Open Source Strategy
Community Core + Enterprise Governance — Layered openness, ecosystem co-building, commercial sustainability
Our Open Source Philosophy
Octopus adopts a "layered openness" strategy: the foundation layer is fully open source for credibility and ecosystem onboarding, the governance layer is source-available for transparency, and the commercial core remains proprietary for sustainable investment. This isn't about fear of copying—it's a dual commitment to community and customers. Openness doesn't mean chaos; transparency doesn't mean vulnerability.
Three-Tier Asset Architecture
Community Core
AGPL-3.0 License
Foundation framework, universal interfaces, SDK, CLI shell, documentation standards, and governance contracts. Free for anyone to use, learn, and contribute.
- Kernel contract layer (552 frozen dataclasses)
- Port protocol interface definitions
- Generic domain modules (pure functions, zero side effects)
- CLI / TUI product shells
- Gate check framework (52 gates)
- Documentation, examples, SDK
- Community capability package templates
Source Available
BSL / Delayed Open Source
High-value orchestration logic, mature connectors, scheduling strategies. Source visible and auditable, but commercial use requires licensing.
- Advanced scheduling & orchestration engine
- Mature MCP connector implementations
- Risk assessment rule engine
- Capability learning & discovery pipeline
- ScreenOS adapter layer
- Knowledge graph & RAG enhancement
Enterprise Edition
Commercial License
Enterprise governance, compliance auditing, advanced security, multi-node orchestration. Complete solutions for production environments.
- Enterprise governance & audit enhancement
- Standing Grants / ABAC access control
- Multi-node orchestration & load balancing
- Auto-remediation & advanced routing
- SLA guarantees & priority support
- Custom integration & deployment services
Licensing
The community core uses AGPL-3.0. You can freely use, modify, and distribute. If you provide network services based on Octopus, modifications must be open-sourced. This ensures community contributions flow back and prevents closed-source wrappers.
The source-available layer uses Business Source License. Code is fully transparent and auditable. Non-commercial use is free. Commercial use requires licensing. Automatically converts to Apache-2.0 after 24 months.
Enterprise Edition uses a commercial license. Includes complete enterprise governance, SLA guarantees, priority support, and custom integration services.
Why Layered Openness
Fair to Community
Foundation layer is fully open source with no barriers. You don't need to pay for learning, trying, or non-commercial use.
Responsible to Customers
Enterprise customers need more than code—governance, compliance, SLAs, and continuous evolution. A proprietary enterprise layer ensures we can keep delivering.
Healthy for Ecosystem
AGPL prevents closed-source wrappers, ensuring contributions flow back. BSL delayed open-source ensures everything eventually becomes open.
Protection for Innovation
Measured protection of core differentiators lets us focus on R&D rather than competing with low-effort copycats.
Brand & Trademark
"Octopus" and "OctopusOS" names, logos, and related visual identities are protected trademarks.
How to Contribute
We welcome all forms of community contribution. Every PR, Issue, and discussion drives Octopus forward.
Code Contributions
Submit bug fixes, new features, performance optimizations. All PRs pass 52 gate checks and full test suite verification.
Capability Packages
Develop new capability packages based on the Capability Package standard to expand Octopus scenario coverage.
Documentation
Improve technical docs, add tutorials, supplement examples to lower the community entry barrier.
Security Reports
Report vulnerabilities privately via security@octopusos.ai. We commit to responding within 48 hours.