Hey developers!

I'm an indie developer building CodeGuard AI , a self-hosted AI-powered GitHub pull-request review tool built using Java 21 and Spring Boot.

Unlike SaaS products, CodeGuard AI is distributed as source code. Buyers download it and deploy it in their own infrastructure.

I've listed it for sale, but I'm still at zero sales .

I'm now trying to figure out the best way to get my first few real users.

One idea I had was to offer free evaluation licences to the first few engineering teams in exchange for honest feedback. But that brings me to a concern that I haven't figured out yet.

The source-code licensing problem

If I give someone the complete source code for a free evaluation, they can:

Clone and retain the entire repository.

Continue using it after the evaluation period.

Potentially redistribute or resell the code.

Even if I revoke their repository access, I cannot revoke a copy they've already downloaded.

I know piracy is a risk with downloadable software, but I don't want fear of…