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Desktop version 2024.10.0 is no longer free software

Open brjsp opened this issue 1 year ago • 30 comments
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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.

brjsp avatar Oct 17 '24 20:10 brjsp

Thank you for reporting this issue! We've added this to our internal tracking system. ID: PM-13815

bitwarden-bot avatar Oct 17 '24 20:10 bitwarden-bot

Namely trying to build with bitwarden_license directory removed (like we have been always doing) and sanitized node_modules results in the following:

[Prel] assets by status 30.6 KiB [cached] 1 asset
[Prel] orphan modules 28.2 KiB [orphan] 25 modules
[Prel] ./src/preload.ts + 25 modules 28.4 KiB [not cacheable] [built] [code generated]
[Prel]
[Prel] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/abstractions/sdk/sdk.service.ts
[Prel] 3:32-57
[Prel] [tsl] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/abstractions/sdk/sdk.service.ts(3,33)
[Prel]       TS2307: Cannot find module '@bitwarden/sdk-internal' or its corresponding type declarations.
[Prel]
[Prel] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/abstractions/sdk/sdk-client-factory.ts
[Prel] 1:37-62
[Prel] [tsl] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/abstractions/sdk/sdk-client-factory.ts(1,38)
[Prel]       TS2307: Cannot find module '@bitwarden/sdk-internal' or its corresponding type declarations.
[Prel]
[Prel] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/services/sdk/default-sdk.service.ts
[Prel] 3:54-79
[Prel] [tsl] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/services/sdk/default-sdk.service.ts(3,55)
[Prel]       TS2307: Cannot find module '@bitwarden/sdk-internal' or its corresponding type declarations.
[Prel]
[Prel] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/services/sdk/default-sdk-client-factory.ts
[Prel] 1:21-46
[Prel] [tsl] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/services/sdk/default-sdk-client-factory.ts(1,22)
[Prel]       TS2307: Cannot find module '@bitwarden/sdk-internal' or its corresponding type declarations.
[Prel]
[Prel] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/services/sdk/default-sdk-client-factory.ts
[Prel] 2:24-81
[Prel] [tsl] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/services/sdk/default-sdk-client-factory.ts(2,25)
[Prel]       TS2307: Cannot find module '@bitwarden/sdk-internal/bitwarden_wasm_internal_bg.wasm' or its corresponding type declarations.
[Prel]
[Prel] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/services/sdk/noop-sdk-client-factory.ts
[Prel] 1:37-62
[Prel] [tsl] ERROR in /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/libs/common/src/platform/services/sdk/noop-sdk-client-factory.ts(1,38)
[Prel]       TS2307: Cannot find module '@bitwarden/sdk-internal' or its corresponding type declarations.
[Prel]
[Prel] 6 errors have detailed information that is not shown.
[Prel] Use 'stats.errorDetails: true' resp. '--stats-error-details' to show it.
[Prel]
[Prel] webpack 5.94.0 compiled with 6 errors in 14233 ms
[Prel] npm error Lifecycle script `build:preload` failed with error:
[Prel] npm error code 1
[Prel] npm error path /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/apps/desktop
[Prel] npm error workspace @bitwarden/[email protected]
[Prel] npm error location /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/bitwarden-2024.10.0/apps/desktop
[Prel] npm error command failed
[Prel] npm error command sh -c cross-env NODE_ENV=production webpack --config webpack.preload.js
[Prel] npm run build:preload exited with code 1

brjsp avatar Oct 17 '24 20:10 brjsp

Also see bitwarden/sdk#898. It looks like this is part of a deliberate campaign by Bitwarden, Inc. to fully transition Bitwarden to proprietary software, despite consistently advertising it as open source, without informing customers about this change.

For whatever the opinion of one user is worth, I've switched away from Bitwarden due to this.

xndc avatar Oct 19 '24 12:10 xndc

I noticed and reported a similar problem with the NPM releases of the CLI client (#10648) two months ago, and I have yet to receive a response. Bitwarden definitely seems to be moving away from being open-source software without making any sort of announcement about it.

aphedges avatar Oct 20 '24 05:10 aphedges

what alternatives do you guys recommend?

rafntor avatar Oct 20 '24 09:10 rafntor

Bitwarden was good to me.. Now it's time to switch to alternatives...

iHarryPotter178 avatar Oct 20 '24 10:10 iHarryPotter178

Best alternative is to fork the version before this change!

adrian-afl avatar Oct 20 '24 10:10 adrian-afl

Ohhh noooo... That's a shame. You're right: i'll go to a fork or to any alternative!

