[GH-ISSUE #1197] [DOCS] Sustainability #426

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opened 2026-02-27 08:17:14 +03:00 by kerem · 2 comments

kerem commented

2026-02-27 08:17:14 +03:00

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Originally created by @selfhoster1312 on GitHub (Jul 4, 2025).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/lldap/lldap/issues/1197

I could not find a lot of documentation about the long-term sustainability of the project.

how much is the bus factor?
- how many people know the codebase in and out?
- how many people can access the lldap org/infra?
what is the economic/legal structure behind lldap?
- i see the README says "we're all volunteers" "in our free time"
- i see a donation button on the Github project; is that for a single developer as an individual? for a non-profit to have proper funds for community organizing and development?
- are there plans for professional support contracts?

Here's an example related discussion on the kanidm project: https://github.com/kanidm/kanidm/discussions/1477

Originally created by @selfhoster1312 on GitHub (Jul 4, 2025). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/lldap/lldap/issues/1197 I could not find a lot of documentation about the long-term sustainability of the project. - how much is the bus factor? - how many people know the codebase in and out? - how many people can access the lldap org/infra? - what is the economic/legal structure behind lldap? - i see the README says "we're all volunteers" "in our free time" - i see a donation button on the Github project; is that for a single developer as an individual? for a non-profit to have proper funds for community organizing and development? - are there plans for professional support contracts? Here's an example related discussion on the kanidm project: https://github.com/kanidm/kanidm/discussions/1477

kerem closed this issue

2026-02-27 08:17:14 +03:00

kerem commented

2026-02-27 08:17:14 +03:00

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@nitnelave commented on GitHub (Jul 4, 2025):

Kanidm is a class above LLDAP, in scope, amount of work and support :)

LLDAP is currently my side project. The bus factor is roughly 1, maybe 1.5 with a few others who know various parts of the project (I'm thinking of @broeng , @T0byV, @martadinata666 , @pixelrazor ) and have commit rights (members of the LLDAP org).

I am however the only maintainer, and effectively BDFL though not so much by choice. My personal life has been very busy in the last 2 years, and my contributions to LLDAP, especially in terms of code, have dwindled accordingly. It would be my pleasure to hand over maintenance to someone else, should the right person come forward, but so far no one has shown any appetite. The closest would be @broeng who is using or considering using it in a professional context.

In terms of economic structure, it's very ad hoc. No one else but me so far got paid to work on LLDAP, but the donations I received (on my personal bank account) amount to very little, approximately my tea budget while working on LLDAP (full disclosure, the current recurring donations sum up to $21/month, with spot donations adding maybe 10% on average).

I do not have plans for professional support contracts, for several reasons:

this project is not targeted at companies, even though some have found it useful. It is primarily for small, self-hosted servers of trusted (known) members. However, it is up to users to use it as they will
I have very little time to devote to LLDAP as it is, a professional contract would force me into an unpleasant situation.
my employment situation is not compatible with separate support contracts.

That said, if someone wanted to offer support contracts, I would support them to the extent of my abilities, potentially even making them a maintainer in time.

If it looks bleak from the point of view of "Can I use LLDAP as a load-bearing tool for my company without dedicating someone to become an LLDAP expert?", you have the right attitude. It is a software primarily by and for hobby self-hosters, in their spare time. That said, it is fully open-source, and the underlying protocols are very unlikely to change (LDAP being LDAP), so I don't picture many updates necessary, as long as you're satisfied with the current feature set.

Now, in the spirit of open source, if you want to create a document reflecting this situation for future reference, feel free to send a PR! :)

@nitnelave commented on GitHub (Jul 4, 2025): Kanidm is a class above LLDAP, in scope, amount of work and support :) LLDAP is currently my side project. The bus factor is roughly 1, maybe 1.5 with a few others who know various parts of the project (I'm thinking of @broeng , @T0byV, @martadinata666 , @pixelrazor ) and have commit rights (members of the LLDAP org). I am however the only maintainer, and effectively BDFL though not so much by choice. My personal life has been very busy in the last 2 years, and my contributions to LLDAP, especially in terms of code, have dwindled accordingly. It would be my pleasure to hand over maintenance to someone else, should the right person come forward, but so far no one has shown any appetite. The closest would be @broeng who is using or considering using it in a professional context. In terms of economic structure, it's very ad hoc. No one else but me so far got paid to work on LLDAP, but the donations I received (on my personal bank account) amount to very little, approximately my tea budget while working on LLDAP (full disclosure, the current recurring donations sum up to $21/month, with spot donations adding maybe 10% on average). I do not have plans for professional support contracts, for several reasons: - this project is not targeted at companies, even though some have found it useful. It is primarily for small, self-hosted servers of trusted (known) members. However, it is up to users to use it as they will - I have very little time to devote to LLDAP as it is, a professional contract would force me into an unpleasant situation. - my employment situation is not compatible with separate support contracts. That said, if someone wanted to offer support contracts, I would support them to the extent of my abilities, potentially even making them a maintainer in time. If it looks bleak from the point of view of "Can I use LLDAP as a load-bearing tool for my company without dedicating someone to become an LLDAP expert?", you have the right attitude. It is a software primarily by and for hobby self-hosters, in their spare time. That said, it is fully open-source, and the underlying protocols are very unlikely to change (LDAP being LDAP), so I don't picture many updates necessary, as long as you're satisfied with the current feature set. Now, in the spirit of open source, if you want to create a document reflecting this situation for future reference, feel free to send a PR! :)

kerem commented

2026-02-27 08:17:14 +03:00

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@selfhoster1312 commented on GitHub (Jul 6, 2025):

Addressed in #1200, thanks :)

@selfhoster1312 commented on GitHub (Jul 6, 2025): Addressed in #1200, thanks :)

kerem referenced this issue

2026-02-27 09:09:33 +03:00

[PR #426] [MERGED] server: Update lettre #735