Licensing
dbward uses an open-core licensing model. The core is fully open source. Commercial features (OIDC/SSO, group authorization, Team/Enterprise plan enforcement) require a paid subscription for production use.
Summary
| Component | License | What it means |
|---|
Core (crates/) | Apache-2.0 | Use freely, modify, redistribute (attribution required). Includes approval workflows, audit logs, MCP, SQL review, agent execution, break-glass. |
Commercial (commercial/) | dbward Commercial License | Source-available. View, modify, and test freely. Production use requires an active subscription. |
What's in each?
| Feature | Core (Apache-2.0) | Commercial (Team/Enterprise) |
|---|
| Approval workflows (multi-step, all/any) | ✅ | |
| Audit log (record, view, verify, CSV/JSON export) | ✅ | |
| MCP integration (12 tools) | ✅ | |
| Agent-based execution isolation | ✅ | |
| Break-glass emergency bypass | ✅ | |
| API token authentication | ✅ | |
| SQL review / risk scoring | ✅ | |
| Custom roles (RBAC) | ✅ | |
| OIDC/SSO authentication | | ✅ Team |
| Group-based authorization (IdP groups → roles) | | ✅ Team |
| Higher resource limits | | ✅ Team |
| SAML/SCIM (planned) | | ✅ Enterprise |
FAQ
- Can I use dbward in production for my company?
- Yes. The core (Apache-2.0) is free for production use. You get full approval workflows, audit logs, and MCP support. Commercial features (OIDC, group auth) require a Team subscription.
- Can I modify the source code?
- Yes. Core code (Apache-2.0): modify and redistribute freely (attribution required). Commercial code: modify for development and testing. Production use of modified commercial code requires an active subscription. Modified commercial code is not covered by support.
- What happens without a license key?
- dbward runs on the Free plan with resource limits (3 databases, 10 active users). All core features work. OIDC/SSO is not available.
- Does staging count as production use?
- Yes. For commercial code, any environment with real business data or accessible to end users counts as Production Use — including staging.
- What happens if my subscription expires?
- You have a 14-day grace period to stop production use of commercial features. Core features and your data are unaffected.
- Can I include dbward in my product?
- Core (Apache-2.0): yes, under Apache-2.0 terms (attribution required). Commercial code: redistribution is not permitted without a separate agreement. Contact us.
- I want to offer dbward as a managed service. Can I?
- Not permitted under the standard licenses. A separate hosting/OEM agreement is required. Contact support@dbward.dev.
- Where are the full license texts?
- Apache-2.0 ·
Commercial License ·
Overview
Can I use dbward for...?
| Use case | Allowed? |
|---|
| Internal production use (any team size) | ✅ Yes (core features) |
| CI/CD pipelines, automation | ✅ Yes |
| MCP / AI agents (Claude, Cursor, etc.) | ✅ Yes |
| SIer/MSP deploying in customer's own environment | ✅ Yes (customer downloads official release directly) |
| Embedding CLI/Agent in your product | ✅ Yes (Apache-2.0, attribution required) |
| Using OIDC/SSO in production without a subscription | ❌ No (requires Team) |
| Offering "dbward Cloud" as a managed service | ❌ No (requires separate hosting agreement) |
Last updated: June 2026