Open Source at the core of Scalar

Why we chose to open source Scalar, how we think about sustainability, and how you can get involved.

Our Open Source Philosophy

From day one, we knew Scalar would be an open source project. This wasn’t just a marketing decision or a philosophical stance—it was fundamental to our vision for what a modern content management system should be.

We believe that content infrastructure is too important to be locked behind proprietary walls. Organizations need to own their content model, understand how their data is structured, and have the freedom to evolve their tech stack without vendor lock-in.

This post explains our approach to open source, how we balance community and commercial interests, and how you can contribute to Scalar’s future.

Why We Chose Open Source

Our decision to make Scalar open source was driven by several key factors:

1. Developer Trust

Developers rightfully hesitate to build on black boxes. Open source creates trust through transparency—you can see exactly what you’re building on, how it works, and even modify it if needed.

2. Community Innovation

No single company can match the creativity and diverse use cases of a vibrant community. Some of Scalar’s most valuable features came from community contributions addressing real-world problems we hadn’t encountered.

3. Long-term Viability

Open source provides an “insurance policy” for users. Even if our company changed direction, the core technology would remain available to the community. This stability is crucial for organizations building mission-critical systems.

4. Educational Value

Open source code serves as a living educational resource. Many developers have told us they learned about content modeling, TypeScript, or API design by exploring Scalar’s codebase.

Our Open Source Model

Scalar follows a “open core” model, with different components under different licenses:

MIT Licensed Components

The core Scalar engine, including:

Content type definition system
Schema validation
API generation framework
Command line interface
Core plugins

Commercial Components

Some enterprise-focused features remain proprietary:

Team collaboration tools
Enterprise authentication integrations
Enhanced security features
White-label customization

This model allows us to balance openness with building a sustainable business that can continue investing in Scalar’s development.

Governance Structure

Transparency extends to our governance process as well:

RFC Process

Significant changes to Scalar begin as Request for Comments (RFC) documents, which are:

Published publicly for community review
Open for comments for at least two weeks
Reviewed by core maintainers
Either accepted, rejected, or sent back for revision

This process ensures major decisions benefit from community input while maintaining a clear direction.

Maintainer Team

Our maintainer team includes both Scalar employees and community contributors. Maintainers have authority to:

Review and merge pull requests
Participate in RFC discussions
Handle issue triage
Guide community discussions

We’re actively working to increase the diversity of our maintainer team, both in terms of backgrounds and organizations represented.

Building a Sustainable Project

Open source needs sustainable funding to thrive long-term. Our approach includes:

Cloud Services

Scalar Cloud provides hosted, managed Scalar instances with additional features. Revenue from this service directly funds open source development.

Enterprise Support

Organizations that need guaranteed support, custom features, or compliance assistance can purchase enterprise support packages.

Development Partnerships

For organizations with specific needs, we offer development partnerships where we build features they need, which then become available to the broader community.

Transparent Allocation

We commit to reinvesting at least 30% of our revenue into open source development, community resources, and documentation.

Community Contributions

We’ve been humbled by the quality and quantity of community contributions to Scalar. Contributors have:

Fixed bugs and improved performance
Added support for new database backends
Created integrations with other tools
Translated documentation
Developed educational content

We express our gratitude not just with words, but through:

Highlighting contributors in our release notes
Featuring community projects in our showcase
Providing direct mentorship for regular contributors
Offering special perks like conference tickets and early feature access

How To Get Involved

If you’re interested in contributing to Scalar, there are many ways to get started:

For Developers

Browse our good first issues on GitHub
Join the #dev channel in our Discord
Try building a plugin using our extension API
Help improve test coverage

For Content Experts

Contribute to documentation
Create tutorials and blog posts
Answer questions in the community forum
Provide feedback on UX and workflows

For Organizations

Share case studies of how you’re using Scalar
Sponsor development of specific features
Contribute developer time to the project
Provide infrastructure or services

Success Stories

Several key contributions show the power of our community:

MongoDB Integration

A community member built first-class MongoDB support, which is now one of our most popular database options.

GraphQL Subscriptions

Real-time GraphQL subscriptions began as a community plugin before becoming a core feature.

Localization Framework

Our entire localization system was designed and implemented by a community contributor who needed multilingual content support.

The Road Ahead

Our open source vision continues to evolve. Upcoming initiatives include:

Establishing a more formal governance structure
Creating a contributor development program
Launching a grant program for ecosystem projects
Expanding our documentation in multiple languages

Conclusion

Open source isn’t just a licensing decision—it’s about building technology that respects users’ freedom and leverages collective intelligence. We’re grateful for every contribution, whether it’s code, documentation, bug reports, or simply spreading the word about Scalar.

If you’re using Scalar, consider getting involved in the community. And if you’re considering contributing, we’re here to help you get started. Together, we’re building not just a content management system, but an ecosystem that makes structured content more accessible to everyone.