Offline Chatbot (LLM's) License Agreements

Before running or sharing an offline AI model, it’s important to understand what its license allows. This page explains common LLM licenses in plain language so you can confidently use models at home, share results, or build commercial projects.

Allows users to freely use, modify, and distribute the software with minimal restrictions. The only requirement is to include the original copyright notice in any distributed copies or substantial portions of the software.
or modifying its behavior to better suit your requirements.

Permissive license with protections, especially regarding patents; allows reuse, modification, and distribution.

Allowed for Home Use - YES
Sharing on Social Media - YES
Allowed for Commercial Use - YES
Similar to the MIT License but with additional protections, particularly concerning patent rights. It allows for free use, modification, and distribution, but any changes must be documented.

Permissive license with protections, especially regarding patents; allows reuse, modification, and distribution.

Allowed for Home Use - YES
Sharing on Social Media - YES
Allowed for Commercial Use - YES
Requires that any modified versions of the software must also be open-sourced under the same GPL license. There are different versions like GPLv2 and GPLv3, with GPLv3 providing more stringent protections.

Copyleft license requiring derived works to also be open-sourced under GPL.

Allowed for Home Use - YES
Sharing on Social Media - YES (if open source)
Allowed for Commercial Use - YES (if open source)
Commonly used for models that include datasets or trained weights. CC licenses can vary, from allowing almost unrestricted use to more restrictive terms like non-commercial use only.

Allows use, sharing, and modification with attribution.

Allowed for Home Use - YES
Sharing on Social Media - YES
Allowed for Commercial Use - YES
Similar to the MIT License, the BSD license allows for free use and distribution with minimal restrictions. There are variants like the 2-Clause and 3-Clause BSD licenses, which differ mainly in terms of attribution requirements.

Permissive license allowing reuse, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.

Allowed for Home Use - YES
Sharing on Social Media - YES
Allowed for Commercial Use - YES
Some models are released under proprietary licenses, which restrict usage, modification, and distribution. Users may need to purchase a license or adhere to specific terms and conditions.

Restrictive license limiting use, modification, and distribution; typically requires purchase or agreement.

Allowed for Home Use - VARIES
Sharing on Social Media - VARIES
Allowed for Commercial Use - VARIES
Designed for AI models, it includes clauses that govern ethical use, preventing misuse such as generating harmful content. This is increasingly popular for responsible AI development.

Usage-based license for AI models with clauses for ethical use; aims to prevent misuse.

Allowed for Home Use - YES
Sharing on Social Media - YES (if within ethical guidelines)
Allowed for Commercial Use - YES (if within ethical guidelines)
Some models come with an EULA that users must agree to, which can limit usage to specific purposes, prohibit redistribution, or impose other conditions.

Restrictive license often tied to software or digital products; usage rights defined by the agreement..

Allowed for Home Use - VARIES
Sharing on Social Media - VARIES
Allowed for Commercial Use - VARIES
A very permissive license that essentially places the software in the public domain, allowing unrestricted use, modification, and distribution without any obligations.

Extremely permissive, placing work in the public domain, allowing any use without restrictions.

Allowed for Home Use - YES
Sharing on Social Media - YES
Allowed for Commercial Use - YES
Research-only licenses allow models to be used solely for experimentation, learning, and academic research. These licenses explicitly prohibit commercial use, product deployment, or monetization of outputs.

They are commonly used for early-access models, experimental releases, or academic research projects, and are often time-limited or version-specific.

Type: Restrictive license limited to non-commercial research use.

Allowed for Home Use – YES (personal learning and research)
Sharing on Social Media – YES (non-commercial, informational only)
Allowed for Commercial Use – NO
Non-commercial licenses permit personal and educational use but prohibit any activity intended for profit or financial gain. This includes selling products, offering paid services, monetized content, or commercial demonstrations.

Non-commercial clauses are commonly found in Creative Commons licenses or custom AI model agreements. Users should be aware that “non-commercial” often includes indirect monetization, such as sponsored content or paid subscriptions.

Type: Restrictive license allowing use only for non-commercial purposes.

Allowed for Home Use – YES
Sharing on Social Media – YES (non-commercial only)
Allowed for Commercial Use – NO
Some popular LLMs are released under custom licenses created by the model authors, rather than standard open-source licenses. These licenses often allow personal or research use while placing specific restrictions on redistribution, commercial deployment, or hosting the model as a service.

Custom licenses vary significantly between models and versions, so it’s important to always review the license included with the model download or repository.

Type: Custom / Hybrid license combining permissive and restrictive terms.

Allowed for Home Use – YES
Sharing on Social Media – YES (model outputs only, subject to license terms)
Allowed for Commercial Use – VARIES (often restricted or requires additional permission)
AI models are trained on datasets that may have separate licenses from the model itself. Even if a model’s code or weights are permissively licensed, the underlying training data may impose additional restrictions on use, redistribution, or commercial deployment.

Dataset licenses are especially important when retraining, fine-tuning, or redistributing models, as these activities may be governed by the data license rather than the model license.

Type: Varies depending on the dataset and source.

Allowed for Home Use – YES (subject to dataset terms)
Sharing on Social Media – YES (model outputs only, if permitted)
Allowed for Commercial Use – VARIES (often restricted or conditional)
Use this quick guide to decide which type of license is right for your situation. You don’t need legal expertise — just answer the questions honestly.

🏠 Are you experimenting at home or learning for personal use?

Choose:

MIT License

Apache License 2.0

BSD License

Public Domain (Unlicense)

✔ Easy to use
✔ No restrictions for learning
✔ Safe for offline experimentation

📢 Do you want to share results on social media or in tutorials?

Choose:

MIT / Apache / BSD

Creative Commons (with attribution)

OpenRAIL (within ethical rules)

⚠️ Always credit the original model
⚠️ Check non-commercial clauses carefully

💼 Are you building something commercial or client-facing?

Choose:

MIT / Apache / BSD

Some OpenRAIL licenses

Paid Proprietary licenses (if required)

🚫 Avoid:

Non-Commercial licenses

Research-only licenses

GPL (unless you plan to open-source everything)

🔬 Is this strictly for research or evaluation?

Choose:

Research-Only Licenses

Non-Commercial Licenses

✔ Safe for testing
✖ Not allowed for products or monetization

🤖 Does the model come with its own custom terms?

Choose:

Model-Specific Custom License

📌 Always read these carefully
📌 Terms can override “standard” expectations

📚 Are you using datasets or training data?

Check:

Dataset / Training Data License

⚠️ Even if the model is permissive, the data license still matters
⚠️ Some datasets prohibit redistribution or commercial use

When in Doubt

If you’re unsure:

Prefer MIT, Apache, or BSD

Avoid Non-Commercial and Research-Only

Don’t assume “open source” means “commercially safe”

When it matters, check the original repository or Hugging Face license file.
Key Points:

Home Use: Refers to the ability to use the licensed content for personal, non-commercial purposes at home.

Sharing on Social Media: Indicates whether the content can be freely shared or posted on social media platforms.

Commercial Use: Refers to the ability to use the licensed content for profit-making activities, such as selling products, services, or content based on the licensed work.