MODSetter/SurfSense

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16.4k stars · 1.6k forks · Python

At risk

At risk: the license changed to one that is not open source.

Why

In the last year the license changed from Apache-2.0 to BUSL-1.1, which the Open Source Initiative does not approve. (source 1, source 2)

What would change this

The license returns to one the Open Source Initiative approves.
Partly checked: maintenance (Commit counts are estimated: the commit sample stops before the window start, so GitHub's totals were scaled by the sampled bot share.; Authors in the last 90 days are counted from the sampled commits only.)

Maintenance

Partial

Active

Human commits, 30 days: 1.5k
Human commits, 90 days: 3.2k
Human commits, 365 days: 10k
Bot share of commits, 365 days: 0%
Last commit: Oct 14, 2026 (1 day ago)
Last human commit: Oct 14, 2026 (1 day ago)
Authors, 90 days: 11
Last release: Oct 14, 2026 (23 hours ago)
Median PR merge time: under an hour

Responsiveness: of 30 recent issues, 50% got a maintainer reply. Median first response: 9 hours.

Commit counts are estimated: the commit sample stops before the window start, so GitHub's totals were scaled by the sampled bot share.
Authors in the last 90 days are counted from the sampled commits only.

Sources: Commits, Releases, Merged pull requests, Issues

People

Complete

Owner: Personal account
Commits sampled: 499 since Oct 14, 2025
Authors for half of commits: 1
Authors for 80% of commits: 2
Contributors: 108

Top committers

MODSetter: 57% of commits
AnishSarkar22: 29% of commits
Cedric921: 5% of commits
ybai08: 4% of commits
CREDO23: 2% of commits

Shares come from the newest sampled commits, since the commit sample is capped.

Sources: Commits, Contributors

Stars

Complete

Organic, confidence high

Bars show stars gained each week. Orange bars overlap a burst.

Bursts

Sep 20, 2024 to Sep 21, 2024: about 40 more stars than usual, peak 36 in one day, a spike that tapers off. We couldn't check for an outside explanation.
Sep 29, 2024 to Sep 30, 2024: about 68 more stars than usual, peak 55 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks.
Oct 11, 2024 to Oct 11, 2024: about 20 more stars than usual, peak 22 in one day, a spike that tapers off. We couldn't check for an outside explanation.
Nov 3, 2024 to Nov 6, 2024: about 127 more stars than usual, peak 44 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks.
Nov 11, 2024 to Nov 15, 2024: about 199 more stars than usual, peak 126 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Apr 14, 2025 to Apr 18, 2025: about 205 more stars than usual, peak 130 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Apr 24, 2025 to May 22, 2025: about 2.9k more stars than usual, peak 393 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Jul 7, 2025 to Jul 19, 2025: about 296 more stars than usual, peak 68 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Jul 21, 2025 to Jul 29, 2025: about 170 more stars than usual, peak 34 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Aug 25, 2025 to Sep 3, 2025: about 870 more stars than usual, peak 267 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Oct 9, 2025 to Oct 16, 2025: about 912 more stars than usual, peak 298 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Dec 3, 2025 to Dec 4, 2025: about 90 more stars than usual, peak 70 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Dec 8, 2025 to Dec 10, 2025: about 182 more stars than usual, peak 98 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Dec 27, 2025 to Dec 28, 2025: about 149 more stars than usual, peak 122 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Mar 20, 2026 to Mar 25, 2026: about 118 more stars than usual, peak 39 in one day, a shape we can't classify. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Jun 14, 2026 to Jun 19, 2026: about 523 more stars than usual, peak 167 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks.
Jul 23, 2026 to Aug 6, 2026: about 410 more stars than usual, peak 88 in one day, a spike that tapers off. Outside explanation: a jump in forks, a jump in issues and pull requests.
Oct 11, 2026 to Oct 13, 2026: about 63 more stars than usual, peak 33 in one day, a shape we can't classify. Outside explanation: a jump in issues and pull requests.

3 stars GitHub has since removed (tracked since Oct 14, 2026).

Anyone can buy stars for any repo; bursts alone don't prove the owner did.

The star history looks organic.

Sources: How star history is analyzed

Risk

Complete

Flags

High: The license file changed from Apache-2.0 (OSI-approved) to BUSL-1.1 (not OSI-approved) within the last year (GitHub commit history). Details

License

Now: BUSL-1.1 (not OSI-approved)
A year ago: Apache-2.0 (OSI-approved)

The license changed in the last year.

Packages

No published packages found.

Sources: GitHub: MODSetter/SurfSense

Badge

Add this to a README to show the current verdict:

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Earlier verdicts

Oct 14, 2026: At risk
Oct 14, 2026: At risk

Computed 8 hours ago · method 2026.10.2