HotLoop licensing: the lineup and Flow
Two licenses, on purpose. HotLoop IoT, Edge, Gateway and Edge Relay come from one codebase and share one. HotLoop Flow has its own. Which applies depends on the product, and for the four, on who is running it.
| Product | Who | Cost | How to get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| HotLoop IoT, Edge, Gateway, Edge Relay | Individual, home, hobbyist, nonprofit, or education | Free | Self-host directly, no agreement needed |
| HotLoop IoT, Edge, Gateway, Edge Relay | Any business or for-profit use, internal or customer-facing | Free, through EmberNET | Exclusively through EmberNET |
| HotLoop Flow | Anyone, including businesses and commercial use | Free | Self-host directly under Apache-2.0, no agreement needed |
HotLoop Flow is Apache-2.0
Section titled “HotLoop Flow is Apache-2.0”Flow is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, which is an OSI-approved open source license with no business-use restriction. A business can run it, modify it, and ship it commercially without asking anyone, and it does not need EmberNET or anybody else’s permission.
IoT, Edge, the Gateway and the Edge Relay are source-available
Section titled “IoT, Edge, the Gateway and the Edge Relay are source-available”All four are under the HotLoop Community License. There are no license keys and nothing unlocks at runtime: which product you run is which image you pulled. The license is source-available, and it is not an OSI-approved open source license, because it restricts business use. Individuals get it free, and any business that wants it goes through EmberNET. You can sign up for EmberNET for free, and business use of HotLoop there is free.
Support, SLAs, and warranties come from HotLoop’s Official Systems Integrators, Fireball Industries, not from EmberNET. Fireball will also design, install, and support the rollout for you if you would rather not do it yourself. Using HotLoop in a business covers both paths.
A few concrete situations
Section titled “A few concrete situations”| Situation | Cost |
|---|---|
| Automating your own house | Free |
| A hobby project you are building for fun | Free |
| A class project or a student lab | Free |
| A local nonprofit running it in their own space | Free |
| Running it inside a company, internal only, no customers touching it | Through EmberNET |
| Deploying it as part of a product or service you sell | Through EmberNET |
| A landlord automating a rental property they operate as a business | Through EmberNET |
| A contractor installing and managing it for paying clients | Through EmberNET |
Genuinely unsure which side of the line you are on? Ask before you build a whole setup on a bad assumption. Email support@hotloop.io, or go straight to EmberNET if it looks like a business case.
One note on history
Section titled “One note on history”Container images for earlier versions of what is now HotLoop Gateway, versions 4.0.0 through 4.3.1, were published publicly under Apache-2.0, along with the Helm chart packages released beside them. They remain available, and they remain under Apache-2.0. The HotLoop Community License applies to the Gateway from its first release under the HotLoop name onward. HotLoop Flow, first published as Emberwire, has been Apache-2.0 the whole time and is not changing.
The legal text
Section titled “The legal text”The summary above is plain language. The text below is what actually decides things, and it wins every argument, including this one. It is mirrored here from HotLoop-io/HotLoop-io, which is the canonical copy.
HotLoop Community License, Version 1.0
Section titled “HotLoop Community License, Version 1.0”Scope. This license governs HotLoop IoT, HotLoop Edge, HotLoop Gateway, HotLoop Edge Relay and HotLoop Cascade. HotLoop Flow is a separate product, licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, and is not covered by this license.
Copyright (c) 2026 HotLoop. All rights reserved except as granted below.
This is a source-available license. It is not an OSI-approved open source license, because it restricts commercial and business use. Read it before you use, modify, or distribute HotLoop.
1. Definitions
Section titled “1. Definitions”- “HotLoop” or “the Software” means the software distributed under this license, including its source code, binaries, configuration, and accompanying documentation.
- “You” means the person or entity exercising rights under this license.
- “Individual Use” means use of the Software by a natural person for personal, household, hobbyist, educational, or noncommercial community or nonprofit purposes. The Software must not be used by, for, or on behalf of any business or for-profit organization, and must not be used to generate revenue or to provide a commercial product or service to any third party.
- “Business Use” means any use of the Software by, for, or on behalf of a business, company, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or other for-profit entity, for any purpose whatsoever, including purely internal operations, regardless of whether the Software is resold, sublicensed, or exposed to anyone outside that entity, and regardless of whether a fee is charged.
- “EmberNET” means EmberNET and its designated affiliates, the sole authorized commercial partner for Business Use of HotLoop.
2. Grant for Individual Use
Section titled “2. Grant for Individual Use”Subject to the terms of this license, HotLoop grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, copy, modify, self-host, and distribute the Software, in original or modified form, solely for Individual Use. Any copy or substantial portion of the Software that You distribute must retain this license and all copyright notices.
3. Business Use Requires EmberNET
Section titled “3. Business Use Requires EmberNET”No rights are granted under this license for Business Use. If You wish to use HotLoop in connection with any business or for-profit purpose, You must obtain it through EmberNET’s official Business/Enterprise offering, under a separate commercial agreement with EmberNET. EmberNET is the sole and exclusive authorized channel through which HotLoop may be obtained and used for Business Use. Deploying or operating the Software for Business Use without a commercial agreement with EmberNET is not authorized, and is a violation of this license.
4. Trademarks
Section titled “4. Trademarks”This license does not grant You any right to use the “HotLoop” name, logo, or branding, except as needed to accurately state that Your work is based on or derived from HotLoop. All trademark and branding rights are reserved.
5. Modifications and Redistribution
Section titled “5. Modifications and Redistribution”You may modify the Software for Your own Individual Use. If You redistribute the Software, whether modified or unmodified, You must do so under this same license, must retain all copyright and license notices, and must clearly document any changes You made.
6. Termination
Section titled “6. Termination”Your rights under this license terminate automatically if You use the Software in violation of its terms, including any unauthorized Business Use. Reinstatement, if any, is at the sole discretion of HotLoop and EmberNET.
7. No Warranty
Section titled “7. No Warranty”THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS,” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL HOTLOOP, ITS CONTRIBUTORS, OR EMBERNET BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES, OR OTHER LIABILITY ARISING FROM THE SOFTWARE OR ITS USE.
8. Questions
Section titled “8. Questions”For a Business Use license, contact EmberNET. For anything else, contact support@hotloop.io.
This license is a template written for HotLoop’s specific business model. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer. Have it reviewed by qualified legal counsel before relying on it commercially.