License & commercial use
devcoach is free and open source, licensed under the
GNU Affero General Public License v3.0
(AGPL-3.0-only).
You may use, modify, and distribute it — provided that any modified version you distribute, or run as a network service, is also released as open source under the AGPL.
:::tip devcoach is and stays 100% free Free to download, install, and use — for everyone, forever, including at work and on commercial projects. AGPL is not a price tag: you only ever pay if you want to ship a proprietary/closed derivative of devcoach itself without complying with the AGPL. :::
Does using devcoach put my code under the AGPL?
No. devcoach runs as a separate process that talks to your agent over stdio (MCP) — you start it
with npx -y devcoach mcp. Talking to it at arm's length is not a derivative work, exactly like
querying an AGPL-licensed database. Your own projects keep whatever license you choose.
The copyleft only reaches devcoach's own source code, and only when you modify and then distribute or host that modified devcoach.
Examples
| Scenario | Result |
|---|---|
| I use devcoach inside Claude Code while building my closed-source startup app. | ✅ Free. Your app stays proprietary, zero obligations. |
| My whole team installs devcoach to get coaching on our internal/commercial repos. | ✅ Free. Using the unmodified tool at a company is fine. |
| I fork devcoach, add a feature, and publish the package or host its dashboard as a public service. | ⚠️ You must release your modified devcoach source under the AGPL. |
| I want to embed devcoach in my paid product and keep my changes closed. | 💼 You need a commercial license. |
:::note Keep it a separate tool
Use devcoach as a tool/executable (the devcoach command / MCP server), not as a library you import
into your own code, and the AGPL never reaches your project.
:::
Commercial license
A separate commercial license is available for proprietary or closed use without the AGPL's copyleft obligations — for example, embedding devcoach in a closed-source product or reselling a derivative. Open an issue to enquire.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome under the AGPL. Because devcoach is offered under both AGPL and a commercial license, contributors sign a lightweight Contributor License Agreement — handled automatically by a bot on your first pull request. See CONTRIBUTING to get started.