# OpenVPN 2.4/3.x

## Contributor License Agreement (CLA)
- This is required to distribute OpenVPN on Apple's AppStore and possibly other stores (e.g., Windows Marketplace) due to their incompatibility with the AGPLv3 license.
- It's important to minimize the scope of the agreement:
  - Android contributor license agreements appear well-crafted and we can assume they are backed by substantial legal expertise and resources.

## Permissive Licensing
- It’s currently unclear if adopting a permissive license would completely eliminate the need for a CLA.
- Potential licenses include BSD, MIT, Apache.
- Releasing OpenVPN 3.0 under a permissive license may lead to (big) companies forking it, potentially resulting in numerous incompatible forks.
  - To combat potential fragmentation, standardizing the OpenVPN protocol might be necessary, though this comes with substantial overhead.

## Minimizing the Scope of the CLA
- This approach reduces risks related to fragmentation, forks, and loss of contributions.
- Aim to maximize the potential to extend OpenVPN through isolated APIs:
  - Plugins and similar extensions would not require a CLA.
- Extension mechanisms in OpenVPN:
  - **2.x:**
    - Plugin API
    - Management interface
    - SSL library abstraction
    - Platform support (isolated by `#ifdefs`)
  - **3.x:**
    - SSL library abstraction
    - Other mechanisms
- Potential separation of server-side and client-side code, where only the client-side would need a CLA.

## Public Release Date for OpenVPN 3.x Codebase
- Source packages are currently available in old tar.gz formats.
- James aims to release this in the coming weeks.

## Future of OpenVPN 2.x and 3.x
- Transitioning to the AGPLv3-licensed OpenVPN 3.x codebase is favorable, provided that the negative impact of the CLA is minimized.
- OpenVPN 2.x will remain maintained until 3.x can effectively replace it:
  - This may include releasing versions up to 2.5.