more of a failure of the license itself. It's not a good look to allow something explicitly and then go "no not like that!"

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I'm not sure you can classify this as a failure, as explicitly prohibiting interfacing with non-agpl stuff would greatly limit the amount of stuff you can license under it, perhaps up to the point of making it generally unusable. As for "not like that"... Well, yeah. But you can't deny it's misleading, right? Free software kinda implies you can modify it whatever you want, and if it's a free ui relying on a source-available middleware... Turns out, not so much.

Although, a posdible solution would be require explicitly mentioning if you're basically a front-end for something; but I'm not sure if it can be legally distinguished from the rest of use-cases.

[–] [email protected] 128 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (3 children)

There's a lot of drama in that Issue, and then, at the very end:

Thanks for sharing your concerns here. We have been progressing use of our SDK in more use cases for our clients. However, our goal is to make sure that the SDK is used in a way that maintains GPL compatibility.

the SDK and the client are two separate programs
code for each program is in separate repositories
the fact that the two programs communicate using standard protocols does not mean they are one program for purposes of GPLv3

Being able to build the app as you are trying to do here is an issue we plan to resolve and is merely a bug.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 days ago

There is always a very vocal minority itching to cause as much drama as possible. It's very discouraging to see in general. I agree with and want more FOSS, but I'm not sure I'd ever consider making it myself; it's not worth extra stress personally.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 days ago

plan to resolve

timeline unknown, maybe 2124

[–] [email protected] 60 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Um can someone translate what this means?

[–] [email protected] 47 points 4 days ago

They're trying to argue legal technicalities because acknowledging that they're trying to reduce compatibility with servers like vaultwarden would be bad PR.

Per their new license, anyone that uses their SDK to build a client cannot say, "this is for Bitwarden and compatible servers like vaultwarden". They cannot support those other servers, per their license. Anyone that gets suckered into using their SDK now becomes a force against alternative implementations.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 days ago

The main program is open, but the development tools are not

[–] [email protected] 117 points 5 days ago (3 children)

They claim the SDK and Bitwarden are completely separate, so Bitwarden is still open source.

The fact that the current version of Bitwarden doesn't work at all without the SDK is just a bug, which will be fixed Soon™

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 days ago

further translating it: they are closing it down but trying to make it look like they arent

[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 days ago (7 children)

Iirc, once reported, the project has 30 days to remedy or they are in violation of the license. They can't even release a new version with a different license since this version is out under the GPL.

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