Aaron Dewes interview: Citadel vs Umbrel?

Interview with Aaron Dewes: Umbrel vs Citadel?

The original Aaron Dewes article is translated from German and was first published 28.09.2021 “Is Citadel  the better Umbrel?”

In recent weeks and months, critics have repeatedly targeted the popular node software “Umbrel” due to its lack of distribution under an Open Source/Free Software License, which is customary for Bitcoin software. Instead, the product is partly sold with commercial intentions, leading to concerns and criticism.

Aaron Dewes, a former freelance employee at Umbrel, has now split off from the project for this and several other reasons and is now developing his own solution based on Umbrel called “Citadel“. The goal is to offer a free and better alternative to Umbrel.

Currently, the two software solutions are almost completely identical. But is Citadel really the better Umbrel? Blocktrainer.de spoke with Aaron Dewes about the project, his motivations, and future plans.

“Hello Aaron, what were your exact reasons for starting your own (community) project based on Umbrel?“

There are basically two reasons. On the one hand, there were very strict behavioral guidelines that employees had to adhere to when working as part of Umbrel. Expressions of opinion by contributors were always tried to be controlled and sometimes even censored. I don’t think it’s right to prescribe such strict guidelines to someone who, like me, has worked on a voluntary and unpaid basis and wants to ban their own opinion.

On the other hand, Umbrel is a commercial product and the team sells licenses for their software. This means that Umbrel is not really open source or free software. However, allowing commercial use has several advantages, including leading to more users, thereby leading to more developers and donations for the developers, which in turn leads to more features and thus new users. But Citadel is not yet 100% free software, as it is a fork of Umbrel. But I am already in the process of integrating all changes that do not come from Umbrel, Inc. into a new, free version, which is also allowed according to the Umbrel license.

“So is the project currently still a one-man show? Or are there already other people working with you on Citadel?“

Currently, I am still working on the code alone. Erik, a designer who has also already worked on “Ride the Lightning”, takes care of the design. But I already have interested parties who would also like to work on the code, or a planned Citadel app. One of them is, for example, the Twitter user @bitcoininvenice.

“What are the differences between Citadel and Umbrel?“

Well, in general, unlike Umbrel, there is no company behind Citadel. It is a community project and is exclusively financed by donations.

“Are there restrictions or additional functionalities compared to Umbrel?“

In terms of current functionality, Citadel can already offer a dark mode and, unlike Umbrel, also shows the block size on the dashboard. You also have the option to hide the wallet, for example for screenshots.

As far as the software and the apps in general are concerned, Citadel is more up-to-date than Umbrel. All apps are more up-to-date, it uses Bitcoin Core 22.0 and internally uses LND 0.13.1 functions, instead of using workarounds for 0.11.0 to get version 0.13.1 running, so the code is also easier to understand.

We have also generally reduced the file size, so our code has been reduced to 33.3% of the original size compared to Umbrel. Citadel has strictly removed support for 32-bit systems. Umbrel no longer supports it in part, but there is still a lot of code for it. However, almost nobody uses Umbrel on a 32-bit system, those who do could in most cases simply upgrade to 64bit.

“And of course there are also differences in the license, as you already mentioned at the beginning. What do these look like exactly?“

We want to publish the project under the GNU Affero General Public License. But apart from the fact that Citadel should really be “free and open software”, there is another point I would like to address regarding licenses. Instead of just forking code, Citadel, unlike Umbrel, also contributes to projects that we offer in our app store and works with the developers. For example, I have already made major contributions to the BlueWallet server, as I also ported this app to Umbrel at the time. Furthermore, we want to check the licenses instead of just adopting the code. Umbrel has taken over two files from Samourai and Mempool.space and violated the license conditions. We definitely want to avoid this.

“What does the future development look like? What do you have planned for the coming weeks and months?“

Firstly, we plan to establish a separate backup server for the channels.backup files, ensuring complete independence from Umbrel. Subsequently, we will replace the Umbrel code with new developments, allowing the code to be republished under the GNU AGPL. Some parts, such as the manager or the middleware, are already accessible under this license. Additionally, we have plans for an Android app, although it may require some time for completion. Furthermore, we will be introducing a few smaller new apps and functions in the upcoming weeks.

“So there will also be different app stores at Umbrel and Citadel?“

Citadel is still a fork of Umbrel and I will install all new apps. Furthermore, I am allowed to install all apps in the open source version that do not come from Umbrel itself. Basically, the goal is to have all apps and functions from Umbrel and even more.

“Thank you for the information Aaron. Please tell our readers where and how they can donate to support the project and your work?“

Currently, I process donations through my Zebedee account (https://zbd.gg/aarondewes). Even though my name is linked to the account, we ensure that we distribute all contributions among the developers and contributors involved in the project.

“Thank you for the informative conversation and continued success with the project, Aaron!“

In conclusion, Citadel presents a promising alternative to Umbrel, offering a community-driven, donation-funded project that aims to be more open and free. With its additional functionalities and commitment to contributing back to the open-source community, Citadel is certainly worth a look.

If you’re intrigued by the possibilities that Citadel offers, why not try running it yourself? The steps outlined above provide a straightforward guide to making the switch from Umbrel to Citadel. Remember, the project is in its early stages and your feedback could be invaluable in shaping its future development.

By trying Citadel, you’re not only exploring a new software solution but also joining a community that values open-source principles and the spirit of collaboration. So why wait? Visit ‘citadel.local‘ and start your journey with Citadel today.

As always, we recommend doing your own research and ensuring that any software you run aligns with your needs and values. And if you find value in Citadel and want to support its development, consider making a donation. Every contribution, no matter how small, helps to keep the project moving forward.

You can download the Citadel software from the official website, RunCitadel.Space. There are two versions available: the default version of Citadel, Alpha v0.2.3, which is currently the version with the most features and also features an app store with a variety of apps. You can download it here. The second version is the technical preview, Nirvati edition, which is the next generation of Citadel. It is 100% open source, most parts rebuilt from scratch, and a lot more features in the core. You can download it here.

If you wish to support the project, you can make a donation here.

Aaron Dewes GitHub & Twitter

Thank you for reading, and happy exploring!

Source: https://www.blocktrainer.de/interview-citadel-umbrel/