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Jannis Braun f481e1fe9e license: relicense to AGPL-3.0-only with commercial dual-license

- LICENSE -> verbatim GNU AGPL-3.0; add LICENSE-COMMERCIAL.md + SECURITY.md
- CLA -> exclusive-license grant (contributors keep copyright); add README
  anti-rugpull covenant + relicense record
- NOTICE / README / CONTRIBUTING / CLAUDE.md / package.json x5 updated;
  contact routed through GitHub (no email placeholders)
- AGPL section 13 source offer: operator-configurable BACKSPACE_SOURCE_URL +
  build-injected commit; sourceCodeUrl+commit on /api/instance/info;
  SourceCodeLink on login/register/settings/desktop; docs + .env.example updated

2026-07-01 16:38:22 +02:00

2.6 KiB

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Backspace — Commercial License

Backspace is dual-licensed:

Open source — the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0-only), in the LICENSE file. Free for everyone.
Commercial — described here, for uses the AGPL does not permit.

When you need a commercial license

The AGPL-3.0 is a strong copyleft license. You likely need a commercial license if you want to:

embed or distribute Backspace (in whole or in part) inside a closed-source or proprietary application;
offer Backspace to third parties as a hosted or managed service without releasing the complete corresponding source of your modified version to your users (which AGPL § 13 would otherwise require);
use Backspace in an organization that prohibits AGPL software; or
obtain warranty, indemnity, or support terms that the AGPL disclaims.

If you self-host Backspace and are willing to comply with the AGPL — including publishing the source of any modifications you run as a network service — you do not need a commercial license. The open-source license already covers you.

What the commercial license grants

Relief from the AGPL's copyleft obligations for your specific use, under negotiated terms (scope, duration, support, and price depend on your use case). The maintainer can grant this because the licensing rights in the codebase are consolidated via the Contributor License Agreement.

Third-party components

A commercial license covers only Backspace's own code. Bundled third-party components (see NOTICE) — including libvips (LGPL-3.0-or-later, via sharp) and the npm dependency tree — remain under their own licenses, and their obligations pass through to you. The maintainer cannot and does not license away third-party rights he does not own.

How to obtain one

Commercial licensing is available on request. A dedicated licensing contact will be added as the project grows; until then, reach the maintainer via GitHub — open a discussion or issue on the repository, or contact @TheZwiss — with a short description of your intended use. Terms are agreed in a separate, signed commercial agreement.

This document is provided for information only, without warranty. It is not an offer that forms a contract, and it does not modify the AGPL. The binding terms of any commercial license are set out solely in a separate signed agreement.