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Yes, this is a possible business model for developer tools. My declarative schema management product Skeema is primarily a CLI tool, available in both FOSS [1]
by evanelias 2y ago
Yes, this is a possible business model for developer tools. My declarative schema management product Skeema is primarily a CLI tool, available in both FOSS [1] and paid editions, with the latter adding extra functionality and optional premium support [2].
In my space, some larger competitors are more focused on SaaS/cloud offerings. But that can be a mixed bag for security-sensitive customers who prefer to self-host, as well as for folks who want to integrate a tool into an automation/CI/CD pipeline. CLI tools are more compelling in those situations.
[1] https://github.com/skeema/skeema/ https://github.com/skeema/skeema/
[2] https://www.skeema.io/download/ https://www.skeema.io/download/
- ludovicianul 2y agoLooks great. Similar model to what I was having in mind: open source + premium model with additional features. Is the revenue enough to work on it full time?
- evanelias 2y agoThanks! My situation is pretty similar to the comment from mike_hearn – I started it as a retirement/burnout project, and self-funded the business for years until the product was mature. If I was to start something like this today, personally I wouldn't use a permissive license for the free version next time. That's been really problematic as a bootstrapped business.
- ddgflorida 2y agoI occasionally sell CLI tools for file conversion at convertcsv.com. This is driven by customer concerns about security and privacy.