zitadel/LICENSING.md

# Licensing Policy

This repository is licensed under the [GNU Affero General Public License v3.0](LICENSE) (AGPL-3.0-only). We use the [SPDX License List](https://spdx.org/licenses/) for standard license naming.

## AGPL-3.0-only Compliance

ZITADEL is open-source software intended for community use. Determining your application's compliance with the AGPL-3.0-only license is your responsibility.

**We strongly recommend consulting with legal counsel or licensing specialists to ensure your usage of ZITADEL, and any other integrated open-source projects, adheres to their respective licenses. AGPL-3.0-only compliance can be complex.**

If your application triggers AGPL-3.0-only obligations and you wish to avoid them (e.g., you do not plan to open-source your modifications or application), please [contact us](https://zitadel.com/contact) to discuss commercial licensing options. Using ZITADEL without verifying your license compliance is at your own risk.

## Exceptions to AGPL-3.0-only

The following files and directories, including their subdirectories, are licensed under the [Apache License 2.0](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0):

```
proto/
```


The following files and directories, including their subdirectories, are licensed under the [MIT License](https://opensource.org/license/mit/):

```
login/
clients/
```

## Community Contributions

To maintain a clear licensing structure and facilitate community contributions, all contributions must be licensed under the [Apache License 2.0](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0) to be accepted. By submitting a contribution, you agree to this licensing.

This approach avoids the need for a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) while ensuring clarity regarding license terms. We will only accept contributions licensed under Apache 2.0.