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Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Mattermost restricted access to old messages after 10000 limit is reached

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Mattermost's "Rug Pull" and Licensing Restrictions

Users decry the unannounced addition of message history limits (e.g., 10k posts) to self-hosted free editions as a bait-and-switch from open source to open core.
"Mattermost only got where it is today because of the open-source community... [now] enforce a ridiculously small message limit... without announcing it" - Zephilinox.
"Classic rug pull though" - AmazingTurtle.
"Open Source is dying... supply-chain control is profitable" - csomar.

2. Impracticality of Forking

Forking is dismissed as burdensome due to rebasing, security patches, and maintenance.
"Maintaining your own fork is a ton of work... The open source community really needs to stop with the 'just fork it' mindset" - mort96.
"Forking it would be a major undertaking as the number of vulnerabilities... is quite high like 5 a month" - yread.

3. Alternatives to Mattermost

Frequent recommendations for Zulip, Matrix, XMPP, IRC, or forks like MostlyMatter.
"Highly recommend looking at Zulip as an alternative... even better than Slack" - carolosf.
"Use matrix instead. Or zulip. Or xmpp. Or IRC" - ptman.

🚀 Project Ideas

Mattermost Fork Automator

Summary

  • CLI tool and hosted service that automates rebasing a Mattermost fork, applying community patches to remove limits (e.g., post history), backporting security fixes, and generating build artifacts (Docker images, DEB/RPM packages) with auto-update repos.
  • Core value: Eliminates "ton of work" in fork maintenance, enabling easy unlimited self-hosted Mattermost without forking from scratch.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Sysadmins and devs self-hosting Mattermost frustrated with limits and fork upkeep
Core Feature One-command rebase/patch/build/deploy with GitHub integration for upstream changes
Tech Stack Go CLI, Git, Docker; hosted on GitHub Actions/AWS Lambda
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: Freemium (core CLI free, hosted builds $10/mo)

Notes

  • Directly solves mort96's "Maintaining your own fork is a ton of work" and bfkwlfkjf's update concerns; HN loves automation tools for OSS drudgery.
  • High discussion potential as drop-in for Mattermost users; practical for immediate relief.

OSS Binary Patcher

Summary

  • Web/CLI tool to scan and patch Mattermost (and similar) binaries to remove hardcoded limits (e.g., post history) without recompiling, with license checks and diff viewers.
  • Core value: Instant fix for binary users avoiding source builds, bypassing "build from source" hassle.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Non-dev ops teams and enterprises using Mattermost binaries who hate limits
Core Feature Upload binary → auto-detect/patch limits → download modified binary with changelog
Tech Stack Rust/Go for binary analysis (Ghidra libs), Electron CLI, Vercel hosting
Difficulty High
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Addresses compsciphd's "a little poke here and there" and p2detar's binary patching curiosity; quotes like "Would be a shame if someone... added a few zeroes" fuel shares.
  • Utility for quick wins; sparks HN debates on binary modding ethics.

FOSS Chat Migrator

Summary

  • Docker-based toolkit with migration scripts to export/import data from Mattermost/Slack/Zulip to fully unrestricted FOSS alternatives (e.g., patched Matrix, XMPP+Jitsi, Revolt), plus config generator for feature parity.
  • Core value: Seamless escape from "rug pulls" with one-command data portability and setup.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Teams ditching Mattermost/Zulip due to limits, seeking lock-in-free self-hosted chat
Core Feature API exporters/importers + comparison dashboard for 5+ FOSS chats (e.g., mobile push workarounds)
Tech Stack Node.js scripts, Docker Compose, PostgreSQL for migrations
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: Sponsored (Kassenstuhl model)

Notes

  • Fixes PunchyHamster's migration pain and suggestions like Zulip/Matrix; HN cheers anti-lockin tools amid "open core" rants.
  • Viral potential via shared migration guides; practical for orgs like "self-host or die" users.

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