AWS Agent Toolkit Licensing: Apache 2.0 Terms and Compliance Guide

The AWS Agent Toolkit for AWS is released under the Apache License 2.0, granting users a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free right to use, modify, and distribute the software provided attribution and license terms are preserved.

The aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws repository on GitHub provides a comprehensive toolkit for building AWS agents, and understanding its licensing terms is essential for both individual developers and enterprise users. All source code in this repository falls under the Apache 2.0 license, which balances permissive usage with clear legal protections for both contributors and users.

Apache License 2.0 Overview

The AWS Agent Toolkit adopts the Apache License 2.0, an open-source license approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). This license grants you broad freedoms to use the software for any purpose—commercial or non-commercial—without paying royalties or seeking additional permissions.

According to the source repository, the Apache 2.0 license specifically provides:

• Perpetual rights that never expire
• Worldwide applicability across jurisdictions
• Non-exclusive access shared with all other users
• Royalty-free usage without payment requirements

The license permits you to reproduce, modify, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute the AWS Agent Toolkit code.

Repository Licensing Files

You can verify the licensing information through three key locations in the repository:

The LICENSE File

The full text of the Apache License 2.0 resides in the root LICENSE file (LICENSE). This file contains the complete legal text, including the Permissions and Conditions sections (lines 67-99), which outline your specific rights and obligations.

README.md License Section

The project documentation explicitly acknowledges the license in the README. At lines 70-73 of [README.md](https://github.com/aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws/blob/main/README.md#L70-L73), the repository states: "This project is licensed under the Apache-2.0 License. See LICENSE for details." This provides clear discoverability for users browsing the repository documentation.

NOTICE File

If present in the repository, the NOTICE file (NOTICE) contains additional attribution information required by the Apache 2.0 license. While not all distributions require this file, maintaining it preserves important copyright and attribution notices when redistributing the software.

License Compliance Requirements

Using the AWS Agent Toolkit requires adherence to three core obligations under Apache 2.0:

1. Include the license text in any redistribution of the software, whether modified or unmodified.

2. Preserve existing notices by maintaining all copyright, patent, trademark, and attribution notices found in the original LICENSE and NOTICE files.

3. State modifications clearly when you change original files, documenting what alterations you made to the codebase.

Failure to meet these conditions terminates your rights under the license, though the license automatically reinstates if you correct the omission within 30 days of discovery.

Adding License Headers to Generated Code

When incorporating AWS Agent Toolkit code into your projects or generating derivative files, include the standard Apache 2.0 header to maintain compliance:

# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0

#

# Copyright (c) 2024 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

#

# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");

# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.

# You may obtain a copy of the License at

#

#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

This header uses the SPDX short identifier format recognized by industry tools and legal departments, ensuring automated license scanning tools can correctly identify your code's compliance status.

Summary

• The AWS Agent Toolkit uses the Apache License 2.0, a permissive open-source license allowing commercial and private use.
• The full license text resides in the repository's root LICENSE file, with references in README.md lines 70-73.
• Compliance requires preserving copyright notices, including the license text in distributions, and documenting any modifications.
• The NOTICE file, when present, contains additional attribution requirements that must accompany redistributions.
• Use the SPDX Apache-2.0 identifier and standard license headers when incorporating the toolkit into your projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the AWS Agent Toolkit free for commercial use?

Yes. The Apache License 2.0 explicitly permits commercial use, including incorporating the toolkit into proprietary products and services. You can sell, modify, or distribute the software commercially without paying royalties to Amazon or the original authors, provided you meet the attribution and license preservation requirements.

What are the attribution requirements when modifying AWS Agent Toolkit code?

You must preserve all existing copyright, patent, trademark, and attribution notices found in the LICENSE and NOTICE files. Additionally, you must clearly state any modifications you make to the original files—typically done by adding comments or maintaining a changelog. This ensures downstream users understand what changes you introduced versus the original codebase.

Where is the full license text located in the repository?

The complete Apache License 2.0 text is stored in the LICENSE file at the root of the aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws repository. You can view it directly at the LICENSE file link. The README.md file at lines 70-73 also references this location for quick navigation.

Do I need to include a NOTICE file when redistributing the AWS Agent Toolkit?

If the original repository contains a NOTICE file, you must include a copy of that file with any redistribution of the software, including derivative works. According to the Apache 2.0 license terms found in the LICENSE file, this preserves the original attribution statements and any special notices regarding the intellectual property rights of contributors.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}