Good point thank you Raiden!! :-) Tiago that would be more than perfect if there were no binary blobs in apache/nuttx-hal-espressif, even for radios. Would it be possible to open-source them too? :-)
-- CeDeROM, SQ7MHZ, http://www.tomek.cedro.info On Thu, Oct 8, 2026, 10:21 raiden00pl <[email protected]> wrote: > The binary blobs in the ESP HAL require more consideration. > Can even ASF repositories host binaries without source code? > Does Espressif have full rights to contribute these binaries to the Apache > Foundation? > Just because the code and binaries are licensed under Apache-2.0 doesn't > mean > it is compatible with the ASF. The main question is whether the Wi-Fi/BLE > drivers > are created entirely by Espressif, or use some third-party licensed code. > > czw., 8 paź 2026 o 09:23 raiden00pl <[email protected]> napisał(a): > > > The ESP HAL includes binary blobs for BLE and Wi-Fi. What happens with > > them? > > If Espressif transfers rights to Apache, does that mean Apache becomes > the > > owner > > of the binary blobs? Does this imply I can reverse-engineer these binary > > blobs > > without getting sued? Could I then incorporate the deconstructed code > into > > the HAL to eliminate the need for the binary blobs? Espressif surely has > > agreements > > in place with IP core providers for the radios - won't that cause any > > issues? > > > > czw., 8 paź 2026 o 07:33 Alin Jerpelea <[email protected]> napisał(a): > > > >> Hi all, > >> > >> sorry for my late reply due to travel > >> > >> I think that we should handle the HALS case by case > >> for Espressif I am happy to hear about this decision and I can only hope > >> that they will continue expanding and improving the open source > initiative > >> > >> I propose that we open a discuss thread for each hal including a link to > >> the curent location so that we can discuss howto handle it > >> > >> in my opinion having hals under ASF and habing HALS on a separate place > as > >> suggested by Alan can only bring more posibility for collaboration > >> > >> @Alan C. de Assis <[email protected]> I think that we should discuss > >> about > >> inviting commiters to PMC (that discussion should be handled on a > separate > >> thread on a different channel) > >> > >> Best regards > >> Alin > >> > >> On Thu, 8 Oct 2026, 04:09 Binh Nguyen, <[email protected]> > >> wrote: > >> > >> > Hi all, > >> > > >> > I'd like to share my perspective on this topic. > >> > > >> > First, I'd like to clarify that I have no objection to Espressif's > >> > decision. If Espressif is comfortable donating ownership of their HAL > >> and > >> > moving it under ASF infrastructure, I fully respect that choice. > >> > > >> > Open-source communities are usually built around collaboration, > >> > governance, and shared maintenance, not around forcing contributors to > >> > transfer ownership of their code. > >> > > >> > If donating ownership becomes the expected model, we may solve the > >> > Espressif case but unintentionally make it harder for other vendors to > >> > participate in the future. I believe we should optimize for attracting > >> > contributors, not increasing contribution barriers. > >> > > >> > Thanks, > >> > Binh > >> > > >> > > >> > > >
