Licensing
Kindgi is free to build with. Running it in production needs a commercial license, which comes as a license key the runtime checks when it starts.
Two licenses
Section titled “Two licenses”| Part | License | In short |
|---|---|---|
The SDKs and the CLI: the @kindgi/* npm packages and the kindgi Python package |
Apache-2.0 | Use, change and ship them, commercially too. |
| The runtime: the server that runs your packs, and its container image | Business Source License 1.1 | Free for non-production use, with no time limit. Production use needs a commercial license. Each release becomes Apache-2.0 four years after it's first published. |
Non-production means building, testing and evaluating software with the runtime, including CI and staging environments that serve no end users and process no live business data.
Production means using the runtime to serve end users or customers, or to process live business data as part of an organization's operations. That includes internal systems your own employees use.
Building needs no key
Section titled “Building needs no key”kindgi devkindgi dev runs the runtime in development mode (KINDGI_DEV=true), which
needs no license key. Everything you build and test on your machine is free.
Running outside development mode
Section titled “Running outside development mode”Anywhere else (a server, staging, CI that runs the runtime itself), give the
runtime its key in KINDGI_LICENSE_KEY, from your secrets store:
KINDGI_LICENSE_KEY=kgi_lk_…When it starts, the runtime checks the key and prints the license under its banner:
License: Docs example · non-production · until 2027-10-03The check is offline: the runtime verifies the key's signature against public keys built into the release. It never calls Kindgi, at startup or later.
There are two kinds of key, both from contact@kindgi.com:
- A production key comes with a commercial license.
- A non-production key is free, for staging and CI that run the runtime outside development mode.
The runtime starts with either and prints which one it has.
Without a valid key
Section titled “Without a valid key”Outside development mode, a runtime with no key doesn't start. It exits with code 2 and says why:
KINDGI_LICENSE_KEY is not set. Outside development mode the Kindgi runtime needs a license key: a production key comes with a commercial license, and a free non-production key covers staging and CI. To get one: contact@kindgi.com. Local development needs none: `kindgi dev` runs the runtime with KINDGI_DEV=true.A key that was changed, or that Kindgi didn't issue, is refused the same way, with its own message.
When a key expires
Section titled “When a key expires”- From 30 days before the expiry date, the banner warns that the key expires soon.
- After it expires, the runtime still starts for 14 days, with a warning that says until when.
- After those 14 days, it refuses to start, naming the date the key expired.
KINDGI_LICENSE_KEY expired on 2026-07-31, more than 14 days ago. Renew it: contact@kindgi.com.The key is checked only when the runtime starts, so a running server never stops because of its key. A platform that restarts instances on its own (scaling, a deploy) keeps working through the grace period while you renew.