Explain like I’m Five: GPL and AGPL
If I understand correctly, GPL basically means “if you use this library, your app must also become GPL, and you must open source your app.” No buts, no what-ifs.
AGPL is GPL, plus “you must also open source your app even if it’s a web app.”
GPL is like King Midas’ golden touch.
A few days ago, I discovered that I was using an AGPL-licensed JavaScript library in Time Capsule. I don’t want to open-source my app, so:
- I removed the library and rewrote the feature in the iOS app.
- I keep the library in the browser extensions because they’re just dumb clients that send data to my server.
- The server is a Rails app that doesn’t use the library.
In this case, I only need to open source the browser extensions, right?