The work stays with its people
No copyright transfer. Project decisions stay with project teams.
A useful thing can do more than one kind of good.
A library saves someone an afternoon. A tool helps a team do its work. The people who made it may never meet the people it helps.
That is a good place to begin.
Purpose Source asks whether we can extend that circle. If a larger organisation relies on a project's software, a licence fee could help support work beyond the software itself: care, education, a safer environment, or research that belongs to everyone.
The intention is not to turn each maintainer into a fundraiser. A shared licence, one coverage system and a public record of the money can make the practical work a common service.
A choice for each community
No licence suits every project. This one is for people who want the use of their work to support a public purpose and are comfortable with the conditions that makes necessary.
That choice should be made with the project's community, with the licence and its trade-offs in view.
Read the comparison →What should stay simple.
The destination stays public
Named recipients, published costs and transfers people can check.
The future stays open to review
Each release has a four-year path to Apache-2.0 in the licence. The Association has published limits and an exit plan.
Start small. Explain it well.
Purpose Source License 1.0 was published on 2026-10-01, and we invite people to examine it. The first useful step is a good discussion with a project that cares about the same idea.