Questions tagged [api]

Use the tag if an open project or license concerns the specific use or interaction with an Application Programming Interface (API).

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Can I change the content license on my Stackoverflow/Stackexchange posts to something more permissive like MIT?

I was experimenting with Stackoverflow's API requests and I noticed this on my posts: I've mentioned in previous posts that while I respect CC BY-SA 4.0's intentions, I don't like the copyleft ...
NextNightFlyer's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
164 views

AGPL : license of backend and frontend

I’m a bit confused with AGPL license, so I ask for advice. I read contradictory things on the matter. I want to make an android app. The backend will use AGPL modified material : stable diffusion ...
LorenzoVILLARD's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
52 views

Is AGPLv3 reasonable for an internal analytics API server?

I'm developing an analytics server that companies should be able to run as-is & interact with internally via APIs. I'd like for them to be able to use this tool without having to open-source their ...
gs8282's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
173 views

API source code has a dependency with BSD license

I have an API that I use for commercial purposes. I find out today that I have dependencies with licence types: BSD (3-Clause), BSD, Apache, and MIT. I am confused as the BSD (3-Clause) license states ...
Hector Ricardo's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
220 views

Can GPL or AGPL talk to non-GPL software (via API, for example)?

Does the GPL or AGPL restrict programs from talking to other programs with other licenses via API? (i.e. transferring data.) Example scenario: Person 1 has Software A which has a GPL license. Person ...
Scott M. Stolz's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

GPL-v3 using along with closed source via REST API

I want to use CMS distributed under GPL-v3 licenses. I am building a web application with closed code and my app invokes via REST API backend under GPL-v3. Question: is it legal to use GPL-v3 along ...
user2779840's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

Can I use a AGPL/GPL package and software for closed-source backend API?

I'm creating an API for a website. An interesting Node.js package I would need is licensed under the AGPL-3. that package is a binding library that speaks to a GPL-2 licensed software (compiled binary)...
HypeWolf's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
310 views

Implications of Google v Oracle decision for GPL

What (if any) are the implications of the recent Supreme Court decision in Oracle v Google. It sets precedent that APIs are fair use. But how does this work with GPL? Specifically, imagine the ...
foxcub's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
779 views

How am I supposed to include a license notice if I use some code licensed under Apache License 2.0 in some API?

I plan to use some code licensed under Apache License 2.0 in some API. How shall I include the license notice that is required by Apache License 2.0? The API is a RESTful API, which is documented on a ...
Franck Dernoncourt's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
132 views

OpenStreetMap usage

I developed an application that on one of its screens has a map. In order to display the results, I'm using Leaflet where I load into it the tiles from OpenStreetMap (OSM). In their policy it says: ...
Ben's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
169 views

Accessing a non-commercial API with Software under strong copyleft (e.g. GPLv3) possible?

My intention I’d like to write a desktop GUI program using Qt (which is itself is licensed under GPL) that interfaces a REST API and I want to use a strong copyleft license, preferably GPLv3. (I use ...
luziferius's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
69 views

What does a web API entails if it's licensed under MIT? Do I have to credit the API if I use it in my app?

I have trouble understanding if a web api must be credited if it's under the MIT license. I'm technically only calling the API so I'm not modify the API code. It seems to my understanding that it is ...
WindBreeze's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
131 views

Publish code on GitHub with a call to public API

This question is more about conventional practice, so I don't include the detail about code or environment. It should be applied to all type of API call. This question was asked on SE exchange, but it ...
Hung Vu's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
159 views

AGPL - Api usage

I am currently working on a workout app for a gym and in my research stumbled upon wger. https://wger.de/en/software/license. An API distributed under AGPL. My question is the following: Does the ...
Renji's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
99 views

Is software still free if it uses nonfree APIs?

I am making a piece of software and I plan to have it interact with the Discord API, which I know is nonfree because it expressly prohibits freedom 1 (the freedom to look at and modify the source ...
sugarfi's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
100 views

Should I exclude files from the license if they reference other copyrighted work

I'm working on various wrappers for web APIs, these wrappers are released under the Apache-2.0 license. For unit tests, I'm running an embedded web server which serves mock responses. The responses ...
Seth Falco's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
265 views

Using a free API which licensed “For personal / non-commercial projects” in website with banners

if using in a website a free API that has the following license: For personal / non-commercial projects. under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. https://...
Menahem Gil's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
107 views

Can FOSS software make API calls to proprietary systems?

