License policy
stardelt's own code is licensed under Apache 2.0. The platform installs upstream open-source projects, and their own licenses apply to them.
Policy
| Decision | Licenses |
|---|---|
| Accepted | OSI-approved permissive licenses: Apache 2.0, MIT, BSD-2-Clause, BSD-3-Clause |
| Documented exception | MPL 2.0, for OpenBao only |
| Rejected | AGPL, GPL, BSL, SSPL, ELv2, FSL, Confluent Community License, proprietary, and anything source-available that is not OSI-approved |
The policy is strict because "self-host forever" only holds if nothing in the default install can be relicensed out from under you. It applies to everything stardelt ships or installs, and to the dependencies of stardelt's own code.
The exception: OpenBao
OpenBao stores secrets for connections. It is licensed under MPL 2.0, which is OSI-approved but copyleft per file, so it is not purely permissive. It is accepted as the one exception because:
- no permissive secrets manager with comparable features exists;
- MPL 2.0 applies per file and has no network-use obligations;
- OpenBao is governed by the Linux Foundation, so no single vendor can relicense it.
OpenBao is optional. It is installed only if you run make openbao or turn it on in your
PlatformInstance. Without it, the install contains nothing under MPL 2.0.
Common questions
Components people often ask about that the policy excludes, and what stardelt uses instead:
| Component | License | stardelt uses |
|---|---|---|
| MinIO, Garage | AGPL-3.0 | SeaweedFS, or your own S3-compatible store |
| Metabase (community edition) | AGPL-3.0 | Apache Superset |
| HashiCorp Vault | BSL 1.1 | OpenBao |
| Grafana | AGPL-3.0 | Nothing bundled; bring your own monitoring |
| Airbyte (platform) | ELv2 | Nothing bundled yet: see the roadmap |
A license can change. Check the upstream license for the version you run if this matters to you.
Checking a component
Before stardelt adds or upgrades a component:
- Read its
LICENSEfile for the exact version, not just the repository's front page. - Confirm that the license is on the OSI list and accepted above.
- If a component has moved outside the policy, stay on the last compliant version and replace it.
Reporting a license problem
If a component is not under the license stated in these docs, open an issue with the component and version, a link to the license file or announcement, and the new license's OSI status.
A component also has to pass the current-generation test.