CockroachDB: The Distributed SQL Database That Went BSL and Then Private — The License Wave's Darkest Ending
CockroachDB began as an open-source distributed SQL database, moved to the Business Source License in 2019, and then in 2024 took the step no other major project in this wave took: it stopped publishing new source code at all. This deep dive covers the BSL, the Cockroach Community License, the move to private source, why no community fork gained traction, real costs, where your data actually lives, and an honest verdict for a sovereignty-minded operator.