The source code is public
Every line of code that runs Wintertrace is on GitHub. Anyone with a browser can read it. Anyone with PHP experience can verify what the application does.
Open source winter maintenance software
Winter maintenance software you can actually read
Wintertrace is open source. The full source code is on GitHub under GNU AGPLv3. There is no proprietary core hidden behind a marketing front, no paid tier that unlocks the real software, and no contract you have to sign to run it.
Open source, for operators who are not developers
"Open source" is a developer phrase that ends up on a lot of marketing pages without much explanation. For an operator running winter service, the practical meaning is simpler than it sounds.
You do not need to read the code to benefit. What you get is a structural guarantee: the software is owned by no one and visible to everyone. If a claim on this page about how the application behaves is wrong, anyone with the right skill can prove it. That changes how seriously the claims have to be written.
What "open source" concretely means here
Four properties of the project, each backed by something verifiable rather than a promise.
The licence permits commercial use
Wintertrace is published under GNU AGPLv3. Operators may run it for any purpose, including paid winter service work, without paying a per-vehicle or per-user fee.
Modifications stay open
If you change the source code and run the modified version as a service, AGPLv3 requires that your changes be made available under the same licence. This is the deal that keeps the project from being privatised over time.
No vendor decides the future
A proprietary vendor can change pricing, discontinue features, or sell the company. An open-source codebase can be forked, maintained by a different team, or operated indefinitely by whoever needs it.
The evidence, in one place
If a marketing page says "open source", the next question is: where? Here are the receipts.
Where the code lives
Public repository at github.com/noschmarrn/schneespur. The same code that runs your installation is the code in the repository.
How development happens
Commits, issues, and discussions are all public. Every change carries a commit message; every release has notes that describe what changed.
How the project is signed
Each release archive is signed with an Ed25519 key. The public key is in the repository and in the running application. Auto-updates verify the signature before installing.
How questions reach the maintainer
Issues and pull requests on GitHub are the canonical channel. A direct contact route is also available for operators who prefer not to file in public.
What it buys an operator
The benefits of open source, in operator terms — not developer terms.
You can audit what you depend on
You do not have to take a marketing page at its word. The claim "no telemetry" can be checked by searching the source code. So can the claim "GPS data goes only to your server" and the claim "no third-party analytics".
You are not held by a contract
There is no licence agreement to renew, no seat count to track, no cancellation window to remember. You stop using the software by deleting it.
You can extend it
If your operation needs an export format that does not exist yet, or an integration with a system the project has not built, you can write it yourself or pay someone to write it. Nothing in the licence stops you.
You are not the last user
If you go out of business tomorrow, the application keeps running for everyone else who installed it. If we go quiet tomorrow, the application keeps running for you. Open-source projects do not die in the same way that single-vendor products do.
About the licence
Wintertrace uses GNU AGPLv3 — the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3. The "Affero" part is the only piece that distinguishes it from the more common GPLv3: it closes the loophole where a vendor could take an open-source codebase, modify it, and run the modified version as a paid online service without sharing the changes back.
For an operator running Wintertrace on their own hosting for their own business, AGPLv3 imposes no day-to-day obligations. The licence becomes relevant if you start modifying the source and offering the result to others over a network — then your modifications must be available under the same licence.
Questions about open source
Is Wintertrace really free?
The software itself is free of charge and free of restrictions, in the GNU sense. There is no per-vehicle pricing, no seat licence, and no paid tier of the core application. Hosting and any optional paid services are separate.
What does GNU AGPLv3 actually require of me?
For most operators: nothing beyond running the software. The licence kicks in if you modify the source code and run the modified version as a network service — then you must make those modifications available to your users under the same licence. Simply using Wintertrace as it ships imposes no obligation on the operator beyond standard practice.
Can I use Wintertrace for paid commercial winter service?
Yes. The licence permits any use, including paid commercial work. There is no separate commercial licence to buy.
Is Wintertrace the only open-source winter service tool?
We are not aware of another mature open-source application that covers GPS, weather, photographs, and a structured service proof in one place. If one exists, we would genuinely like to know.
How active is the project?
Commit history, issues, and release notes are public on GitHub. Anyone evaluating the project can read those directly rather than relying on a claim on this page.
What happens if the maintainer disappears?
The licence guarantees that anyone who already has the code can keep using, modifying, and distributing it. A different team can take over development under the same terms. The application on your hosting keeps running regardless.
Can I look at the code without being a developer?
Yes. The repository is a website that anyone can browse. You will not understand every detail without some PHP knowledge, but the file structure, the licence, the release notes, and the issue list are readable by anyone.
Do you accept contributions?
Pull requests are welcome. Larger changes are best discussed in an issue first to make sure the direction aligns with the rest of the project.
Read the source. Then decide.
Open source only matters if you can actually inspect what you are running. The repository, the commit history, the issues, and the licence are all one click away.
Free under GNU AGPLv3. Self-hosted on your own infrastructure.
Try Wintertrace.
Upload one small file to your web hosting, open it in your browser, and the installer puts the latest signed Wintertrace core on your webspace. About ten minutes — no FTP client needed.