Licensing#

SYMFLUENCE is free and open-source software released under the GNU General Public License, version 3 or later (GPL-3.0-or-later). This page explains what that means for typical users and describes the commercial / dual-licensing options administered by the SYMFLUENCE Foundation.

Note

This page is a plain-language summary for users. The authoritative instruments are the LICENSE file (full GPL-3.0-or-later text) and the Licensing Policy (LICENSING.md). If anything here conflicts with those documents, those documents control.

Open-source use#

Under GPL-3.0-or-later you may, at no charge:

  • Run SYMFLUENCE for any purpose, including commercial purposes.

  • Study and modify the source code.

  • Redistribute SYMFLUENCE and your modifications.

  • Build derivative works.

In exchange, if you distribute SYMFLUENCE or a derivative work, you must do so under GPL-3.0-or-later, provide source code to recipients, and preserve the license notices.

If you run SYMFLUENCE internally within your organization — for research, modeling, or operational purposes, without redistribution — GPL-3.0-or-later imposes no additional obligations on you.

Dual licensing#

SYMFLUENCE operates under a dual-licensing model:

  1. Open-source license (GPL-3.0-or-later) — available to everyone, under the terms above.

  2. Additional licenses administered by the SYMFLUENCE Foundation — available by agreement, for uses that are not compatible with GPL-3.0-or-later obligations.

The dual-licensing structure does not reduce the rights available under GPL-3.0-or-later — those rights remain available to everyone. There is no “community edition vs. enterprise edition”: the GPL-3.0-or-later distribution is the canonical project, and any Foundation-administered license is simply a re-licensing of that same code under different terms (e.g. proprietary distribution, indemnification, or support obligations).

When you may need a commercial license#

Organizations typically need an additional (commercial) license when they:

  • Embed SYMFLUENCE into a proprietary product.

  • Operate it as part of a commercial service with licensing or redistribution constraints.

  • Need indemnification or support terms that an open-source license cannot provide.

Derivative platforms and commercial wrappers#

If you are building a platform, service, or product that incorporates SYMFLUENCE — a cloud-hosted service, a bundled commercial product, a managed deployment, or a proprietary orchestration/interface layer — two things are true:

  • The GPL-3.0-or-later license already governs the SYMFLUENCE components you use; obtain independent legal advice about how its obligations apply to your architecture.

  • The Foundation strongly encourages engagement during scoping, not after development. Licensing questions are far cheaper to resolve early.

If your project is in the planning, proposal, or early-development stage, contact the Foundation at licensing@symfluence.org with a brief description of the platform, the role SYMFLUENCE plays, your expected distribution model, and your timeline. The Foundation typically responds within two weeks.

Attribution#

Beyond the notices GPL-3.0-or-later requires, the Foundation asks that platforms, publications, and institutional reports that rely on SYMFLUENCE:

  • Name SYMFLUENCE explicitly in technical documentation and published system descriptions.

  • Cite the companion papers (Eythorsson et al., 2026a, 2026b, 2026c) in peer-reviewed research and technical reports.

  • Link to the canonical repository (symfluence-org/SYMFLUENCE) in online documentation.

Contact#

For the full policy — including the CLA basis for dual licensing and the role of the SYMFLUENCE Foundation — see the Licensing Policy.