E-commerce platform Gumroad is going “open source”, but there are some restrictions

14 years after its initial launch, Gumroad, a popular platform for distributing digital products, has announced via X that it is now “open source”. The company claims this move will enable faster feature deployment, quicker bug fixes, easier marketplace creation, and self-hosting with no fees. However, the source code has been released under a restrictive license that does not meet the Open Source Initiative's definition of open source.

The license permits use only if a company has less than $1 million in total revenue and less than $10 million in GMV in the prior tax year, or if the user is a non-profit or government entity. Despite these limitations, the release provides insights into Gumroad's technology stack, revealing a primary use of the [Ruby programming language]. Users interested in leveraging Gumroad's code must be aware of these restrictions before proceeding with any projects.