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License Model#

oxo-flow uses a per-crate licensing model with dual licensing for the web server.

License by Crate#

Crate License Usage
oxo-flow-core Apache 2.0 Free for all uses
oxo-flow-cli Apache 2.0 Free for all uses
oxo-flow-web Dual License Academic: free / Commercial: paid

oxo-flow-web Dual License#

Academic Use (LICENSE-ACADEMIC)#

Free for: - Academic research at universities and non-profit research institutions - Teaching and educational purposes - Non-commercial government research

Under the academic license, you may: - Use, modify, and distribute the software freely - Contribute modifications back to the project - Run the web server for academic research groups

Commercial Use (LICENSE-COMMERCIAL)#

Requires a paid license for: - Pharmaceutical and biotech companies - Clinical diagnostic laboratories - Commercial bioinformatics service providers - Any for-profit entity using the software in revenue-generating activities

Contact: Shixiang Wang w_shixiang@163.com

License Verification#

The web server verifies its license at startup:

  1. Checks OXO_FLOW_LICENSE environment variable
  2. Checks platform config directory (io.traitome.oxo-flow/license.oxo.json)
  3. Checks legacy path (~/.config/oxo-flow/license.oxo.json)
  4. Falls back to embedded academic license (default)
# Set commercial license
export OXO_FLOW_LICENSE=/path/to/license.oxo.json

# Upload via API
curl -X POST http://localhost:8777/api/license/upload \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"license_data": "..."}'

# Check status
curl http://localhost:8777/api/license

License Visibility#

The license is prominently displayed in three locations:

  1. Startup banner — Printed to stderr on server start
  2. Web footer — Persistent footer on every page
  3. API response header — X-OxoFlow-License on all HTTP responses
X-OxoFlow-License: oxo-flow-core,oxo-flow-cli:Apache-2.0; oxo-flow-web:Dual(Academic|Commercial)
X-OxoFlow-Version: 0.8.0

Key Principles#

  • Soft constraint: Software functionality is NOT restricted by license status (no DRM, no feature locks)
  • Prominent notice: The license is always visible — banner, footer, headers
  • No enforcement: License verification is informational, not restrictive. The academic community is trusted to comply.

Contributing#

By contributing to oxo-flow, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the same terms as the crate you contribute to:

  • oxo-flow-core and oxo-flow-cli: Apache 2.0
  • oxo-flow-web: Dual license (Academic + Commercial)