Bitwarden CTO clarifies SDK license concerns, reaffirming open-source commitment

Kyle Spearrin, founder and CTO of Bitwarden, has addressed concerns regarding the recent change in the licensing of their SDK. In a GitHub comment, Spearrin clarified that adjustments have been made to the SDK's organization and packaging, ensuring that users can build and run the app using only GPL/OSI licenses.

Spearrin detailed that the sdk-internal package references in the clients now originate from a new sdk-internal repository, adhering to the historical licensing model used for Bitwarden clients, currently only utilizing GPL licenses. He assured that should future references include Bitwarden License code, a method for producing multiple build variants will be provided, akin to the web vault client builds.

Additionally, Spearrin mentioned that the original SDK repository will be renamed to sdk-secrets, maintaining its Bitwarden SDK License for Secrets Manager business products. This repository will no longer be referenced in client apps, as its code is not utilized there.

This clarification suggests that the license issue was a miscommunication, and the SDK is now reaffirmed under an open-source license, providing reassurance to Bitwarden users.