A Programme Starts Producing: First Repo Done
When we launched the OSPO in May 2026, we said Apache 2.0 is the target licence for ownCloud. We put it in writing in the manifesto. We said the relicensing programme was underway.
Today it starts producing results.
owncloud/web-extensions — the repository for ownCloud web extension development — has been relicensed from AGPL-3.0 to Apache-2.0. It’s the first ownCloud repository to complete the relicensing process under the OSPO-driven migration programme. PR #443, authored by Lukas Hirt.
This is the beginning of a systematic programme across the ownCloud ecosystem.
Why AGPL-3.0 Had to Go
The Apache Software Foundation’s third-party licence policy classifies AGPL-3.0 as Category X: a licence that is incompatible with Apache 2.0 and therefore cannot be used in ASF projects. If any ownCloud component were to be contributed upstream to an Apache project — and oCIS, with its CS3/reva stack and open federation standards work, has reasons to be there — an AGPL-3.0 licence on our web extension layer would block that path.
That’s a theoretical concern right now. But we’re building for the ecosystem, not just for today’s deployment needs. A relicensing decision made now, before the dependency graph gets complicated, is worth a hundred conversations about compatibility later.
Beyond the ASF policy, Apache 2.0 is the more permissive and procurement-friendly choice. European public sector customers don’t need to wrestle with copyleft obligations. Enterprise developers building web extensions don’t need to worry about AGPL’s network-use provisions. Apache 2.0 means: use it, build on it, ship it, don’t worry about the licence.
What the PR Actually Changes
Lukas Hirt’s commit is thorough. This wasn’t a licence-file swap — it was a proper relicensing with compliance infrastructure built in:
- The licence itself. LICENSE file replaced with Apache-2.0 full text. The “license” field updated in all package.json files.
- REUSE 3.x compliance. A REUSE.toml file and LICENSES/ directory structure added, following the FSFE specification. REUSE makes it possible to programmatically verify that every file has a clear licence declaration — essential for SBOMs and procurement.
- NOTICE file. Third-party attributions documented as Apache 2.0 requires.
- CI licence checks. Two new pipeline jobs: license-check (running reuse lint on every PR) and dependency-license-check (verifying no incompatible dependency has crept in). Licence compliance is now automated — it can’t regress silently.
- README badge and docs updated.
- DCO sign-off.Signed-off-by: Lukas Hirt.. — the Developer Certificate of Origin that replaced the old CLA at OSPO launch. Contributors keep their copyright.
Why web-extensions First
web-extensions is the framework for building oCIS web extensions — the layer that third-party developers build on, that community contributors extend, and that we’ve been encouraging AI-assisted development on since we published the AI development guide.
An AGPL-3.0 licence on the extension framework creates friction for exactly the contributors we want to attract: product managers building custom extensions, students creating lab projects, partners integrating oCIS with their platforms. Apache 2.0 removes one of the bigger reasons they’d hesitate.
This Is a Programme, Not a One-Off
web-extensions is the first. It won’t be the last.
The OSPO relicensing programme is a structured audit across 108 repositories. Each repo goes through a four-tier classification: already Apache 2.0, relicensable after copyright audit, needs careful evaluation, or a fork that carries the upstream licence. web-extensions cleared the audit. The PR is the result.
We’re not publishing a roadmap of which repos follow in which order — the audit takes the time it takes, and we’re not skipping steps. But the direction is clear.
We said Apache 2.0 is the target. This is what the target being achieved looks like, one repo at a time.
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Lukas Hirt is a Collaborator on the ownCloud web-extensions repository. This work was done as part of the OSPO-driven relicensing programme.ownCloud OSPO: moc.skrowetik@opso · kiteworks.com/opensource
