chore: change project license to AGPL

[steveiliop56]

Hey everyone,

This is a small change to the Tinyauth project. With your approval, we will be soon changing the license to the GNU Affero General Public License. Why? Because Tinyauth is an application that is meant to be run over the network and the GNU General Public License we are using now has a "loophole" that permits people to run a closed-source version of the software since they are not technically distributing it. I believe that denying companies the permission to use software without giving back is the way to sustain open-source and by using a stricter license we can ensure a better future for open-source.

If you agree with the license change, please leave a comment or a thumbs up to this pull request. If you have any concerns with the license change please let us know below.

Thank you

CC: @scottmckendry @pushpinderbal @Dredsen @jacekkow @Rycochet @robotman4 @DragonStuff @andreribeiro87 @chrellrich @contre95 @CzBiX @11notes @gurukulkarni @mswillia @itasli @d3vv3 @luizfelipefb @modrin @nicotsx @plaes @missuo @WilliamB78 @heapframe @djedditt @exenza

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Chores

  • Project license changed from GPL v3 to GNU Affero General Public License v3 (AGPLv3), including updated terms for network interaction and revised version-selection language.

• Documentation

  • README updated to describe the main development branch status and to reflect the new AGPLv3 licensing reference and link.

[coderabbitai]

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The repository license text is changed from GNU GPLv3 to GNU Affero General Public License v3, replacing key sections with AGPL network-server provisions. README wording and the license link are updated to reference AGPLv3 and note the branch as the main development line.

Changes

License Upgrade to AGPLv3

Layer / File(s)	Summary
License document upgrade to AGPLv3 LICENSE	The LICENSE file is replaced/edited to use the GNU Affero General Public License v3 text: header and preamble updated for network/server coverage, "This License" definition set to AGPL v3, Sections 13 (Remote Network Interaction) and 14 (Revised Versions) rewritten, and the "How to Apply These Terms" notice updated for AGPL network-source instructions.
README documentation updates README.md	README note changed to designate the branch as the main development branch; the license TL;DR text updated from "GNU General Public License v3.0" to "GNU Affero General Public License v3.0" and the license link target changed from ./LICENSE to LICENSE.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~20 minutes

Poem

🐰 A tiny hop from GPL to AGPL's door,
Servers must share what users explore,
Preamble rewritten, sections retooled,
Source for the network now clearly ruled,
Springing forward, tiny auth ensures more.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title directly and accurately describes the main change: updating the project license from GPL to AGPL.

_{✏️ Tip: You can configure your own custom pre-merge checks in the settings.}

✨ Finishing Touches

📝 Generate docstrings

• Create stacked PR
• Commit on current branch

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch chore/agpl

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[scottmckendry]

lgtm

[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.

📢 Thoughts on this report? Let us know!

[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 1

🧹 Nitpick comments (1)

README.md (1)

59-59: ⚡ Quick win

Tighten AGPL TL;DR wording to avoid over-broad legal claims.

Line 59 currently uses absolute phrasing that can be interpreted as legal advice and may overstate scope. Suggest a shorter plain-language summary and defer specifics to the LICENSE file.

Suggested rewrite

-Tinyauth is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. TL;DR — You may copy, distribute and modify the software as long as you track changes/dates in source files. Any modifications to or software including (via compiler) AGPL-licensed code must also be made available under the AGPL along with build & install instructions. If you run a modified version over a network, you must also make the source available to the users of that service. For more information about the license check the [license](LICENSE) file.
+Tinyauth is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. TL;DR — You may copy, distribute, and modify the software under AGPL terms; if you distribute modified versions or provide them for remote network use, you must provide corresponding source under the license. See the full [LICENSE](LICENSE) for exact terms.

🤖 Prompt for AI Agents

Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

In `@README.md` at line 59, Replace the overly definitive TL;DR sentence that
begins "Tinyauth is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License
v3.0..." with a concise, plain-language summary that avoids legal advice—e.g.,
state that the project is licensed under AGPL v3 and that users should consult
the LICENSE file for rights, obligations, and details about distribution,
modification, and networked use; keep the shorter summary to one or two
sentences and add an explicit pointer to the LICENSE file for full legal terms.

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents

Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

Inline comments:
In `@LICENSE`:
- Around line 632-633: Remove the two project-specific lines "Tinyauth - The
tiniest authentication and authorization server you have ever seen." and
"Copyright (C) 2026 `@steveiliop56`" from the LICENSE file so the AGPLv3 text
remains canonical; then add that project notice to a separate NOTICE or README
file (or as header comments in source files) and reference it there instead of
embedding it in the license body.

---

Nitpick comments:
In `@README.md`:
- Line 59: Replace the overly definitive TL;DR sentence that begins "Tinyauth is
licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0..." with a concise,
plain-language summary that avoids legal advice—e.g., state that the project is
licensed under AGPL v3 and that users should consult the LICENSE file for
rights, obligations, and details about distribution, modification, and networked
use; keep the shorter summary to one or two sentences and add an explicit
pointer to the LICENSE file for full legal terms.

🪄 Autofix (Beta)

Fix all unresolved CodeRabbit comments on this PR:

• Push a commit to this branch (recommended)
• Create a new PR with the fixes

---

ℹ️ Review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Path: .coderabbit.yaml

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro Plus

Run ID: 56c2eef5-a7b7-4f2c-b561-4a7b5bbcd495

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 8b4ba23 and ce7963b.

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

• LICENSE
• README.md

[Rycochet]

Adding the license header to every file is a good idea - but if done it should be separate - this PR is to track approval from all contributors 😊

[mswillia]

I would recommend coupling this license change with a version bump and a record of the commit id of the change. This gives a way for any forks to know if they are complying with the license change or not.

[Dredsen]

No reason not to.

[missuo]

Approve. I fully support the license change to AGPLv3 — it closes the network-use loophole in GPLv3 and better protects the project's open-source future. 👍

[steveiliop56]

Thank you everyone, good to go.