Ask HN: Is the Zed editor open source?
I wanted to give Zed (https://zed.dev / https://github.com/zed-industries/zed) a try.
I downloaded a binary release from https://zed.dev/releases/stable and I'm presented with LONG license agreement.
I'm particularly alarmed by this section:
> 2.2. License Limitations > > You agree that You shall not: (a) exceed the scope of the licenses granted in Section 2.1; (b) make copies of the Editor; (c) distribute, sublicense, assign, delegate, rent, lease, sell, time-share or otherwise transfer the benefits of, use under, or rights to, the license granted in Section 2.1; (d) reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to learn the source code, structure or algorithms underlying the Editor, except to the extent required to be permitted under applicable law; (e) modify, translate or create derivative works of the Editor; or (f) remove any copyright, trademark, patent or other proprietary notice that appears on the Editor or copies thereof.
This weirded me out because
1. the source seems to be available on github
2. the github pages list three different licenses (GPL, AGPL, Apache)
3. nowhere on the website it is stated that Zed is proprietary software
Needless to say, the "License Limitations" seem to contradict the terms of AGPL and GPL.
Hence the question: is Zed actually Open Source (or even Free Software) ?
Is the binary off the website some blob with stuff I'm not supposed to know about? Is this one of those vs-code/vs-codium situations?
I think the key points are in section 2.3 of the terms (https://zed.dev/terms). "Certain versions" of the editor are open source.
So the source on GitHub looks to be available under the licences you've spotted, but perhaps the downloadable binaries from the main website contain additional code that isn't open source.
do you know what would the difference be between a build i do on my own and the build i get from the website?
btw this smells like vscode/vscodium :(
Any proposition is vacuously true following the contradiction between GPL and commercial software. As for your legal exposure, no one, not even Microsoft, has the resources to pursue your infringement, imagined or otherwise.