AGPL
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Software
| Stands for | GNU Affero General Public License |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
AGPL stands for GNU Affero General Public License, a software abbreviation.
Copyleft license that extends the GPL to software used over a network: if people interact with a modified AGPL program through a website or API, its source code must be offered to them. It closes what is often called the SaaS loophole.
Example: Many companies ban AGPL dependencies in their web services to avoid having to publish code.
Usage notes
The license began in 2002 with the company Affero and became the GNU AGPLv3 in 2007. Mastodon, Nextcloud and Grafana use it, and some vendors dual-license AGPL code alongside a paid commercial license. Google's published open-source policy forbids AGPL software internally. Elastic added the AGPL as an option for Elasticsearch in 2024.
Related abbreviations
More software abbreviations
- ADB – Android Debug Bridge
- AOSP – Android Open Source Project
- APT – Advanced Package Tool
- ASF – Apache Software Foundation
- BSD – Berkeley Software Distribution
- BSL – Business Source License
- BT – BitTorrent
- CAL – Client Access License
- CC – Creative Commons
- CC BY – Creative Commons Attribution License
- CC0 – Creative Commons Zero
- CE – Community Edition