Software License
SwarmAI Framework Licensing — MIT License
License Overview
SwarmAI is released under the MIT License — one of the most permissive and widely used open-source licenses. You are free to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and sell copies of SwarmAI with virtually no restrictions.
The MIT License is the same license used by React, Angular, Vue.js, Node.js, Ruby on Rails, .NET, jQuery, and thousands of other foundational projects. It is the most popular open-source license on GitHub.
Module Licensing Summary
| Module | License | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| swarmai-core | MIT | Agents, tasks, processes, state, skills, memory, governance |
| swarmai-tools | MIT | 74 built-in tools |
| swarmai-dsl | MIT | YAML DSL parser & compiler |
| swarmai-rl | MIT | Reinforcement learning: bandits, Thompson sampling |
| swarmai-eval | MIT | Self-evaluation & competitive benchmarks |
| swarmai-self-improving | MIT | Optional opt-in improvement pipeline |
| swarmai-enterprise | MIT (license-key gated) | Code is MIT; features require a license key to activate |
| swarmai-bom | MIT | Bill of Materials for dependency alignment |
MIT License — Full Text
MIT License
Copyright (c) 2025 IntelliSwarm.ai
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
What MIT Means in Practice
The MIT License requires only two things: (1) include the copyright notice and license text in copies of the software, and (2) the software is provided "as is" without warranty. That's it. There are no restrictions on commercial use, modification, distribution, or sublicensing.
What You Can Do
Under the MIT License, you have maximum freedom. Here is what is explicitly permitted:
Commercial Use
Use SwarmAI in commercial products, SaaS platforms, enterprise deployments, and revenue-generating services with no restrictions. Build products that compete with us if you want — the license permits it.
Modification
Fork, modify, extend, and customize SwarmAI in any way. Remove features, add features, change the architecture — the code is yours to work with.
Distribution
Distribute SwarmAI as part of your product, as a standalone package, or as a modified fork. You can distribute it under a different license as long as you include the original MIT copyright notice.
Private Use
Use SwarmAI internally without any obligation to share your modifications or report usage. Internal production workloads, research, prototyping — all unrestricted.
Sublicensing
Include SwarmAI in your own project and sublicense it under your own terms. The only requirement is preserving the copyright notice.
The One Requirement
Include the MIT copyright notice and permission notice in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. This is standard practice — most build tools handle this automatically.
Enterprise Module
The swarmai-enterprise module is MIT-licensed like the rest of the framework. The source code is fully available and readable. However, the enterprise features are gated by a license key — they require a valid key to activate at runtime.
How License Gating Works
The enterprise module includes a LicenseManager and LicenseValidator that check for a valid license key at startup. Without a key, the enterprise features (multi-tenancy, deep RL, advanced governance) remain inactive. The core framework works fully without it.
swarmai.enterprise.license-key=YOUR_LICENSE_KEY
What Enterprise Includes
- Multi-tenancy with tenant-isolated memory, knowledge, quotas, and budgets
- Deep reinforcement learning (DQN neural networks) for policy optimization
- Advanced governance with fine-grained RBAC
- Audit logging and compliance trail
- Priority support and SLA guarantees
Open Core Model
This approach is known as "open core" — the core framework is fully open source and permissively licensed, while commercial features are gated by a license key. This is the same model used by GitLab (MIT core + proprietary EE features), Grafana (AGPLv3 core + Enterprise license), and many other successful open-source companies.
For enterprise licensing inquiries, contact our team or email enterprise@intelliswarm.ai.
Frameworks Using MIT or Similar Licenses
SwarmAI's MIT license places it among the most permissively licensed frameworks in the ecosystem. Here is how other major AI and Java frameworks are licensed:
MIT License (Same as SwarmAI)
Spring AI — The AI framework that SwarmAI is built on. Apache 2.0 licensed (equally permissive). Part of the Spring ecosystem by Broadcom.
LangChain / LangGraph — MIT licensed. The most popular Python agent orchestration framework. Used as the basis for LangGraph's agent workflows.
AutoGen (Microsoft) — MIT licensed. Microsoft's multi-agent conversation framework.
