Rhizome Labs Licensing FAQ

Rhizome Labs Licensing FAQ

Rhizome Labs is a brand of NOBS Corp. This FAQ covers both our Community editions (BSL-licensed, source-available) and our Open Source repositories (non-BSL, OSI-approved licenses as explicitly stated).

Published: 2025-10-09  |  Last updated: 2026-04-23

These FAQs provide interpretive guidance and reflect our current, binding positions. Unless a repository's LICENSE file states otherwise, our default license is Business Source License (BSL) v1.1 with an Additional Use Grant (AUG). On conversion, code becomes available under Mozilla Public License v2.0 (MPL 2.0).

Change history

• Oct. 09, 2025 — Posted original FAQ

  Initial publication of Rhizome Labs Licensing FAQ.

Overview of our licensing

• 1. What are we announcing?

  We are standardizing on BSL 1.1 for most Rhizome Labs repositories. All repositories published under gitlab.com/rhizome-labs and github.com/RhizomeResearch are licensed under BSL 1.1 unless the repository's LICENSE file explicitly states a different license. There is no retroactive license change of previously released open source software—license terms for each repository are authoritative in its LICENSE file.

• 2. Why BSL?

  BSL enables broad, transparent access to source code, fosters practitioner communities, and permits most uses, while reserving commercially competitive hosting/embedding for paid licenses. This model aligns with our mission to deliver high-performance, practitioner-friendly software and to sustain investment through commercial partnerships.

• 3. What are the implications for end users?

  For internal or personal use of BSL-licensed Community editions, there is no change from typical open development practices: non-production use is free; production use is permitted except for hosting or embedding the Licensed Work to compete with our paid version of the same Licensed Work.

• 4. How does this impact integration partners?

  Building integrations, plugins, or extensions that use our products is permitted. Each integration's license remains its own. Restrictions apply only when an integration hosts or embeds our Licensed Work to provide a competitive offering to third parties.

• 5. What are the implications for commercial customers?

  Commercial customers receive rights under separately negotiated commercial agreements. Contact us to discuss commercial licensing options beyond BSL limitations.

• 6. Who is impacted by the BSL restrictions?

  Organizations that host or embed our Community editions to provide products or services that compete with our paid offerings are restricted under BSL and require commercial licensing. If you are building a solution that integrates with our products and want clarity, contact [email protected].

• 7. Which products are covered by BSL?

  By default, all repositories under our official organizations are BSL 1.1 unless the repository's LICENSE file specifies a different license. We currently have no repositories under MPL 2.0; any non-BSL (open source) repositories will explicitly declare their license in the repository.

• 8. What are the usage limitations under BSL (Additional Use Grant)?

  All non-production uses are permitted. All production uses are allowed other than hosting or embedding the Licensed Work to provide a product or service that competes with Rhizome Labs' paid version of the same Licensed Work, whether hosted or self-managed.

Definitions and clarifications

• 9. What is a "competitive offering"?

  A competitive offering is a product or service sold to third parties (including via paid support arrangements) that significantly overlaps capabilities with Rhizome Labs' paid version of the same Licensed Work. Products not sold or supported on a paid basis are not competitive.

• 10. What is a "paid support arrangement"?

  Any structure where a user has a paid relationship with the provider and can receive support for the Licensed Work, whether embedded or hosted, even if support is bundled among many products.

• 11. What does "embedded" mean?

  Including source or executable code of the Licensed Work in a competitive product, or packaging such that the Licensed Work must be accessed, invoked, or downloaded for the competitive product to operate (including bring-your-own-container invocation).

• 12. I'm building a product and need clarity. Will my use violate BSL?

  Please contact [email protected]. We provide timely feedback and can discuss exemptions or partnership arrangements.

• 13. I maintain an open-source project that uses Rhizome tech in a non-competitive way. Am I responsible for downstream competitive use?

