Apache License 2.0
Like MIT, but with an explicit patent grant and contribution terms.
Commercial use
✓ Yes
Modify
✓ Yes
Distribute
✓ Yes
Must open source changes
✗ No
Must attribute
✓ Yes
Patent grant
✓ Yes
What this license means
Apache 2.0 is a permissive license similar to MIT but with two important additions: an explicit patent grant (contributors give you a license to any patents their code implements) and a contribution clause (anyone who submits a change implicitly agrees to these terms). Popular with corporate-backed projects.
When you encounter this license
Use Apache-licensed tools the same way as MIT — freely in any project. The patent grant gives you extra legal protection. If you're choosing between MIT and Apache for your own project, Apache is the safer choice for anything that might touch patents.
Watch out for
You must include the NOTICE file if one exists (many Apache projects have one). If you modify the code, you must state that you changed it. The patent grant terminates if you file a patent lawsuit against the project.
Tools using Apache License 2.0 (146)
Unified logging layer
Make Any Website & Tool Your CLI. A universal CLI Hub and AI-native runtime. Transform any website, Electron app, or local binary into a standardized command-line interface. Built for AI Agents to discover, learn, and execute tools seamlessly via a unified AGENT.md integration.
Open-source feature management platform
Distributed SQL query engine for big data
Data transformation using software engineering practices
Matrix homeserver for decentralized chat
Use Codex from Claude Code to review code or delegate tasks.
Cloud native control plane
Ultralight security-first service mesh
Truly open source MongoDB alternative
Grist is the evolution of spreadsheets.
Blazing fast Ethereum dev toolkit
Scalable real-time messaging server in a language-agnostic way. Self-hosted alternative to Pubnub, Pusher, Ably, socket.io, Phoenix.PubSub, SignalR. Set up once and forever.
Full-stack monitoring: error monitoring, session replay, logging
Cloud native runtime security
Code Editor for the AI Agents Era - Run an army of Claude Code, Codex, etc. on your machine
LLM inference server with continuous batching and SSD caching for Apple Silicon, managed from the macOS menu bar.
Continuous delivery for Kubernetes
Vendor-agnostic telemetry collection
Simple yet powerful CI/CD engine
This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For licensing decisions in commercial products, consult a qualified attorney.