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Licensing

java-vectors uses a split licensing model. The vast majority of the project is available under the permissive Apache License 2.0. A small number of commercially sensitive modules are licensed under the Functional Source License 1.1 (FSL-1.1-ALv2), which automatically converts to Apache 2.0 after two years.

Quick summary

License What it means
Apache 2.0 Use, modify, and redistribute freely — including in commercial products.
FSL-1.1-ALv2 Same freedoms as Apache 2.0 except you may not offer the software as a competing commercial product or service. Converts to Apache 2.0 on the Change Date (April 25, 2028).

Module classification

Apache 2.0 modules

All core libraries, adapters, caching, VCR test harness, benchmarks, demos, and documentation are Apache 2.0:

Module Description
vectors-core SIMD distance kernels, vector types, similarity functions
vectors-storage Off-heap memory, mmap, arena-based storage
vectors-quantization SQ, PQ, BQ, RaBitQ, Extended RaBitQ, TurboQuant, NVQ
vectors-hnsw HNSW graph index, concurrent builder, Fused ADC
vectors-vamana Vamana / DiskANN graph index
vectors-ivf IVF family indexes
vectors-db Embedded vector database
vectors-spring-ai Spring AI VectorStore adapter
vectors-spring-boot-starter Spring Boot auto-configuration
vectors-langchain4j LangChain4j EmbeddingStore adapter
vectors-bench JMH benchmarks + ANN-Benchmarks harness
vectors-vcr-* VCR test harness modules (core, semantic-db, serde, JUnit 5, TestNG, Spring AI, LangChain4j)
vectors-cache Semantic caching layer
vectors-cache-jcache JCache (JSR-107) integration
vectors-cache-semantic-db Semantic cache backed by vectors-db
vectors-cache-spring-ai Spring AI cache integration
vectors-cache-langchain4j LangChain4j cache integration
docs Antora documentation site
demos:* All demo applications

FSL-1.1-ALv2 modules

These modules are licensed under the Functional Source License to protect against competing commercial SaaS offerings:

Module Description Change Date
vectors-distributed Embedded cluster — gossip, sharding, scatter-gather April 25, 2028
vectors-cluster Local sharded collection and top-K merge April 25, 2028
vectors-server HTTP server (Helidon SE 4 / Nima) April 25, 2028
vectors-gpu GPU backend via Panama-FFM + NVIDIA cuVS April 25, 2028

After the Change Date, these modules automatically become available under the Apache License 2.0.

What this means for you

Using java-vectors as a library in your application

No restrictions. All library modules (vectors-core through vectors-db, all adapters, all caches) are Apache 2.0. Embed them in any application — open source or commercial — without limitation.

Using FSL modules internally

Permitted. The FSL explicitly allows internal use, non-commercial education, non-commercial research, and professional services.

Offering java-vectors as a competing SaaS product

Not permitted for FSL modules until the Change Date. If you want to build a commercial vector-database-as-a-service using vectors-distributed, vectors-cluster, vectors-server, or vectors-gpu, you need a commercial license from Integrallis Software.

Contributing

Contributions to all modules are welcome. By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the same license as the module you are contributing to.

Commercial licensing

For commercial licensing of FSL modules, or for any licensing questions, contact:

Integrallis Software, LLC Email: licensing@integrallis.com

License files

File Contents
LICENSE Apache License 2.0 (full text)
LICENSE-FSL Functional Source License 1.1, ALv2 Future License (full text)
vectors-distributed/LICENSE Copy of LICENSE-FSL
vectors-cluster/LICENSE Copy of LICENSE-FSL
vectors-server/LICENSE Copy of LICENSE-FSL
vectors-gpu/LICENSE Copy of LICENSE-FSL