Is OnlyOffice open-source?

Posted by ecthiender@reddit | linux | View on Reddit | 65 comments

After recently seeing a lot of posts about OnlyOffice being a modern office-suite and a lot of people recommending it, I decided to check it out. I have been using LibreOffice. Although, fair disclaimer, I'm not a heavy user of office-suite programs.

So I went to their website and was curious if it was open-source. It led me to this repo https://github.com/ONLYOFFICE/DesktopEditors . If you see the components section from the github readme -

ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors contain the following components:

desktop-apps - the frontend for ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors which is used to build the program interface for the operating system selected.
desktop-sdk - SDK which is a core part of ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors.
core - server core components for ONLYOFFICE Document Server which is a part of ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors and is used to enable the conversion between the most popular office document formats (DOC, DOCX, ODT, RTF, TXT, PDF, HTML, EPUB, XPS, DjVu, XLS, XLSX, ODS, CSV, PPT, PPTX, ODP).
sdkjs - JavaScript SDK for the ONLYOFFICE Document Server which is a part of ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors and contains API for all the included components client-side interaction.
web-apps - the frontend for ONLYOFFICE Document Server which is a part of ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors that allows the user to create, edit, save and export text, spreadsheet and presentation documents using the common interface of a document editor.
dictionaries - the dictionaries of various languages used for spellchecking in ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors.

Looks like this repo only contains the frontend and SDKs? The "core", IIUC, is for converting across formats. Where can I find the core source code, of the word processor or the spreadsheet program? Does anyone know? Am I missing something? Or are they closed-core model?

PS: I asked their support chat as well. They were very helpful, and eventually pointed me to this repo. And mentioned that the desktop editors are open-source. But when I asked further clarification about the missing "actual core" component. They said they are not able to provide further technical support regarding as it's not available in the free-tier. If I pay, then I can get technical support which will provide me answer to that question.

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APNX-22@reddit

Then don't use Linux. I can a assure you Russians have contributed money and code to its development.

OnlyOffice is opensource. You just don't like the company business practices behind it.

To be clear, I dont like the Russian government at all. But you're just conflating things.

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Proud_Confusion2047@reddit

actually a couple years ago, torvalds stopped allowing a couple russian developers from contributing to the kernel. nice try putin

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8-BitRedStone@reddit

And Torvalds is an asshole and in the wrong for doing so. The whole point of open software is that it is open. Not to mention that someone being in Russia literally gives you zero information on who they are, what they believe, etc. People are not meta-organisms, they are individuals.

Also the same logic to ban Russia should be applied to China if he was logically consistent, as they are also a fascist state that is oppressing a group of people (Uyghurs), constantly launching state-backed hacks, and threatens other countries with invasion

Should all non-American projects ban Americans for what Trump is doing?

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whaleboobs@reddit

And Torvalds is an asshole and in the wrong for doing so.

He's following the law. Torvalds is a US citizen, and the Linux Foundation operates under US law. russia is under broad sanctions, which means accepting contributions from russians can create legal liability. China isn't under blanket sanctions, which is why Chinese developers aren't automatically blocked. But it's also not true that China gets a free pass, there are restrictions on Huawei, ZTE, and several Chinese universities, and people affiliated with those groups cannot contribute code.

The whole point of open software is that it is open.

"open software" is not an actual defined term. If you mean free software, that has a clear philosophical definition (FSF's four freedoms). If you mean open source, that has the OSI definition, which is more business-friendly. But "open software" is vague, it's not part of any established framework and doesn't actually tell you what principles apply.

If we are talking about FOSS, then yes: ideally anyone should be able to participate. But real-world projects also have to follow the legal environment they operate in. Philosophy doesn't override the law.

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8-BitRedStone@reddit

"open software" is not an actual defined term.

literally just not true but alright https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software

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Public-Radio6221@reddit

You are delusional if you think a russian cloud service and a genuine open source world wide collaborative project are in any way comparable

removedI@reddit

Yes onlyoffice is open source but I dont reccomend it anymore for other reasons:

Its obfuscating its russian background:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/s/nE8ONqyyGO

I dont like using russian funded Software even auf its open source.

ParaboloidalCrest@reddit

So you prefer american, israeli or chinese options? Why is nationality of contributors even a factor in open-source software choice? Some emperors and czars are fighting for their own sake and you quite willingly are doing their dirty deeds on your computer? how foolish is that!

Russia routinely attacks my countries infrastructure, they can go to hell.

PublicTie2404@reddit

Lies.

RamBamTyfus@reddit

The question is, will Russia bring the battlefield to us. As both US and Europe are supporting Ukraine in a bloody war which Russia is not winning. There is a real risk of a cyberattack orchestrated by Russia. As such, there is also a potential risk of using Russian made software. It's native to assume that every Russian software developer has good intentions in this scenario.

Sorry, Russia is winning. Might have a look at battlefield developments

Negative_Round_8813@reddit

And you don't think the USA, China or Israel aren't already doing this? They're trying to get into everything everywhere, even with nations they're allies with.

lemontoga@reddit

So you prefer american, israeli or chinese options?

Yes.

BudgetAd1030@reddit

Fuck Russia

BigDenseHedge@reddit

Oh no, not Russian software! Now answer both of these questions: - Is it proprietary? - Is it used to spy on you? - Do you need to pay to use is? If the answer to all three of those questions is no, then why in God's name does it matter? By that logic, we should boycott all American software as well.

You may use it, I believe there are many better alternatives.

Just because it's Russian, that doesn't mean it's a malicious product, but their business practice of obfuscating that connection, directing money through questionable fake companies and beeing reliant on the Russian state buying your software are clear red flags.

