[GH-ISSUE #8479] Question regarding AGPLv3 compliance and reproducibility of released binaries #3874

New issue

Closed

opened 2026-03-23 21:33:48 +00:00 by mirror · 2 comments

mirror commented

2026-03-23 21:33:48 +00:00

Owner

Originally created by @fractalshine on GitHub (Feb 10, 2026).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy/issues/8479

Hello AppFlowy team,
I would like to ask for clarification regarding the current licensing and release model of this repository.
The repository README states that AppFlowy is:

“The Open Source Alternative to Notion”
“Distributed under the AGPLv3 License”
At the same time, the publicly available source code in this repository appears to be significantly behind the currently released client binaries published via GitHub Releases.
As far as I can tell:
The released binaries cannot be reproduced from the source code currently available in this repository.
The corresponding source code for the released binaries does not seem to be publicly available.
Under the GNU Affero General Public License v3, distributing a work in object code form requires providing the “Corresponding Source” for that exact version of the work.
Relevant sections include:
AGPLv3 §1 (“Corresponding Source” definition)
AGPLv3 §6 (Conveying Non-Source Forms)
Could you please clarify one of the following:

Where the corresponding source code for the released binaries is published, or
Whether the released binaries are covered by a different license than the one stated in this repository, or
Whether the public AGPL-licensed repository is intended to represent only a community / reference edition.
I believe this clarification would help avoid confusion for users and contributors regarding licensing, compliance, and reproducibility expectations.

Originally created by @fractalshine on GitHub (Feb 10, 2026). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy/issues/8479 Hello AppFlowy team, I would like to ask for clarification regarding the current licensing and release model of this repository. The repository README states that AppFlowy is: - “The Open Source Alternative to Notion” - “Distributed under the AGPLv3 License” At the same time, the publicly available source code in this repository appears to be significantly behind the currently released client binaries published via GitHub Releases. As far as I can tell: - The released binaries cannot be reproduced from the source code currently available in this repository. - The corresponding source code for the released binaries does not seem to be publicly available. Under the GNU Affero General Public License v3, distributing a work in object code form requires providing the “Corresponding Source” for that exact version of the work. Relevant sections include: - AGPLv3 §1 (“Corresponding Source” definition) - AGPLv3 §6 (Conveying Non-Source Forms) Could you please clarify one of the following: 1. Where the corresponding source code for the released binaries is published, or 2. Whether the released binaries are covered by a different license than the one stated in this repository, or 3. Whether the public AGPL-licensed repository is intended to represent only a community / reference edition. I believe this clarification would help avoid confusion for users and contributors regarding licensing, compliance, and reproducibility expectations.

mirror closed this issue

2026-03-23 21:33:48 +00:00

mirror commented

2026-03-23 21:33:48 +00:00

Author

Owner

@suntorytimed commented on GitHub (Feb 26, 2026):

I'd be interested as well into what is the future of this desktop app? Main reason I decided to use AppFlowy was it being fully open source and there being a desktop client developed in Rust and Flutter, which doesn't rely on a browser or Electron. Current releases in this repository are in violation to the open source claim. If it's open core now, please state so and I can move on.

@suntorytimed commented on GitHub (Feb 26, 2026): I'd be interested as well into what is the future of this desktop app? Main reason I decided to use AppFlowy was it being fully open source and there being a desktop client developed in Rust and Flutter, which doesn't rely on a browser or Electron. Current releases in this repository are in violation to the open source claim. If it's open core now, please state so and I can move on.

mirror commented

2026-03-23 21:33:49 +00:00

Author

Owner

@annieappflowy commented on GitHub (Mar 13, 2026):

AppFlowy is adopting an open-core model to ensure the project's long-term sustainability.

AppFlowy offers two deployment options:

AppFlowy Managed Cloud: AWS-hosted instances fully deployed and managed by the AppFlowy team
AppFlowy Self-hosted Cloud: Configurable services you can deploy on your own infrastructure
The codebase behind these two setups is a closed-source fork of the open-source codebase: https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy-Cloud, combined with our proprietary code.

The commercial fork is distributed solely under our commercial license link.

AppFlowy Self-hosted Cloud is designed for teams and enterprises that want data control and modular, configurable components tailored to their own infrastructure. It comes with a Free tier suitable for experienced IT professionals to test out and allows seamless upgrades to higher tiers.

Open source vs Open core:
As AppFlwy Cloud is adopting an open-core model, AppFlowy Web and AppFlowy Flutter will remain open source.
As part of the transition, we are consolidating and reorganizing our codebases in private repositories.
Recently, we merged all AppFlowy Web–related development from our private repository back into the public one. You can check the commit for reference. We will also merge Flutter code back into this public repository at a later stage. AppFlowy Cloud will continue to follow the open-core model for business reasons. You're free to use https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy-Cloud governed by its license.

We also have a few other open source repos, such as

AppFlowy Website for developers who want to build their own website following our navigation structure
appflowy-editor for Flutter developers to build their own apps
appflowy-board for Flutter developers to build their own apps

@annieappflowy commented on GitHub (Mar 13, 2026): AppFlowy is adopting an open-core model to ensure the project's long-term sustainability. AppFlowy offers two deployment options: - AppFlowy Managed Cloud: AWS-hosted instances fully deployed and managed by the AppFlowy team - AppFlowy Self-hosted Cloud: Configurable services you can deploy on your own infrastructure The codebase behind these two setups is a closed-source fork of the open-source codebase: https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy-Cloud, combined with our proprietary code. The commercial fork is distributed solely under our commercial license [link](https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy-SelfHost-Commercial/blob/main/SELF_HOST_LICENSE_AGREEMENT.md). AppFlowy Self-hosted Cloud is designed for teams and enterprises that want data control and modular, configurable components tailored to their own infrastructure. It comes with a Free tier suitable for experienced IT professionals to test out and allows seamless upgrades to higher tiers. Open source vs Open core: As AppFlwy Cloud is adopting an open-core model, AppFlowy Web and AppFlowy Flutter will remain open source. As part of the transition, we are consolidating and reorganizing our codebases in private repositories. Recently, we merged all AppFlowy Web–related development from our private repository back into the public one. You can check the [commit](https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy-Web/commits/main/) for reference. We will also merge Flutter code back into this public repository at a later stage. AppFlowy Cloud will continue to follow the open-core model for business reasons. You're free to use https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy-Cloud governed by its license. We also have a few other open source repos, such as - [AppFlowy Website](https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy-Website) for developers who want to build their own website following our navigation structure - [appflowy-editor](https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/appflowy-editor) for Flutter developers to build their own apps - [appflowy-board](https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/appflowy-board) for Flutter developers to build their own apps

mirror referenced this issue

2026-03-23 22:20:56 +00:00

[PR #3874] [MERGED] chore: update collab rev #5925