React, Angular, Vue.js — All MIT licensed. The three dominant frontend frameworks that power the modern web.
Node.js — MIT licensed. The JavaScript runtime that runs the web.
Apache 2.0 (Equally Permissive)
Spring Boot / Spring Framework — Apache 2.0. The Java ecosystem SwarmAI is built on. Apache 2.0 and MIT are both permissive licenses with nearly identical freedoms.
Semantic Kernel (Microsoft) — MIT licensed. Microsoft's AI orchestration SDK for .NET and Java.
Apache Kafka — Apache 2.0. The event streaming platform.
More Restrictive Licenses (for comparison)
CrewAI — MIT licensed for the core, but CrewAI Enterprise is proprietary. Similar open-core model to SwarmAI.
HashiCorp Terraform — BSL 1.1 (Business Source License). Cannot be offered as a competing hosted service. More restrictive than MIT.
MongoDB — SSPL (Server Side Public License). Requires anyone offering it as a service to open-source their entire stack. Significantly more restrictive than MIT.
Elasticsearch — SSPL + Elastic License 2.0. Cannot be offered as a managed service. More restrictive than MIT.
Redis — RSALv2 + SSPLv1 since 2024. Source-available but not OSI-approved open source. More restrictive than MIT.
Why MIT?
We chose MIT because we believe the best way to build adoption for SwarmAI is to remove every possible barrier. MIT imposes zero restrictions on how you use the code. This is a deliberate choice — we compete on the quality of the framework and the value of our enterprise features and support, not on licensing restrictions.
Contribution Terms
We welcome contributions to SwarmAI. By submitting a contribution (pull request, patch, or improvement data via the optional contribution pipeline), you agree to the following terms:
Code Contributions (Pull Requests)
All code contributions are made under the MIT License — the same license as the rest of the project. By submitting a pull request, you:
- License your contribution under the MIT License
- Confirm that you have the right to make the contribution and that it does not violate any third-party rights
- Understand that your contribution becomes part of the SwarmAI project and will be distributed under the MIT License
Improvement Data Contributions
Improvement data submitted through the /contribute page or via the optional opt-in telemetry pipeline is treated as anonymized framework data:
- Exports contain only anonymized structural patterns — no workflow content, no user data, no proprietary information
- Submitted improvements may be incorporated into any version of SwarmAI
- Contributors may be credited at their request
- IntelliSwarm AI does not claim ownership of your workflows, data, or business logic — only the anonymized improvement patterns
Licensing FAQ
Can I use SwarmAI in my commercial product?
Yes, with no restrictions. The MIT License explicitly permits commercial use. You can build products, sell services, and generate revenue using SwarmAI.
Can I use SwarmAI at my company for internal workflows?
Yes, without any restrictions. Internal use — including production workloads, automation, and AI-powered business processes — is fully permitted regardless of company size.
Can I fork SwarmAI and modify it?
Yes. You can fork, modify, create derivative works, and distribute them under your own terms. The only requirement is including the original MIT copyright notice.
Can I offer SwarmAI as a hosted service?
Yes. Unlike BSL or SSPL-licensed frameworks, the MIT License imposes no restrictions on offering SwarmAI as a hosted or managed service. You are free to do so.
Do I need to open-source my code if I use SwarmAI?
No. MIT is not a copyleft license. You have no obligation to share your modifications, release your source code, or disclose that you use SwarmAI.
What about the enterprise module?
The enterprise module code is MIT-licensed and publicly available. However, the enterprise features require a valid license key to activate. The code is readable and auditable — the license key simply gates runtime activation of the advanced features (multi-tenancy, deep RL, advanced governance).
Does the improvement data I contribute become proprietary?
No. Improvement data you submit is anonymized structural patterns only. Any incorporated data is distributed with SwarmAI releases under the MIT License. You retain full ownership of your workflows, data, and business logic.
How does this compare to other AI frameworks?
SwarmAI is among the most permissively licensed AI agent frameworks available. LangChain, AutoGen, and Semantic Kernel also use MIT. Some frameworks (like certain CrewAI components) are more restrictive. Enterprise database systems like MongoDB (SSPL) and Elasticsearch (Elastic License) are significantly more restrictive.