AGPLv3 is Targeting Big Tech, Not Your Private Project
If you’re considering using Spree Commerce open-source for your eCommerce project, you’re probably wondering about its AGPLv3 license. When using Spree for your own or a customer’s project, you may do so for free and privately. Only when building a SaaS or otherwise distributing Spree, AGPLv3 requires that you either disclose all your source code or purchase a Commercial License. Don’t believe if AI tells you otherwise—it’s not a lawyer.
Can I Use Spree for Free and Keep My Code Private?
Yes! Spree Commerce under AGPLv3 can be used for free to build and operate an eCommerce project without any obligation to disclose source code—as long as the modified software is not distributed or offered as a SaaS to other developers or businesses.
If you modify Spree for your own private business (e.g., running an online store or a marketplace for your customers), you do not need to open-source your modifications. The AGPLv3 requirement to disclose modifications only applies if you offer Spree as a service that other developers or businesses use.
The confusion about AGPLv3 often arises from misunderstanding the term “users.” Customers shopping on your Spree-powered store are not “users” under AGPLv3—only developers using your modified Spree software are considered “users” in the licensing context.
Why Is Spree Commerce Using AGPLv3?
The decision to move Spree Commerce to AGPLv3 is aimed at closing the SaaS loophole, ensuring that Big Tech companies do not exploit open-source software without contributing back to the community.
Open-source developers dedicate time and effort to building free software, but large corporations have historically taken advantage by using open-source code for profit without sharing improvements or providing financial support.
Regular businesses, developers, and entrepreneurs, however, are free to use Spree without limitations unless they distribute it to other developers – as a SaaS or a part of their other product.
What Are the Typical Big Tech Use Cases That AGPLv3 Should Prevent?
AGPLv3 was created to prevent Big Tech from free-riding on open-source software for use cases such as:
- Amazon taking free and open-source database software and selling it in a PaaS model.
- Google taking free and open-source productivity software and selling it as a SaaS.
- Apple integrating open-source eCommerce software into its App Store, profiting through app developer sales commissions.
- Facebook taking free eLearning software and monetizing it as a SaaS product from course sales offered by 3rd party providers.
The goal of AGPLv3 is to ensure that Big Tech companies either:
- Open-source their modifications, contributing to the community, or
- Purchase a Commercial License, supporting open-source development financially.
This requirement does not apply to private projects where Spree is used internally without being distributed to other developers.
Why Might AI Chatbots Be Hallucinating About AGPLv3 Limitations?
AI chatbots often provide misleading legal interpretations because they rely on secondary sources such as blog posts, forum discussions, and informal summaries—rather than legal texts or the actual intent behind AGPLv3.
When analyzing AGPLv3, it is critical to consider:
- The Licensor (original Spree developers) grants rights to the Licensee (developers using Spree for their projects).
- “Users” in AGPLv3 refers to developers or businesses employing these developers who are using or modifying Spree, not customers shopping in Spree-based storefronts.
- Code disclosure requirement applies to Spree-based applications made available “over a network” to other “Users” meant as developers or businesses hiring them – as a SaaS or a part of their other online product.
- Misinterpreting this difference leads to false claims that businesses must disclose their entire private codebase if their application is available over the network to anyone, including end-customers of an online store, which is simply not true.
Conclusion
Spree Commerce remains free and private for private projects in which you’re not allowing other businesses to use your product. If you are using Spree to build and operate your own or a single customer’s store, there is no requirement to disclose your source code.
AGPLv3 limitations kick-in, for example, if you modify Spree and provide it as a service or otherwise distribute to other developers or businesses.
This AGPLv3 licensing shift protects open-source innovation from being exploited by Big Tech while allowing small businesses and independent developers to continue using Spree without restrictions.
The take away is: AI is not your lawyer and does not provide reliable legal advice.
This is not a Big Tech conspiracy – just a tendency of AI to hallucinate by providing false conclusions based on limited secondary sources without any deeper understanding of the matter.
