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Licensing

Which licence covers which part of Docustay, what the AGPL-3.0 asks of you, which pieces are MIT, and when you need a commercial licence.

Docustay is a product of GLRS LLC. The licences are split on purpose: the server and app are under the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3 or later, and the pieces you put inside your own software are under the MIT licence. This page is general information, not legal advice; the licence texts in the repository are what apply.

Which licence covers what

Part Licence Where to find it
Server, worker, migrations, web app, public site AGPL-3.0-or-later LICENSE at the top of the repository
JavaScript SDK @docustay/sdk, Python SDK docustay MIT sdk/js/LICENSE, sdk/python/LICENSE
<docustay-sign> element and the React, Vue and Angular wrappers MIT sdk/embed, sdk/react, sdk/vue, sdk/angular
MCP server, Claude Code plugin, agent skills MIT sdk/mcp, sdk/claude-plugin
OpenAPI file MIT docustay/web/static/api/openapi.json

Every package carries its own LICENSE file, so a package you install is licensed on its own, wherever you install it from.

The line between the two

Calling the Docustay API over HTTP, or using the SDKs, does not make your application AGPL. Your code is not a derivative work of the server. Copying or modifying server code and letting other people use that code over a network does bring the AGPL-3.0 into play for that code: you offer those people the source of your version. Showing the Docustay signing page inside your site in a frame is using a service, not copying code. See embedding for how the frame is set up.

Which of three paths you are on

  1. Hosted by us. Nothing to license. You use the service under the Terms.
  2. Self-host under the AGPL-3.0. Community is free. A Pro licence key is $160 a year per install, for your own business only, and is described on Self-host.
  3. Commercial licence. From about $3,000 a year, quoted for your volume, for embedding Docustay in a product, white-labelling it, reselling it, or keeping a private fork without publishing your changes. Use the contact form and choose "Licensing".

When a commercial licence is needed

You need one if you want to:

  • embed Docustay in a product you offer to others;
  • white-label it;
  • resell it;
  • keep a private fork without publishing your changes.

What counts as an install

One install is one running Docustay with one database.

  • A staging or backup copy of the same install does not count as a separate install.
  • A development copy on a developer's own machine does not count as a separate install.
  • Two production databases are two installs.

After you cancel

Cancelling Pro moves the workspace to Free.

  • Documents already sent or signed stay readable and downloadable.
  • You can export everything for 30 days.
  • Sending is then limited by the Free limits (see Errors, retries and limits).

For people who contribute

New server and app files start with a one-line licence header, and every SDK file starts with the MIT one:

// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

A change is accepted from someone who agrees to the short contributor agreement, which lets the owner offer a commercial licence next to the open one. Add your agreement to the commit:

git commit -s -m "Fix the reminder wording"

The full explanation, in plain words, is on the Licensing page.

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