Also: Fuck every open source project that doesn't stand with Ukraine... Russian or not.

get lost you nazi shit

Pleasant-Shallot-707@reddit

Yeah, that’s something I don’t like about it

leetnewb2@reddit

There was also the rug pull they did on NextCloud - https://help.nextcloud.com/t/onlyoffice-removed-web-mobile-editing-from-version-5-5-0-of-community-document-server/74360

chaosmetroid@reddit

Out of the loop.

May you elaborate why would that matter?

May I reccomend checking out the recent developements at Collabora?

They are bringing their Foss office suite to desktop:

https://www.collaboraonline.com/blog/press-release-bringing-collabora-online-to-the-desktop/

This might be a good alternative to only office for many.

jacobgkau@reddit

Collabora is LibreOffice with less features and more quirks. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome for usage with Nextcloud and the like, but if you're on desktop, why would you choose Collabora over LibreOffice?

woj-tek@reddit

It would be nice if LibreOffice adopted slightly more modern UI (akin to Colabora/OnlyOffice) without all the quirks of using "web" as the UI…

apresmodes@reddit

I think because to many LibreOffice looks and feels old. If you’re coming from a more contemporary Office suite and looking to change, going to LibreOffice feels like stepping back in time a step too far back.

The look and feel really do matter to a lot of people.

Pugs-r-cool@reddit

That being said, Collabora looks like a blatant clone of the 2016 Microsoft suite, and it also feels old and outdated to anyone familiar with the modern design of MS Word / Excel / Powerpoint.

Taking libreoffice and giving it a modern coat of paint is a good idea, but knocking off what Microsoft did a decade ago isn't.

Definitely agree.

SaxonyFarmer@reddit

'It's FOSS' did an article on Collabora a couple of days ago so I downloaded it (Flatpak format), installed it, and opened a spreadsheet I've had around for years and have kept updated in OnlyOffice (my preference). I found Collabora much slower than OnlyOffice and out of the box, the menus were barren. I deleted it shortly after installation deciding for my needs and uses, OpenOffice works well. Good luck!

NightZT@reddit

It's still LibreOffice at its core so compatibility with MS Office is sadly worse than OnlyOffice

MikeMonkEcho@reddit

Thank you for sharing this very fresh news! It's a very good one.

Ohhhh never heard of it. I'll check it out.

ComprehensiveSwitch@reddit

I could understand not using something from a Russian weapons contractor or something but it’s an open source project, feels very silly to mark it as tainted. I’m sure the company in question is not exactly jazzed about how difficult their business is right now.

itsmetadeus@reddit

Idea of open source is to bring people together beyond government politics.

githman@reddit

There was a similar story with KDE recently: some people found LGBT symbols in it. The answer was that you cannot escape Alan Turing anyway.

Same goes for Andrey Markov.

OnlyO is great! Good to hear it is open source, I kinda thought it was not.

UmbertoRobina374@reddit

Hmm? The repo you linked has a core submodule, which points to the core repo. Is that not what you're looking for?

ecthiender@reddit (OP)

The core repo (https://github.com/ONLYOFFICE/core) have this description - "Server core components which are a part of ONLYOFFICE Document Server and ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors. Enable the conversion between the most popular office document formats: DOC, DOCX, ODT, RTF, TXT, PDF, HTML, EPUB, XPS, DjVu, XLS, XLSX, ODS, CSV, PPT, PPTX, ODP."

It read to me that this enables conversion across formats. I've not dug through the source code in detail. But the top-level folder structure just looks like different formats?

Ah found it! I think it's this one https://github.com/ONLYOFFICE/core/tree/master/DesktopEditor

Let me dig deeper. Thanks for pushing me to look further than just cursory glance.

4thtimeacharm@reddit

No shit sherlock

Fezzicc@reddit

Helpful! Nice one, champ

eric5949_@reddit

U r a dick

Maerskian@reddit

Please, do report your findings (whatever those are). Thanks

jet_heller@reddit

On that github page I see:

License

Core is released under an GNU AGPL v3.0 license. See the LICENSE file for more information.

So, yes, it's totally open source.

Which makes me wonder two things.

1) Why are you asking this question when it is clearly written right there.

2) Why is this on r/linux.

CaptainObvious110@reddit

Lol good point.

levvii17@reddit

it is indeed open-source and is licensed under the AGPL V3. However, many users prefer LibreOffice for its broader adoption and community support. It's worth considering your specific needs when choosing an office suite.

bwv1006a@reddit

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SubstanceLess3169@reddit

LibreOffice is still better imho. It's the widely adopted office suite for MSOffice users coming from windows.

LibreOffice is garbage

Use Libreoffice and stop wasting your time

zeanox@reddit

using Libreoffice is a waste of time....

Shikadi297@reddit

Use Windows and stop wasting your time. Oh wait

wRAR_@reddit

This ia valid advice for many.

otto_delmar@reddit

I fucking hate LibreOffice. So, no.

bambo5@reddit

why

UX is not one of its million features.

Yeah, UX sucks but worse, compatibility issues. I need 100% fidelity for MS Word documents because of my work. LibreOffice doesn't have it. But why I really hate it is something else. What really pisses me off is how reflexively, most major Linux distros come with it installed by default. WTF?! If a user needs an office suite, they can bloody well decide for themselves and install it. Why should everybody else have to uninstall LibreOffice?

libre-office

done

What? You must be confusing me with someone who doesn't know how to do that.

Imagine applying your logic to a hundred other software packages that FOSS fan boys shove down the throats of their favorite distros' users.

Swizzel-Stixx@reddit

Windows bloat is quite different though, lots of it is constantly running and you can’t delete it.

Linux preinstalled programs are easily deletable and just sit there.

touch grass dude