OccupySaaS is a new protest movement that aims to develop open-source, drop-in replacements for existing proprietary SaaS platforms. The initiative is driven by engineers who were laid off, and it seeks to challenge the current model of software as a service, particularly regarding per-seat licensing and vendor lock-in.
The development process for OccupySaaS projects follows a strict 'clean-room' approach. This involves rebuilding software solely from public documentation, open standards (like OAuth 2.0, OIDC, REST), and published SDK behaviors. AI agents are used to implement code from specifications, with human review at each merge. Compatibility is verified by running vendors' own public client SDKs against the newly developed open-source servers.
The movement explicitly prohibits the use of leaked or proprietary source code, decompiled binaries, confidential information from former employers, or copied UI assets and trademarks. All development relies on publicly available information to ensure legal and ethical compliance.
OccupySaaS has identified Identity and CRM as its initial targets for replacement. These categories were chosen because they are widely used by companies and often involve significant subscription costs. The projects are released under the Apache-2.0 license, are self-hostable, and offer pluggable storage without unsolicited telemetry or seat counters.
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OccupySaaS is a new open-source initiative using AI tools to create clean-room reimplementations of common commercial SaaS products. The project aims to provide API-compatible alternatives to services like Auth0 and Salesforce, driven by user dissatisfaction with subscription models and price increases. Development adheres to strict clean-room ethics, avoiding decompiled code or confidential information.
OccupySaaS, a new protest movement, is building open-source, drop-in replacements for proprietary SaaS platforms. The initiative uses AI and public documentation to rebuild software, aiming to provide alternatives to common enterprise tools like Identity and CRM.