LalOpen avatar Oct 20 '24 10:10 LalOpen

i'll go to a fork or to any alternative!

I would be careful going to "any alternative". It's your passwords you're talking about.

Also, a fork of the client still leaves the open issue of relying on the server service or software.

impredicative avatar Oct 20 '24 10:10 impredicative

This is... concerning to say the least. I'm a long term paid Bitwarden user, and it's making me reconsider that decision.

Gallocon avatar Oct 20 '24 10:10 Gallocon

https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden

cat-pat avatar Oct 20 '24 10:10 cat-pat

I'll be looking for an alternative after hearing this. Quietly moving away from open source raises serious concerns.

ludouzi avatar Oct 20 '24 10:10 ludouzi

7.3 The Company may at any time, terminate the License Agreement with you if: ........ d) the Company decides to no longer provide the SDK or certain parts of the SDK to users in the country in which you are resident or from which you use the service, or the provision of the SDK or certain SDK services to you by the Company is, in the Company’'s sole discretion, no longer commercially viable or technically practicable.

well so it can be striped from us at any time?

zarlo avatar Oct 20 '24 10:10 zarlo

https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden

That's interesting for a server, and while the server has a web client, are there comparable open source clients too for desktop and/or mobile?

impredicative avatar Oct 20 '24 10:10 impredicative

what alternatives do you guys recommend?

If it's for the home Vaultwarden.

stukinnear avatar Oct 20 '24 10:10 stukinnear

No no no, not Bitwarden please. A service i dearly loved and was satisfied with :(

NikunjKhangwal avatar Oct 20 '24 10:10 NikunjKhangwal

what alternatives do you guys recommend?

If it's for the home Vaultwarden.

Why home use only ?

JeanneD4RK avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 JeanneD4RK

enshitification is inevitable with these god forsaken companies

Ollie1101 avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 Ollie1101

Note that the SDK is used (and enabled as a feature flag) not only in the release of desktop app, but also in the browser, CLI and web clients.

This mean that all versions of BitWarden 2024.10.0 are using the SDK.

GauthierPLM avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 GauthierPLM

How many times do we have to teach companies that try to rug pull this lesson, you want to end up like redis? This is how you end up like redis.

Foosec avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 Foosec

Yikes, that sucks

zabihexes avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 zabihexes

enshitification is inevitable with these god forsaken companies

It's practically a given with almost any VC (venture capital) or PE (private equity) backed company with worth between 10 million and 1 trillion USD. When outside of this range, they can do what they want.

People keep getting surprised every time this happens, but it's so common as to be inevitable indeed.

impredicative avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 impredicative

Bitwarden has before released projects advertised as "open source" while not under a non-open restrictive license details, discussion. This may now indicate a pattern or direction.

ssddanbrown avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 ssddanbrown

This sucks. I am going to develop an alternative desktop app which wraps Vaultwarden's web interface using Tauri, if anyone is interested.

nekename avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 nekename

So I guess all my customers and myself of course will be moving to an alternative.

Paddy-NI avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 Paddy-NI

Removed the annual subscription (never used the extra features, I had it only to support the project) and moving away very soon to a truly free software solution. Very disappointed since I have pushed a lot of people toward Bitwarden.

ercoppa avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 ercoppa

Very disappointed since I have pushed a lot of people toward Bitwarden.

Same to me. And I quite regret it now...

LalOpen avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 LalOpen

Spirit of open source died long time ago. Open source is now a business model.

russeg avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 russeg

Hi @brjsp, 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.  

  1. the SDK and the client are two separate programs
  2. code for each program is in separate repositories
  3. 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.

kspearrin avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 kspearrin

Spirit of open source died long time ago. Open source is now a business model.

According to me, the spirit of open source still lives in free software philosophy.

LalOpen avatar Oct 20 '24 11:10 LalOpen