Most software you use is a black box: you get the finished app, but the source code that makes it work is kept private. Open source flips that around. The code is published in the open for anyone to read, use, modify, and share. livedocuments is open source, and that shapes the whole product, from what it costs to how your data is handled.
What "open source" actually means
Software is open source when its source code, the human-readable instructions that make the program work, is published under a licence that grants everyone the right to use it freely. In practice that means four things:
- You can read it. Nothing about how the app works is hidden. The exact code that runs is the code you can inspect.
- You can use it. Anyone may use the code, for any purpose.
- You can modify it. Fork it, change it, adapt it to your needs.
- You can share it. Pass on the original or your modified version.
The licence is what makes those rights real rather than a promise. Different open-source licences attach different conditions; livedocuments uses one of the most permissive.
livedocuments is MIT-licensed
livedocuments is released under the MIT licence, one of the simplest and most permissive open-source licences. It is permissive on purpose: anyone may read, fork, modify or build on the code, for any purpose, commercial or not, with no copyleft strings attached. The whole codebase is publicly viewable.
That licence choice has concrete consequences for you.
It is free, with no paid tier
Because the project is open and there is no commercial product to protect, livedocuments is free for everyone. There is no paid tier, no "Pro" upgrade, and no plan to introduce one. Every feature ships to every user. See Why use livedocuments?.
You can verify the claims, not just trust them
A public codebase means you do not have to take any privacy or security claim on faith. How a document is stored, what telemetry records, how share passwords work, all of it is in the open for you (or anyone) to audit. See Open source and trust.
You are never locked in
There is no subscription and no licence check phoning home, and your documents export to portable formats, so you can always take your work with you.
Open source, ready to use
Being open source does not mean you have to set anything up. livedocuments runs at livedocuments.app, free, so you can just use it, and the code behind it stays open for anyone to read.
Open source is also an invitation: the code is on GitHub, and contributions back to the project are welcome under the same MIT licence.
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