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License

Last updated: September 1, 2026

1. The Software Is Open Source

The Madrona platform (the "Software") is released by Madrona, LLC ("Madrona," "we," "us," or "our") under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"). The complete source is published at github.com/madrona-app/madrona.

The License is the entire agreement between you and Madrona regarding software you obtain and run yourself. You do not need our permission, an order form, or a commercial relationship of any kind to use it. Nothing on this website adds conditions to the License, and where anything here appears to conflict with it, the License governs.

This is not a limited edition offered alongside a fuller commercial one. The published repository is the same code we operate for hosted customers. There is no license key, no seat count enforcement, no feature gate, and no activation check.

2. What the License Permits

Under Apache-2.0 you may, at no cost and without further permission:

  • Run the Software for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, on any infrastructure.
  • Install it for as many institutions, users, and records as you like, with no time limit.
  • Read, study, and modify the source code.
  • Distribute copies, and distribute your modified versions.
  • Fork the project and develop it in a direction we do not endorse.
  • Offer the Software to others as a hosted service, including in competition with our own hosting.

The License also includes an express grant of patent rights from contributors, which is frequently the provision institutional counsel is asked to confirm.

3. What the License Asks in Return

The obligations are the standard Apache-2.0 conditions, and they apply when you redistribute the Software or a derivative of it:

  • Include a copy of the License with any distribution.
  • Retain existing copyright, patent, trademark, and attribution notices.
  • State prominently which files you changed.
  • Include the contents of any NOTICE file distributed with the Software.

Read the full license text for the authoritative terms. The summary above is provided for convenience and does not replace it.

4. Warranty and Support for Self-Hosted Use

Consistent with Section 7 of the License, the Software is provided on an "AS IS" basis, without warranties or conditions of any kind, express or implied. If you run the Software yourself, you do so at your own risk, and Madrona has no obligation to provide support, security patches, uptime, backups, or data recovery.

We publish security fixes to the public repository as a matter of practice, but self-hosted operators are responsible for applying them. If you want contractual commitments — response times, upgrade assistance, incident support — those are available as a paid support agreement, which is a separate contract and not a condition of using the Software.

5. Trademarks

The License grants rights to the software, not to our name or branding. "Madrona" and the Madrona wordmark and logo are trademarks of Madrona, LLC, and Section 6 of the License expressly excludes trademark rights from the grant.

You may state accurately that your product is built on, derived from, or compatible with Madrona. You may not use our name or marks in a way that suggests your fork, deployment, or hosting service is an official Madrona product, is operated by us, or is endorsed by us. If you run a modified version as a service for others, please give it your own name.

6. Contributions

Contributions submitted to the project are, under Section 5 of the License, provided under the same Apache-2.0 terms, unless you state otherwise in writing. Contributors retain copyright in their own work. Any additional requirements for contributing are documented in the repository.

7. Madrona Hosting Is a Separate Agreement

Everything above concerns the Software itself. If you purchase hosting, support, migration, or other professional services from Madrona, that commercial relationship is governed by our Terms of Service, our Privacy Policy, and any applicable order form or statement of work ("Order Form"). In the event of a conflict among those, the Order Form takes precedence, followed by the Terms of Service.

Those documents govern the service we operate on your behalf. They place no restriction on your rights under the License. Ending a hosting agreement ends our operation of the platform for you; it does not end your right to run the Software.

7.1 Applications

  • Collections - collection management with cataloging, location tracking, loans, acquisitions, exhibitions, and condition reporting.
  • Media - digital asset management with rights tracking, derivative generation, watermarking, and image serving.
  • Content - website builder with block-based pages, blog publishing, event calendars, exhibition guides, and public collection access.

All applications are present in the open-source repository. A hosting Order Form identifies which ones we operate and support for you, not which ones you are permitted to run.

7.2 Public Collection Access

The Software can publish selected collection records to a public-facing API. This is controlled entirely by the operator — no records are published unless publication is explicitly configured. Whoever runs the deployment is responsible for ensuring that publicly accessible content complies with applicable laws and third-party rights.

7.3 Customer Content and Export

Customer retains all rights to Customer Content. On our hosting, Madrona processes Customer Content solely to provide the service; see the Terms of Service for details. Export is available in standard formats including JSON, CSV, and JSON-LD. We aim to support comprehensive export but do not guarantee that every field and format combination is exportable.

On termination of a hosting agreement, Customer Content remains available for export for thirty (30) days. Because the Software is open source, an alternative to exporting is to stand up your own installation and have us transfer the data into it.

7.4 Audit Logs

The Software maintains audit logs recording data changes, including the user, timestamp, and before/after values for field-level modifications. Audit logging is a platform feature designed to support accountability and governance; it is not a guarantee of completeness for regulatory compliance purposes.

8. Standards Support

The Software is designed to support cultural heritage standards and interoperability protocols, including:

  • Getty vocabularies (AAT, ULAN, TGN) via live integration.
  • IIIF Image API 3.0 and Presentation API 3.0 for image serving and manifest generation.
  • JSON-LD export suitable for linked data use cases, including CIDOC-CRM mapping.
  • Cataloging informed by CDWA (Categories for the Description of Works of Art).

These are described as supported standards and design influences, not as certifications or formal compliance claims. Implementation details may vary and evolve over time. Because the source is public, you can verify any of these claims directly rather than relying on this page.

9. Feedback

If you provide suggestions, feature requests, or other feedback about the Software ("Feedback"), Madrona may use that Feedback without restriction or obligation. Feedback does not create any confidentiality obligation on Madrona's part, and Madrona is not required to implement any Feedback.

10. Beta and Early Access Features

Certain applications or features may be designated as "Beta" or "Early Access." Beta and early access features:

  • Are provided "as is" without any warranty or service level commitment.
  • May be modified, suspended, or discontinued without advance notice.
  • May contain bugs, errors, or incomplete functionality.
  • Should not be relied upon for critical production workflows without accepting the associated risks.

11. Contact Information

Questions about this page should be directed to:

Madrona, LLC
Vermont, United States
Email: info@madrona.app