> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://hillock.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Hillock Licensing: AGPL-3.0 and Proprietary License

> Hillock is dual-licensed under AGPL-3.0 (free, copyleft) and a proprietary commercial license at $49/month or $499/year for closed-source use.

Hillock is dual-licensed — published as free and open-source software under the **GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0)**, and available under a proprietary **AGPL-Exempt Commercial License** for organizations that need to keep their application code private. Which license you need depends entirely on how you ship your product.

## License Comparison

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="AGPL-3.0 (Free)" icon="scale-balanced">
    **Full source access** — clone, modify, and self-host Hillock with no upfront cost.

    * Derivative works must be released publicly under AGPL-3.0
    * Network use triggers copyleft: if you run Hillock as a service accessible to others, you must release your full application source under AGPL-3.0
    * Redistribution requires preserving license notices

    **Suitable for:** personal projects, academic research, internal tooling (not exposed as a service), open-source applications that also adopt AGPL-3.0
  </Card>

  <Card title="Commercial License" icon="briefcase">
    **Proprietary use** — embed Hillock in closed-source products with no copyleft obligations.

    * No requirement to open-source your application code
    * Use in closed-source products and SaaS backends
    * Full legal indemnity for proprietary distribution
    * **$49/month** or **$499/year**

    **Suitable for:** commercial products, startups, enterprises, private AI agents, on-premise deployments
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## When You Need a Commercial License

The AGPL-3.0 is a strong copyleft license. You need a commercial license if any of the following apply to your situation:

* **You are embedding Hillock in a closed-source product** — any application, desktop tool, mobile app, or SDK that ships to end users without publishing your full source code
* **You are running Hillock as a service** — operating an API, SaaS platform, or hosted product backed by Hillock without releasing your application source under AGPL-3.0
* **You want to redistribute Hillock in a proprietary product** — bundling Hillock into an installer, container image, or commercial distribution that you do not open-source
* **You need the freedom to keep your application code private** — if your business model, IP, or contractual obligations require confidentiality over your codebase

If you are uncertain whether your use case requires a commercial license, reach out directly at [contact.roandejager@gmail.com](mailto:contact.roandejager@gmail.com) before shipping.

## AGPL-3.0 Compliance

Understanding the AGPL-3.0 is critical before you build on Hillock commercially.

**What AGPL-3.0 requires:** If you modify Hillock and provide access to it — either by distributing binaries or by running it as a network service — you must make the complete corresponding source code of your modified version available under AGPL-3.0. This includes your application code that links against or wraps Hillock.

**The "network use" clause:** This is the key distinction between AGPL and the standard GPL. Under the GPL, running modified software privately on a server (without distributing binaries) does not trigger copyleft. AGPL closes that loophole: if users interact with your software over a network — even without receiving a copy — you must still offer them the source. Running Hillock behind an API endpoint counts as network use.

**Safe uses under AGPL-3.0:**

* Personal projects and experimentation — no distribution, no service
* Internal tooling used only within your organization that is not exposed as a network service to external parties
* Open-source applications and research projects that adopt AGPL-3.0 themselves

<Warning>
  If you ship a SaaS product, hosted API, or any user-facing service backed by Hillock without a commercial license, AGPL-3.0 requires you to publish your entire application source. Evaluate your obligations carefully before going to production.
</Warning>

## Getting a Commercial License

The commercial license grants you an AGPL-3.0 exemption, letting you keep your product, custom integrations, and all intellectual property completely closed-source and proprietary. It also includes direct integration support — priority email access to the maintainer for architecture design, performance tuning, and hardware pipeline questions.

| Plan | Price | Link |
| - | - | - |
| Monthly | **\$49 / month** | [Purchase Monthly License](https://hillock.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/8c0f191c-e488-479b-818a-0d87226b638e) |
| Annual | **\$499 / year** *(2 months free)* | [Purchase Annual License](https://hillock.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/1566c0ba-6432-48ec-8e7c-8259a058bcd1) |

For custom SLA terms, bespoke enterprise deployments, or custom relation extraction schemas, contact [contact.roandejager@gmail.com](mailto:contact.roandejager@gmail.com) or open a [GitHub Discussion](https://github.com/roandejager/Hillock/discussions).

<Note>
  The commercial license covers a single organization or team. If you are acquiring a license on behalf of a company, the license applies to all developers within that organization working on the same product.
</Note>

<Tip>
  **Researchers and academics:** AGPL-3.0 is fully suitable for academic research, university projects, and published experiments. You do not need a commercial license for non-commercial research use. Hillock is an independent open-source research project and actively welcomes academic collaboration.
</Tip>


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