Open Core Model

QoreDB follows an Open Core model. The vast majority of the application is free, open source, and licensed under Apache 2.0. A small set of advanced features, useful in larger teams or production-grade workflows, is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 (BSL).

This page explains what each license covers, why we chose this model, and what it means for you in practice.

The two licenses

Every source file in the repository carries an SPDX header declaring its license, so you can always tell at a glance which tier a given piece of code belongs to.

What's in Core (Apache 2.0)

The core covers everything you need for a complete, production-quality database client:

• All database drivers: PostgreSQL (and Supabase, Neon, TimescaleDB), MySQL/MariaDB, SQL Server, SQLite, DuckDB (and MotherDuck), MongoDB, Redis, CockroachDB, ClickHouse, Elasticsearch, OpenSearch
• Connection management: vault, profiles, SSH tunneling, environment guards
• Query editor and execution: SQL and MongoDB editors, syntax highlighting, autocomplete, history, query library
• Data grid and editing: inline edit, virtualization, server-side filters, bulk edit (up to 5 rows)
• Schema browser: tables, views, routines, triggers, indexes
• Visual DDL editor: full CREATE and ALTER TABLE
• ER Diagram: interactive schema graph with isolate/focus workflows
• Notebooks: full notebook engine with parameterized variables, Run All, import/export
• CSV import, export pipeline (CSV/JSON/SQL/HTML), transaction management
• Audit logging with query fingerprinting, read-only mode, dangerous query detection
• Cross-database federation via DuckDB
• Backup & restore helpers: visual wrappers around pg_dump, mysqldump, mongodump, sqlite3 .dump and their restore counterparts
• Customizable keyboard shortcuts: every binding rebindable from Settings, with cross-OS chord syntax
• Workspaces, multi-tab system, global search, 9-language i18n

In other words, the core is enough to ship real work every day. Pro is not a paywall blocking essential features.

What's in Premium (BSL 1.1)

Premium features are advanced workflows that typically only become valuable once you're using QoreDB heavily or in a team setting:

• Visual Data Diff: side-by-side comparison of table and query results
• Sandbox mode: stage grid edits, review the DML, then apply
• Time Travel: full row history with visual timeline, range filters, point-to-point diff and Rollback SQL preview
• Data Contracts: declarative, executable data-quality assertions (12 rule types, including arbitrary custom_sql) persisted as YAML in the workspace, with post-mutation re-evaluation and an embeddable notebook cell
• Instant Data API: turn any saved read-only query into a token-authenticated REST endpoint on 127.0.0.1, with per-endpoint rate limiting and an auto-generated OpenAPI 3.1 document
• Chart cells in notebooks: bar, line, pie, scatter
• Bulk edit beyond 5 rows
• XLSX and Parquet export
• AI Assistant (BYOK): contextual query generation, schema-aware suggestions, error correction
• Profiling and advanced query interception for performance tuning

You can read every line of source code for these features in the open repository. You can build the app yourself with these features included for personal use. The license simply prevents a third party from rebranding QoreDB as a commercial product that competes with us.

Why Open Core

Pure open source under Apache 2.0 is excellent for libraries and infrastructure, but for a polished end-user product it has a known failure mode: cloud providers and competitors can repackage the project, sell it as their own, and contribute nothing back. That kills the ability to fund continued development.

Pure proprietary software has the opposite failure mode: you can't audit it, can't fix bugs yourself, can't extend it, and you're locked in.

Open Core threads the needle:

• You stay free: you can read, modify, fork and run QoreDB without ever paying us.
• The core is forever open: Apache 2.0 means the most useful 90% of the app is unconditionally yours.
• Premium features are also source-available: you can read and learn from the code, even if you can't repackage it commercially.
• Premium becomes Apache 2.0 after four years: every BSL feature converts to a permissive license over time. Today's Premium is tomorrow's Core.

This is the same model used by HashiCorp's Terraform/Vault (BSL 1.1), Sentry (BSL 1.1), CockroachDB (BSL 1.1), and others.

What this means for you in practice

If you want the full legal text, see the LICENSE (Apache 2.0) and LICENSE-BSL files in the repository.

Where to go next

• Pricing to see what's included in Pro
• Installation to get started
• Contributing if you want to send a PR