License

Plain-English summary

This summary is not legally binding — the full text below governs. But this is what we mean by it in practice.

If you redistribute Vitriol or a derivative, you must include the full license text alongside it (the LICENSE file in the repo, or a verbatim copy of what's below).

For comparison: this is similar in spirit to MIT or BSD for the typical user — install it, use it, modify it, ship it. The "no-managed-service" limit only matters if you wanted to launch a competing hosted Vitriol service. Pretty much everyone else can treat it like permissive open source.

Note that the Elastic License v2 is not OSI-approved open source. It's source-available — fully readable, fully modifiable, but with the managed-service restriction above. If your organization has a strict "OSI-approved licenses only" policy (some enterprise procurement does), Vitriol may not qualify under that policy even though it functionally behaves like permissive open source for most uses.

Full text — Elastic License v2

This is a verbatim reproduction of the LICENSE file in the Vitriol repository. The canonical version lives on GitHub; if anything below ever drifts from that file, the GitHub copy wins.

Elastic License

Copyright (c) 2026 Kenneth Lasyone.

Released through Equivalent Exchange Studios.

## Acceptance

By using the software, you agree to all of the terms and conditions below.

## Copyright License

The licensor grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide,
non-sublicensable, non-transferable license to use, copy, distribute, make
available, and prepare derivative works of the software, in each case subject
to the limitations and conditions below.

## Limitations

You may not provide the software to third parties as a hosted or managed
service, where the service provides users with access to any substantial set
of the features or functionality of the software.

You may not move, change, disable, or circumvent the license key
functionality in the software, and you may not remove or obscure any
functionality in the software that is protected by the license key.

You may not alter, remove, or obscure any licensing, copyright, or other
notices of the licensor in the software. Any use of the licensor's
trademarks is subject to applicable law.

## Patents

The licensor grants you a license, under any patent claims the licensor can
license, or becomes able to license, to make, have made, use, sell, offer for
sale, import and have imported the software, in each case subject to the
limitations and conditions in this license. This license does not cover any
patent claims that you cause to be infringed by modifications or additions to
the software. If you or your company make any written claim that the software
infringes or contributes to infringement of any patent, your patent license
for the software granted under these terms ends immediately. If your company
makes such a claim, your patent license ends immediately for work on behalf
of your company.

## Notices

You must ensure that anyone who gets a copy of any part of the software from
you also gets a copy of these terms.

If you modify the software, you must include in any modified copies of the
software prominent notices stating that you have modified the software.

## No Other Rights

These terms do not imply any licenses other than those expressly granted in
these terms.

## Termination

If you use the software in violation of these terms, such use is not
licensed, and your licenses will automatically terminate. If the licensor
provides you with a notice of your violation, and you cease all violation of
this license no later than 30 days after you receive that notice, your
licenses will be reinstated retroactively. However, if you violate these
terms after such reinstatement, any additional violation of these terms will
cause your licenses to terminate automatically and permanently.

## No Liability

*As far as the law allows, the software comes as is, without any warranty or
condition, and the licensor will not be liable to you for any damages arising
out of these terms or the use or nature of the software, under any kind of
legal claim.*

## Definitions

The **licensor** is the entity offering these terms, and the **software** is
the software the licensor makes available under these terms, including any
portion of it.

**you** refers to the individual or entity agreeing to these terms.

**your company** is any legal entity, sole proprietorship, or other kind of
organization that you work for, plus all organizations that have control over,
are under the control of, or are under common control with that organization.
**control** means ownership of substantially all the assets of an entity, or
the power to direct its management and policies by vote, contract, or
otherwise. Control can be direct or indirect.

**your licenses** are all the licenses granted to you for the software under
these terms.

**use** means anything you do with the software requiring one of your
licenses.

**trademark** means trademarks, service marks, and similar rights.

Bundled third-party components

Vitriol ships with several open-source components, each retaining its own license. The Elastic License above governs Vitriol itself, not these components — their individual licenses apply to them.

Trademarks

Vitriol, the Vitriol logo, and the Equivalent Exchange publisher name are unregistered marks of Kenneth Lasyone. The Elastic License grants no trademark rights — forks and derivatives must use a clearly different name and visual identity to avoid implying endorsement by or affiliation with Vitriol / Equivalent Exchange.