--- title: Why We Open-Sourced ZSvirt? | daily.dev description: ZStack has open-sourced ZSvirt, the community edition of its commercial ZSphere virtualization platform, releasing v1.0.0 with full source code, build scripts,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/why-we-open-sourced-zsvirt--dgmiy7aee twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Why We Open-Sourced ZSvirt? | daily.dev og:description: ZStack has open-sourced ZSvirt, the community edition of its commercial ZSphere virtualization platform, releasing v1.0.0 with full source code, build scripts,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/why-we-open-sourced-zsvirt--dgmiy7aee og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/DgmIY7aee.png og:image:alt: Why We Open-Sourced ZSvirt? 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. # Why We Open-Sourced ZSvirt? **[Medium](https://daily.dev/sources/medium_js)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary ZStack has open-sourced ZSvirt, the community edition of its commercial ZSphere virtualization platform, releasing v1.0.0 with full source code, build scripts, a signed ISO, and documentation under GPL 3.0. The move is framed as a response to enterprises re-evaluating their virtualization strategy following Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, with teams seeking auditability and freedom from vendor lock-in. ZStack commits to keeping the core platform, API, migration tool (ZMigrate), and SDKs (Go, Python, Java) free forever, reserving only enterprise support and add-on capabilities as commercial offerings. The platform targets teams managing large-scale infrastructure (10,000+ hosts, VMs up to 768 vCPUs) who want traditional virtualization semantics with open, auditable code, distinguishing it from public cloud, HCI, self-built KVM stacks, and Kubernetes-native virtualization approaches. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Is ZSvirt open source and what license does it use? ZSvirt v1.0.0 is released as open source under the GPL 3.0 license, with the full source code, build scripts, a signed installation ISO, and documentation published publicly. The company behind it, ZStack, states the license will not change and existing open features will never be moved behind a paywall in future releases. _Developers weighing open virtualization platforms can track ZSvirt's ongoing releases and license commitments on daily.dev._ ### What is included in the free community edition of ZSvirt versus the paid version? The community edition always includes the full virtualization platform (compute, storage, network virtualization), the complete API surface, the free ZMigrate migration tool, and Terraform Provider plus Go, Python, and Java SDKs. Commercial offerings are limited to enterprise-grade support services and capabilities exclusive to the enterprise edition, with public documentation defining the boundary. _Teams comparing open-core licensing models can follow how ZSvirt's edition split evolves on daily.dev._ ### How does ZSvirt compare to a self-built KVM stack or Kubernetes-native virtualization for managing VMs at scale? ZSvirt targets teams wanting a traditional virtualization operating model (clusters, hosts, VMs, networks, datastores) without requiring Kubernetes as a prerequisite, offering a single control plane managing over 10,000 hosts, 2,000+ RESTful/OpenAPI endpoints, native Secure Boot and vTPM 2.0, SR-IOV networking, and HA/DRS/snapshot/backup features, unlike a self-built KVM stack requiring in-house toolchain development. _Infrastructure teams deciding between virtualization approaches can weigh trade-offs like this via daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I tried replacing Proxmox with an open-source OS you’ve never heard of](https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-replacing-proxmox-with-an-open-source-os-you-ve-never-heard-of-bvl4v442r) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [SmartOS Documentation](https://daily.dev/posts/smartos-documentation-o8qqxn3mf) · Hacker News · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [We rebuilt the Linux microVM stack on Apple Silicon](https://daily.dev/posts/we-rebuilt-the-linux-microvm-stack-on-apple-silicon-2hmxgetth) · Encore · 21 upvotes · 2 comments - [Facing a forced migration? You have a choice with OpenShift Virtualization](https://daily.dev/posts/facing-a-forced-migration-you-have-a-choice-with-openshift-virtualization-slkpwao4d) · Red Hat Developer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [oVirt 4.5.7 Released After Two Years With New OS & CPU Support](https://daily.dev/posts/ovirt-4-5-7-released-after-two-years-with-new-os-cpu-support-ge3lg8fgw) · Phoronix · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source), [#infrastructure](https://daily.dev/tags/infrastructure), [#vmware](https://daily.dev/tags/vmware) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/why-we-open-sourced-zsvirt--dgmiy7aee) ```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":"Why We Open-Sourced ZSvirt?","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-we-open-sourced-zsvirt--dgmiy7aee","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-we-open-sourced-zsvirt--dgmiy7aee"},"datePublished":"2026-08-21T19:30:45.473Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T06:56:00.614Z","description":"ZStack has open-sourced ZSvirt, the community edition of its commercial ZSphere virtualization platform, releasing v1.0.0 with full source code, build scripts,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/565c562cf3df85e3b9df2954c222a44d?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/565c562cf3df85e3b9df2954c222a44d?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Medium","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Medium","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/medium","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/medium_js"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-we-open-sourced-zsvirt--dgmiy7aee","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"open-source,infrastructure,vmware","timeRequired":"PT6M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Medium","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/medium_js"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Why We Open-Sourced ZSvirt?"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-we-open-sourced-zsvirt--dgmiy7aee#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Is ZSvirt open source and what license does it use?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"ZSvirt v1.0.0 is released as open source under the GPL 3.0 license, with the full source code, build scripts, a signed installation ISO, and documentation published publicly. 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