OccupySaaS uses AI to clone common services in open-source revolt

OccupySaaS is a new user-led revolt against the software system, using AI tools to create clean-room, open-source reimplementations of common services. It currently targets replacements for Auth0 and Salesforce, named ZeroAuthy and SalesCompel, amid wider interest in AI-powered software cloning and user frustration with subscriptions.

How the reimplementations are built

The project aims to make new software act as an API-compatible drop-in replacement where applicable. Because these services run on their companies' servers, there are no binaries to examine or decompile, so the work references available documentation, APIs, development kit behaviors, and any applicable open standards.

Its ethics rules require a fully clean-room reimplementation. There must be no decompiled code, no confidential information including source code taken from previous employers, and no copying of UI assets or other trademarks.

Technical choices and compatibility challenges

The language of choice is Go, selected over Rust because it allows compiling and linking all dependencies into one binary that does not need an installer and can be copied to a target system and executed. OccupySaaS says that characteristic makes it ideal for packaging into a Docker container or other forms of self-hosting.

Creating this kind of software is both easier and harder than usual. The inputs and outputs are largely defined by specifications, but hosted software is effectively a black box with internal behaviors and gotchas that are not immediately obvious. Any drop-in replacement must reproduce existing API bugs to be fully compatible, with Jira given as an example.

Broader plans and licensing

Besides Auth0 and Salesforce, OccupySaaS intends to find replacements for services offering document and wiki management, issue tracking, software feature flagging, software and server observability, and customer support. The report names likely candidates as Confluence, Jira, LaunchDarkly, Datadog, and Zendesk.

Some may argue that renting a SaaS means any problem with code or infrastructure is someone else's responsibility, and that running your own instance is backwards. Because the software is Apache 2.0 licensed, nothing stops anyone from providing a service for it, with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, GitLab, and WordPress given as examples.

Project background

The project appears to be the brainchild of Thomas Meadows, a software engineer with two decades of experience. His personal homepage says his strong suit is project management, which the article calls a good skill for directing AI agents toward a goal. The website reads like a manifesto, saying per-seat licensing taxes growth and that the same people who created the software are now being fired, ending with the line "the software built by the 99% belongs to the 99%."

Sources: Tom's Hardware