  No. Only parties actively embedding or hosting our products in a competitive manner would be in violation. Maintainers have no obligation to monitor or report downstream use.

• 14. Can I use Rhizome tools to build products that compete with Rhizome?

  Yes. You may use our tools in your product stack. The BSL restriction is specifically on hosting or embedding our Licensed Work to compete with the same Licensed Work.

• 15. What if Rhizome later releases a product that overlaps my existing offering?

  If we create an offering in the future that is competitive with a product you already provide in production, your continued use of any hosted or embedded Rhizome product you were already using will not be considered a violation.

BSL and open source

• 16. What is BSL 1.1?

  BSL is a source-available license. Non-production use is always free. Production use is permitted under the Additional Use Grant with specified restrictions. On conversion—at the fourth anniversary of the first publicly available distribution of the code under BSL—the code automatically becomes available under the Change License (MPL 2.0 for Rhizome Labs).

• 17. Why choose BSL over AGPL, SSPL, or "Commons Clause" additions?

  BSL is permissive, with minimal operational friction and no copyleft obligations, and it time-limits to an OSI-approved license (MPL 2.0). This balances broad access with sustainable investment and clear competitive boundaries.

• 18. If I modify BSL-licensed code, can I relicense my modified version?

  No. Your modified version is a derivative work and must remain under BSL until conversion, subject to the terms of the original license.

• 19. Do we still support open source?

  Yes. We publish and maintain open source repositories under OSI-approved licenses where appropriate. Each open source repository's LICENSE file is authoritative. BSL-licensed Community editions are source-available but are not "open source" per OSI definitions.

• 20. How do we refer to free versions?

  We use "Community edition" for BSL-licensed, source-available code. We refer to "Open Source" only for repositories that are explicitly licensed under OSI-approved licenses (e.g., MPL 2.0, Apache 2.0), as stated in their LICENSE files.

• 21. Can I mix BSL code with other licenses?

  Yes, provided each component retains its own license and you avoid mixing BSL with strong copyleft code (e.g., GPL) that would impose conflicting obligations. Some permissive licenses (e.g., Apache 2.0) allow sublicensing with appropriate notices.

Internal use and professional services

• 22. Can I host Rhizome products as an internal service?

  Yes. Non-production and production use within a single organization (including affiliates under common control) is permitted. The restriction is on providing competitive offerings to third parties that embed or host our software.

• 23. Can partners provide consulting and professional services?

  Yes. Systems integrators and consultants may help users deploy, manage, and operate our products for their internal use. Embedding or hosting our Community editions as an offering available to multiple customers, in competition with our products, is not permitted without commercial licensing.

• 24. I'm a consultant running customer infrastructure with Rhizome tooling. Am I a competitor?

  No, if you are assisting customers with their own use (including production) within their organization. You are a competitor if you embed or host our Community editions as a product or service offered to multiple customers in competition with our paid offerings.

Conversion, versions, and backports

• 25. How and when does code convert to MPL 2.0?

  For each repository distributed under BSL 1.1, the code converts to MPL 2.0 on the fourth anniversary of its first publicly available BSL distribution. We may not specify explicit Change Dates in file headers; the four-year rule applies by default.

• 26. Can I continue using versions released under a different (open source) license?

  Yes. License changes are never retroactive. Any repository released under a non-BSL, OSI-approved license may be used under that license indefinitely, as stated in the repository's LICENSE file.

• 27. Will Rhizome backport security patches to open source branches?

  Backport policies, if any, will be announced per repository. At present, we have no MPL 2.0 releases.

More information

• 28. Where can I learn more or ask questions?

  - Review the BSL 1.1 license text: https://mariadb.com/bsl11/
  - Review MPL 2.0: https://www.mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/
  - Rhizome Labs GitLab: https://gitlab.com/rhizome-labs
  - Rhizome Labs GitHub: https://github.com/RhizomeResearch
  - Licensing questions and clarifications: [email protected]

For licensing inquiries, email [email protected].