I'm not sure if the distinction between free and open source software makes a difference for this question, so I'll use the term FOSS. Can a FOSS platform make API calls to proprietary systems, such ...
Wynne's user avatar
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2 votes
5 answers
849 views

Who is the copyright holder when GPLv2 project API is used?

I've read a lot of articles and still can't find the answer to the following question. There is a project that uses GNU General Public License version 2 license, developed by CompanyX. We (...
Pavel_K's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
367 views

Can I use API exposed in an open source project (MIT License) in a commercial software?

I wanted to use an api that is exposed in an open source project under MIT License.There's no restrictions mentioned for the use of api anywhere in the License neither it says that we can use the api ...
Shubham Soni's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
787 views

Does using an AGPLv3 application through a customised API deem a interfacing application derivative work and must be made public to network users?

A few points to be made to help give clarity to the scenario: The AGPL application and its API can and most likely be customised to suit business needs Other unknown licensed applications require to ...
April Caledonia's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
72 views

Publishing Open Source Software without disclosing a libraries API key

I am working on a project which I plan to opensource. The app will use a crash detection library which to initialise requires an API key and app key in order to initialise and send th crash data to ...
Boardy's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
166 views

MIDI in free software

Yesterday, I got a copyright question on my GitHub repo for my MIDI SDK. I want to know how free software projects handle such problems. In short: Is it legal to list all constants except the General ...
user877329's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
790 views

Why Google’s court victory might kill the GPL?

On the article: Op-ed: Oracle attorney says Google’s court victory might kill the GPL They say: It is hard to see how GPL can survive such a result. In fact, it is hard to see how ownership of a ...
user's user avatar
  • 285
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Open Source projects with encryption keys

I currently have a project which I'm planning in the not too distant future to open source on GitHub. The question I have is regarding how open source projects are released if they have encryption ...
Boardy's user avatar
  • 171
3 votes
1 answer
209 views

Is this copyright infringment?

I created a project to validate objects. It's influenced by a fairly known project called FluentValidation by Jeremy Skinner which has an Apache License. Both projects do the same, provide an API ...
João Sequeira's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
578 views

Re-implementation of a proprietary API

There is a proprietary library whose API I want to re-implement, which is provided to the users with specification, and its use is limited by its license to internal evaluation (to develop programs ...
feos's user avatar
  • 233
4 votes
2 answers
158 views

Linking vs API vs data

I know that GPL requires linking application to be licensed under GPL. Some database lisense covers data usage. I'm sure there's something for API too. But from the comments here on OSSE I also know ...
ZeroUnderscoreOu's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
459 views

GNU GPL question: Do I need to open source my entire app?

I am using the Telegram API (licensed under GNU GPL) to integrate chat services within my own application. The developer of Telegram asks to - "Please remember to publish your code too in order to ...
user2528353's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
239 views

Non-public data in GPL project

Is it possible to release software under GPL license but not publish one small part of it which contains data that really shouldn't be available publicly (I mean private API keys, etc.) If not, which ...
Lawiusz's user avatar
  • 133
8 votes
1 answer
279 views

Can I apply an open source license if I referenced copyright documentation during development?

I am working on python library that wraps a non-free C library. In order to develop this, I referenced the C library's copyrighted documentation. Because of that my function and variable names are the ...
David DeGraw's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
2k views

Publishing software as open source while keeping an API key secret

I have a project that I want to release as open source. However, the project interacts with some external web-based API that requires a key (issued by API owners specifically for the project), that ...
Mikhail's user avatar
  • 183
5 votes
1 answer
359 views

Does a file format constitute an API?

This is an attempt to break down: Does a host application's license apply to plug-ins written for it? into the underlying questions. Assume the following scenario: Two programs 'communicate' via ...
kdopen's user avatar
  • 6,917
9 votes
2 answers
275 views

Can I release my plugin scripts as open source if they rely on a proprietary API?

I write scripts for a commercial GIS package (ArcGIS) using Python and the GIS package software API (Arcpy). I had been thinking about putting the scripts that I create on GitHub under an MIT licence ...
TsvGis's user avatar
  • 621
26 votes
4 answers
2k views

What are the implications of the Google vs. Oracle case on the state of public APIs?

There is a case between Google and Oracle over the use of Java and it's standard library on the Google Android operating system. From this article: To recap: Oracle accused Google of copying some of ...
CinchBlue's user avatar
  • 363