Licensing for partners: GPL code, GFDL documentation
This page is for partner owners, sales and developers. It summarizes the licenses as they affect a partner's work. It is not legal advice; the license texts decide.
The licenses
| What | License | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Exponential's code | GNU General Public License, version 2 or later | LICENSE, CONTRIBUTING.md |
| The documentation and this help | GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 or later | The license of this documentation |
| The partner program text | Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (copyright 2025 7x) | https://exponential.earth/partner/program |
| Extensions | Each its own; the project's are GPL | each extension's extension.xml / LICENSE |
Copyright of the kernel: "Copyright (C) 1998 - 2026 Exponential Foundation and 7x. All rights reserved." next to "Copyright (C) 1999 - 2014 eZ Systems AS" (COPYRIGHT.md).
What partners may do
- Install, run and modify Exponential for any customer, for any purpose.
- Charge for services: development, hosting, support, training, design.
- Charge for distributing copies.
- Copy, adapt and translate the documentation into course material and customer manuals under the GFDL (Free documentation).
- Adapt the program text for your own program under CC BY-SA 4.0 with attribution.
"Using Exponential under the terms of the GNU GPL is free of charge" (README), so customers pay you for work and service, never for a license to the software.
What partners must do when they distribute
When you give Exponential, or software based on it, to someone else (a download, an image, a delivered copy):
- pass on the GPL and the copyright notices;
- provide the source code, including your modifications;
- add no restrictions beyond the license.
Code contributed to the project is released under the GPL ("By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later", CONTRIBUTING.md).
Common questions
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Must a customer's site be published? | A site used on the customer's own servers is not distributed; their content stays private. Distribution triggers the obligations above. |
| Can we keep a customer extension private? | Code you do not distribute is not affected. If you distribute it with Exponential, ask counsel whether it must be GPL. |
| Can we sell Exponential "licenses"? | No such license exists; describe the GPL correctly (Licensing explained for buyers). |
| Can we use the help in our manuals? | Yes, under the GFDL: keep the notices, include the license, release your version under the GFDL. |
Related pages
- Licensing explained for buyers
- Who is 7x?
- Distribution partners and resellers
- Licensing questions: the licensing FAQ of exponential.earth in plain words
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
Copyright and copyleft
Since 29 October 2026 the copyright of Exponential is held by the Exponential Foundation and 7x together, the Foundation named first: "Exponential Copyright © 1998-2026 Exponential Foundation and 7x", in files "Copyright (C) 1998 - 2026 Exponential Foundation and 7x. All rights reserved." Who holds it and why, what the GPL lets you do, the third-party notices that stay and how to write the notice in new files and extensions: Copyright and copyleft.