What Is the Licensing for OBLITERATUS? Dual AGPL‑3.0 and Commercial Explained
OBLITERATUS is distributed under a dual‑licensing model that combines the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL‑3.0) for open‑source use with a commercial license option for proprietary deployments.
The elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS repository employs a dual‑licensing strategy designed to balance community contributions with commercial flexibility. This licensing framework ensures that open‑source users retain full rights under copyleft terms while offering organizations a path to private deployment without AGPL obligations. Understanding these terms is essential before integrating the codebase into SaaS products or distributed applications.
The Dual-Licensing Model Explained
OBLITERATUS offers two distinct licensing paths depending on your use case and compliance requirements.
Open-Source License: AGPL‑3.0
The primary open‑source license for OBLITERATUS is the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL‑3.0). This copyleft license grants users the right to use, modify, and redistribute the source code, but with a critical requirement: any derivative work, including network‑deployed SaaS applications, must also be released under AGPL‑3.0. The full legal text resides in the repository’s LICENSE file at the root level, which explicitly states the dual‑licensing availability and AGPL terms.
According to the pyproject.toml metadata file, the project declares its license as AGPL-3.0-or-later, confirming the specific version and allowing for future compatibility. This declaration appears in the package metadata as:
[project]
license = "AGPL-3.0-or-later"
Commercial License for Proprietary Use
For organizations unable to comply with AGPL‑3.0 obligations—such as those requiring closed‑source SaaS deployments or embedded proprietary products—OBLITERATUS provides a commercial license. This alternative removes the copyleft requirements, permitting private modification and redistribution without source code disclosure.
To inquire about commercial licensing terms, pricing, and custom agreements, organizations must contact the maintainers through the repository’s GitHub Issues page. This process is documented in the README.md file under the "License" section, which serves as the main entry point for licensing inquiries.
Locating Licensing Documentation in the Source
The OBLITERATUS repository stores licensing information across three critical files to ensure transparency and legal clarity:
LICENSE– Contains the complete AGPL‑3.0 license text and the dual‑licensing notice. This file establishes the legal foundation for both open‑source and commercial usage rights.README.md(License section) – Provides a human‑readable summary of the dual‑licensing model, including contact instructions for commercial inquiries and links to the full legal text.pyproject.toml– Declares the project metadata includinglicense = "AGPL-3.0-or-later", which package managers and automated tools use to identify compliance requirements during installation.
Verifying the OBLITERATUS License Programmatically
Developers can programmatically confirm the licensing status of installed OBLITERATUS packages using Python’s importlib.metadata module. This approach validates compliance before deployment in automated pipelines or dependency checks.
import importlib.metadata
# Retrieve metadata for the installed obliteratus package
metadata = importlib.metadata.metadata("obliteratus")
license_field = metadata["License"]
print(f"Detected license: {license_field}") # Output: AGPL-3.0
# Example validation function for deployment checks
def ensure_agpl_allowed():
"""Verify AGPL compliance or raise error for commercial requirement."""
if not has_agpl_compliance(): # Your internal compliance check
raise RuntimeError(
"Commercial use requires a purchased license. "
"Contact maintainers via GitHub Issues to obtain terms."
)
This verification method reads the metadata declared in pyproject.toml, ensuring that automated systems detect the AGPL‑3.0 classification before integration into production environments.
Summary
- OBLITERATUS uses dual‑licensing: AGPL‑3.0 for open‑source use and a commercial license for proprietary applications.
- The
LICENSEfile contains the full AGPL‑3.0 text, whilepyproject.tomldeclaresAGPL-3.0-or-laterin its metadata fields. - AGPL‑3.0 obligations require sharing source code for all network‑deployed derivatives, including SaaS implementations.
- Commercial licensing requires direct contact with maintainers via GitHub Issues to negotiate terms and remove copyleft requirements.
- Programmatic verification is available through
importlib.metadatato confirm license compliance during automated deployments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use OBLITERATUS in a closed‑source SaaS product without releasing my code?
No, not under the default AGPL‑3.0 license. The AGPL‑3.0 requires that any software accessed over a network (including SaaS) must provide its source code to users under the same license terms. To use OBLITERATUS in a closed‑source SaaS product, you must purchase a commercial license by contacting the maintainers through the GitHub Issues page.
Where is the official license text stored in the repository?
The official AGPL‑3.0 license text is stored in the LICENSE file at the repository root (elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS/blob/main/LICENSE). Additionally, the README.md file contains a "License" section summarizing the dual‑licensing terms and commercial contact procedures.
How does the pyproject.toml file declare the OBLITERATUS license?
The pyproject.toml file declares the license in the [project] table using the field license = "AGPL-3.0-or-later". This metadata allows package managers like pip and automated compliance tools to identify the AGPL‑3.0 classification when the package is installed.
What happens if I violate the AGPL‑3.0 license terms?
Violating the AGPL‑3.0 terms terminates your rights to use, modify, and distribute the software. To regain legal usage rights, you must either come into compliance by releasing your derivative work under AGPL‑3.0 or obtain a commercial license from the maintainers to cover your specific use case.
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