Can I use Orch8?

Common questions

Can I evaluate, develop, and test with Orch8?

Yes

Yes. The license grants everyone the right to copy, modify, create derivative works, redistribute, and make non-production use of the Licensed Work.

Can I run Orch8 in production for my own company's workflows?

Yes

Yes. The Additional Use Grant permits production use. The only carve-out is offering the Licensed Work to third parties, hosted or embedded, in a way that is competitive with the Licensor's products. Running your own internal jobs, agents, or business processes is not that.

My SaaS product uses Orch8 behind the scenes. My customers never touch Orch8 directly. Is that allowed?

Yes

Yes, as long as what you offer your customers is not the Licensed Work itself in a form that competes with the Licensor's products. A billing, CRM, or support product that happens to use Orch8 for its own background work is using Orch8, not offering it.

Can I offer Orch8 (or a thin wrapper around it) as a hosted workflow service to other companies?

Needs a commercial license

Not under the Additional Use Grant. Offering the Licensed Work to third parties on a hosted basis that competes with the Licensor's products (for example, Orch8 Cloud) requires a commercial license. Contact hello@orch8.io.

My product lets my customers build and run their own workflows, and Orch8 is the engine underneath.

Contact us

Talk to us first. Exposing workflow authoring and execution to third parties can be an embedded or hosted offering that competes with the Licensor's products. Whether it does depends on the product, so we answer this case by case.

Can I ship Orch8 embedded in a mobile app, desktop app, or on-premises appliance I sell?

Contact us

It depends on what you sell. The grant explicitly names embedded offerings, so the question is whether yours is competitive with the Licensor's products. An app that uses the embedded engine for its own features is a different case from a product that sells workflow orchestration. If you are unsure, email hello@orch8.io.

I'm an agency or consultant. Can I deploy and operate Orch8 for clients?

Contact us

The license does not address this case directly. Installing Orch8 in a client's own environment for the client's own use is different from running a shared hosted service for many clients. Tell us what you plan to do and we will confirm in writing.

Can I fork or modify the source code?

Yes

Yes. You may modify the code and create derivative works. Modified copies and derivative works stay under the same license, and the production-use limits above still apply.

Can I redistribute Orch8?

Yes

Yes. You must display the license prominently on every original or modified copy. Anyone who receives a copy from you is bound by the same terms.

When does a version become Apache 2.0?

Yes

Each version converts to the Apache License, Version 2.0 on its Change Date: four years after that version was first publicly distributed. The license applies separately to each version, so every release has its own conversion date. On that date the BSL restrictions stop applying to that version.

What does "competitive with the Licensor's products" mean exactly?

Contact us

The license text does not define it further. If your plan depends on the answer, email hello@orch8.io before you build and we will give you a written answer.

What happens if my use doesn't fit the grant?

Contact us

The license says you must either buy a commercial license from the Licensor or stop using the Licensed Work. Using it in violation of the license automatically ends your rights for the current version and every other version. For other licensing arrangements, contact hello@orch8.io.

Does the license let me use the Orch8 name or logo?

Needs a commercial license

No. The license grants no trademark or logo rights, apart from uses the license itself requires.

Do the SDKs use the same license?

Contact us

This FAQ covers only the Orch8 Engine repository and its LICENSE file. The SDKs live in separate repositories under the orch8-io GitHub organization, so check the LICENSE file in each one.