Licensing

At Sourcemeta, we are committed to continuously produce world-class open-source software that challenges the status quo. Realistically, that is not possible without funding.

Our approach to licensing is for our software to be free for open-source, non-profit, research, or personal use. However, to ensure the sustainability of our projects, exploiting our core technology advancements to power for-profit proprietary products requires giving back.

That’s why the software we produce is typically published under the AGPL-3.0 copy-left license. This is an OSI-approved modern variant of the original GPL license introduced by Richard Stallman as part of the Free Software movement. You already know and use many projects released under this family of licenses, such as the Linux Kernel, the GCC Compiler, Bash, the VLC Media Player, and the popular MinIO S3-compatible object store.

Complying with the AGPL

The most prominent condition of our AGPL projects is that you cannot create derivatives that are not AGPL as well. However, this condition applies differently depending on whether you are consuming a library or an application in binary form (i.e. a CLI or a micro-service). In a nutshell:

  • Integrating with a Sourcemeta AGPL library: Any program that links to an AGPL library (including as bindings to other programming languages) constitutes a derivative work of such library and MUST be released under the AGPL license, even if no modifications were made

  • Integrating with a Sourcemeta AGPL application: You are free to integrate and distribute an AGPL application in binary form into a larger proprietary or open-source application WITHOUT releasing your application under the AGPL. You are also allowed to make your own modifications to the AGPL application, given you release those modifications (and only those modifications) under the AGPL too

Commercial Use

If you need to be able to bypass the aforementioned limitations, we can issue perpetual and/or subscription-based commercial licenses that removes all copy-left restrictions. Think of it as an enforced donation that keeps our projects healthy while giving you additional perks like premium support.

Qualifying for free licenses: Additionally, we typically issue free commercial licenses to research goverment organisations, non-profit organisations, organisations dedicated to global sustainability, notable external contributors to our projects, and organisations that hire Sourcemeta on general consultancy or custom development deals.

To discuss more, don’t hesitate in reaching out to hello@sourcemeta.com. If you are a potential contributor, also take a look at our Contribution Agreement.