Guides
Open source is not an exit plan by itself
The right to change code does not prove another party can build the release, operate services, or restore your data.
Scope: a concise editorial field note, not a universal recommendation, security audit, or guarantee.
Start with the rights
Free software gives you the right to run, study, change, copy, and redistribute the program. That makes an independent continuation legally possible.
It does not provide a maintainer, support, packaged builds, a working build, portable data, or a replacement for hosted services. Treat the license and the recovery path as separate evidence.
Check whether others can operate it
PocketBase documents how to build a statically linked executable from Go. Immich documents a Compose stack, environment, storage path, and database. Building the program and operating the whole service are separate jobs.
Build one source checkout in a clean environment, then deploy it from the result. List every hosted API, identity system, storage service, migration, and piece of vendor infrastructure that the replacement still needs.
Test data and restore separately
Map database, asset files, configuration, formats, and export. Immich documents that database and assets both matter and restore compatibility depends on versions.
Restore a representative copy and run migrations for the target release. Having the source code does not prove that restored data will be readable by the target release.
Practical checklist
- Record the license rights.
- Build one source checkout cleanly.
- List hosted dependencies and migrations.
- Restore database and assets.
Sources checked
These first-party or authoritative sources ground the note. Checked 2026-08-14.