Public repo
github.com/davide97g/pulse-hr. Issues, PRs, discussions — open to anyone. Merge conflicts resolved in public.
Open source
HR you can
read, fork, run.
The entire platform — app, marketing site, Bun workspace configuration, every line of logic — lives on GitHub under FSL-1.1-MIT. No "enterprise-only" source dump, no black-box core. What you run is what you can read.
Self-host
Docker Compose for single-node, Helm chart for K8s clusters. Your data, your infra, your call on compliance boundaries.
Forkable
Take the 20% that matches your workflow, throw away the 80% that doesn't. FSL allows it; MIT will allow even more in 2 years.
The license, in one table.
| Source visible | Day one |
| Run internally / self-host | Day one, any scale |
| Fork & modify for non-competing use | Day one |
| Build competing closed-source SaaS | Blocked for 2 years |
| Converts to plain MIT | 2 years after each release |
| Attribution required | Preserve NOTICE in public derivatives |
| Royalties / per-seat fees | None, ever |
Honest answers.
What is FSL-1.1-MIT exactly?
Functional Source License 1.1 with an MIT Future License. You get full source access from day one with permission to use, modify and redistribute for any non-competing purpose. Two years after each release, the license converts automatically to plain MIT — fully permissive, no strings. The two-year window only blocks building a competing closed-source SaaS out of the code; everything else (internal deployment, consulting, forks, contributions, self-host, commercial use that isn't a direct Pulse competitor) is unrestricted.
Why not plain MIT or Apache?
Permissive licenses invite a well-funded competitor to fork the repo, rebrand it, and sell it as closed-source SaaS — starving the people who actually built and maintain the project. FSL is the minimum protection needed to fund continued development. After two years, every release is plain MIT anyway, so the long-term commons grows just as fast.
Can I self-host the whole thing?
Yes. The platform is a Bun workspace you can clone and run with `bun install && bun run build`. A reference Docker Compose setup and a Helm chart for Kubernetes are in the repo. The only component you cannot self-host is the managed payroll filing rails (F24, Form 941, HMRC PAYE, etc.) — those integrate with tax authorities on our side because running them yourself means becoming a licensed payroll processor.
Do I have to credit Pulse if I fork?
Yes. The NOTICE file in the repo asks you to preserve the copyright header and include a visible attribution ("Built on workflows-people by Davide Ghiotto") in the About screen or docs of any public derivative work. No royalties, no paperwork — just a link back.
Your team deserves
better software.
Free for the first 5 employees — forever. No credit card. Import your data in under an hour.