On the other hand, Dreamacro, the author of Clash itself, wanted to play safe due to an increased risk of being detained in mainland China.
even without the context of being in China or Iran, Clash is still an awesome piece of software that can be used everywhere, with proper understanding of computer networking.
i ain't sure if both Dreamacro and Fndroid are physically safe now, but i'm sure they are both physically in mainland China.
here's one thread on github of this entire event: https://github.com/net4people/bbs/issues/303
Which would suggest it's not anodin.
Could potentially be that the author got burnt out after all.
https://github.com/MetaCubeX/Clash.Meta https://github.com/zzzgydi/clash-verge
Did the author force-push to delete the documentation too?
They won't face any jailtime (this is for sure), but they might get controlled (e.g. more surveillance, limited internet, cannot buy new devices, rigorous checking of their bank account, etc.).
fyi, github has been blocked in China since 2020 (at least partially blocked).