Open vs Closed Source

Norri is closed source. The code is proprietary. Open source alternatives exist for those who prefer that approach.

Why closed source

A few reasons.

We’re a small team focused on building the product. Open source projects need community management, contributor guidelines, code review processes, and all the infrastructure that comes with public development. We’d rather spend that time making Norri better.

Keeping the source private protects our clean room development process. With the code public, there’s always a risk of contamination claims from other projects, even if unfounded. Keeping it private removes that concern.

It also supports a sustainable business model. The server is free with all features, and native apps are paid. Proprietary code lets us maintain that model long term.

What this means in practice

Day to day, it makes very little difference. The server is free for personal use with all features included. No telemetry, no phone-home behavior, and data is portable (standard media formats, exportable metadata).

Access to source code isn’t needed to use, configure, or troubleshoot Norri. These docs cover everything.

How can I trust closed source software?

Fair question. Norri has no telemetry, no cloud account requirement, and runs entirely on local hardware. There’s no access from our side and no way to connect to any server running Norri. The Privacy page details exactly what external calls are made and what data is sent.

This can be verified independently with network monitoring tools. During scans, Norri makes metadata lookups to TMDB and TVDB. That’s it.

Contributing

Code contributions aren’t possible with closed source, but bug reports, feature suggestions, and documentation improvements are welcome through the issue tracker or at hello@norri.tv.