LEGAL
License
Last updated 4 October 2026
Caedos is free for personal use and for work, under the Elastic License 2.0 (ELv2), used word for word. This is a plain-English summary. It isn't the license: where they differ, the full text below wins.
What you can do
- Use Caedos free of charge, for yourself and for work, at a company of any size, on as many machines as you like. Every feature is included.
- Copy it and give it to others, as long as the license goes with it.
- Change your copy. If you pass a changed copy on, say clearly that you changed it.
What you can't do
- Offer Caedos to others as a hosted or managed service.
- Remove or hide the license, copyright or other notices in it.
The license also forbids getting around a license key. Caedos doesn't have one.
What's yours
Your synths, configs, state, traces and data are yours. The license gives us no rights in them.
Closed source
Caedos's releases are binaries, published on GitHub ↗. The license covers Caedos as released. It gives no rights to Caedos's source code, which isn't published.
What else is inside
- The blueprints that come with Caedos are in the public domain, under CC0 1.0 ↗. Use them for anything.
-
Caedos includes third-party software, such as the Bun runtime, under its own licenses. Each download lists them in
THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES. Nothing in Caedos's license limits your rights under theirs.
No warranty
As far as the law allows, Caedos comes as is, without any warranty, and we aren't liable for damage from using it.
Who licenses it
Ross Walpole, in the United Kingdom. Questions about the license: [email protected].
Full text
This is the LICENSE file inside every download, word for word. The install scripts keep it, with
THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES, beside caedos.exe on Windows, and in
~/.local/share/doc/caedos on macOS and Linux.
Caedos
Copyright (c) 2026 Ross Walpole, United Kingdom
Contact: [email protected]
Caedos is closed source. Its releases are binaries, published at https://github.com/caedos-os/caedos-run/releases. Ross Walpole, the licensor, licenses them under the Elastic License 2.0, below.
In plain words (the license text below is what counts):
- You may use Caedos free of charge, for personal use and for work, inside an organization too, on as many machines as you like.
- You may not provide Caedos to others as a hosted or managed service.
- Your synths, configs, state, traces and data are yours. This license gives the licensor no rights in them.
This license covers Caedos as released. It gives no rights to Caedos's source code, which is not published.
The blueprints that come with Caedos are dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
Caedos includes open-source software, such as the Bun runtime, under its own licenses: see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES. Nothing in this license limits your rights under those licenses, including your right under the LGPL to modify its libraries for your own use and to reverse engineer Caedos to debug those changes.
Elastic License 2.0
URL: https://www.elastic.co/licensing/elastic-license
Acceptance
By using the software, you agree to all of the terms and conditions below.
Copyright License
The licensor grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, non-sublicensable, non-transferable license to use, copy, distribute, make available, and prepare derivative works of the software, in each case subject to the limitations and conditions below.
Limitations
You may not provide the software to third parties as a hosted or managed service, where the service provides users with access to any substantial set of the features or functionality of the software.
You may not move, change, disable, or circumvent the license key functionality in the software, and you may not remove or obscure any functionality in the software that is protected by the license key.
You may not alter, remove, or obscure any licensing, copyright, or other notices of the licensor in the software. Any use of the licensor’s trademarks is subject to applicable law.
Patents
The licensor grants you a license, under any patent claims the licensor can license, or becomes able to license, to make, have made, use, sell, offer for sale, import and have imported the software, in each case subject to the limitations and conditions in this license. This license does not cover any patent claims that you cause to be infringed by modifications or additions to the software. If you or your company make any written claim that the software infringes or contributes to infringement of any patent, your patent license for the software granted under these terms ends immediately. If your company makes such a claim, your patent license ends immediately for work on behalf of your company.
Notices
You must ensure that anyone who gets a copy of any part of the software from you also gets a copy of these terms.
If you modify the software, you must include in any modified copies of the software prominent notices stating that you have modified the software.
No Other Rights
These terms do not imply any licenses other than those expressly granted in these terms.
Termination
If you use the software in violation of these terms, such use is not licensed, and your licenses will automatically terminate. If the licensor provides you with a notice of your violation, and you cease all violation of this license no later than 30 days after you receive that notice, your licenses will be reinstated retroactively. However, if you violate these terms after such reinstatement, any additional violation of these terms will cause your licenses to terminate automatically and permanently.
No Liability
As far as the law allows, the software comes as is, without any warranty or condition, and the licensor will not be liable to you for any damages arising out of these terms or the use or nature of the software, under any kind of legal claim.
Definitions
The licensor is the entity offering these terms, and the software is the software the licensor makes available under these terms, including any portion of it.
you refers to the individual or entity agreeing to these terms.
your company is any legal entity, sole proprietorship, or other kind of organization that you work for, plus all organizations that have control over, are under the control of, or are under common control with that organization. control means ownership of substantially all the assets of an entity, or the power to direct its management and policies by vote, contract, or otherwise. Control can be direct or indirect.
your licenses are all the licenses granted to you for the software under these terms.
use means anything you do with the software requiring one of your licenses.
trademark means trademarks, service marks, and similar rights.