--- title: Closing Up: Why I’m making some of my projects closed-source description: Daniel Saidi has archived his open-source OnboardingKit repository and replaced it with a closed-source version under a commercial license. It's the first of... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/closing-up-why-i-m-making-some-of-my-projects-closed-source-hcqv5fyyx twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Closing Up: Why I’m making some of my projects closed-source | daily.dev og:description: Daniel Saidi has archived his open-source OnboardingKit repository and replaced it with a closed-source version under a commercial license. It's the first of... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/closing-up-why-i-m-making-some-of-my-projects-closed-source-hcqv5fyyx og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/HcqV5fyyX.png og:image:alt: Closing Up: Why I’m making some of my projects closed-source og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Closing Up: Why I’m making some of my projects closed-source **[Daniel Saidi](https://daily.dev/sources/danielsaidi)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Daniel Saidi has archived his open-source OnboardingKit repository and replaced it with a closed-source version under a commercial license. It's the first of many projects he plans to convert this way. He cites fewer people engaging with his projects and AI models training on his GitHub code, docs and tests as the reasons. The new version offers a free tier and a paid plan, licensed through his LicenseKit engine, and is published by his company Kankoda. The old MIT-licensed repository stays archived and usable, but won't get updates. Not all his projects will be converted; he'll decide project by project. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why did Daniel Saidi make OnboardingKit closed-source? He cited declining community engagement, with fewer people opening issues or pull requests, plus concern that AI models train on his GitHub code, docs and tests without giving anything back. He archived the open-source OnboardingKit repository and released a new closed-source version with a free tier and paid plan, licensed through his LicenseKit engine and published by his company Kankoda. _daily.dev surfaces maintainer takes like this for developers weighing open versus closed licensing for their own projects._ ### What happens to the old open-source OnboardingKit repository? It remains publicly archived and stays MIT licensed, so existing users can keep using or forking it, but it will no longer receive updates. The actively developed version moves to a closed-source, commercially licensed model published by Kankoda with a free and paid tier. _developers tracking dependency licensing changes can follow stories like this one on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Cal.com Goes Close Source Because "AI Can Easily Exploit Open Source Software"](https://daily.dev/posts/cal-com-goes-close-source-because-ai-can-easily-exploit-open-source-software--onylkwl5j) · It's Foss · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Open source faces a security reckoning as Cal.com closes its codebase](https://daily.dev/posts/open-source-faces-a-security-reckoning-as-cal-com-closes-its-codebase-9vd2hde61) · The New Stack · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Ditching GitHub](https://daily.dev/posts/ditching-github-vdjgxgl6t) · Lobsters · 145 upvotes · 20 comments --- Tags: [#machine-learning](https://daily.dev/tags/machine-learning), [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source), [#swift](https://daily.dev/tags/swift), [#licensing](https://daily.dev/tags/licensing) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/closing-up-why-i-m-making-some-of-my-projects-closed-source-hcqv5fyyx) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Closing Up: Why I’m making some of my projects closed-source","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/closing-up-why-i-m-making-some-of-my-projects-closed-source-hcqv5fyyx","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/closing-up-why-i-m-making-some-of-my-projects-closed-source-hcqv5fyyx"},"datePublished":"2026-10-29T17:30:14.398Z","dateModified":"2026-10-29T17:43:13.276Z","description":"Daniel Saidi has archived his open-source OnboardingKit repository and replaced it with a closed-source version under a commercial license. 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