License

Understanding MSR’s licensing terms and your rights.

Table of contents

  1. Overview
    1. Quick Summary
  2. License Type: MIT + Commons Clause + Attribution
  3. What You Can Do
    1. ✅ Allowed Without Restrictions
    2. ✅ Allowed With Attribution
    3. ❌ Not Allowed
  4. Can I Use MSR?
    1. ✅ YES - These Are Allowed
      1. Use in Your Application
      2. Internal Company Use
      3. Contributing Improvements
      4. Creating Free Adapters
    2. ❌ NO - These Are Prohibited
      1. Selling as a Product
      2. Selling Adapters
      3. Paid Services Around MSR
  5. Attribution Requirements
    1. When Attribution Is Required
    2. When Attribution Is NOT Required
  6. How to Provide Attribution
  7. Common Scenarios
    1. Scenario 1: Building a Web Application
    2. Scenario 2: Creating a PostgreSQL Adapter
    3. Scenario 3: Building “DB Migrator Pro”
    4. Scenario 4: Consulting Services
    5. Scenario 5: Internal Company Tools
    6. Scenario 6: Open Source Project
  8. Why This License?
    1. Goals
    2. What We Want
    3. What We Don’t Want
  9. Comparison with Other Licenses
  10. FAQ
    1. Is this “open source”?
    2. Can I fork MSR?
    3. What if I want to sell a product based on MSR?
    4. Can I use MSR at my company?
    5. Do I need to mention MSR in my app’s credits?
    6. Can I create paid training courses about MSR?
    7. What about competitors using MSR?
  11. Questions?
  12. Full License Text

Overview

Migration Script Runner is licensed under the MIT License with Commons Clause and Attribution Requirements. This is a source-available license that grants you broad permissions while protecting against commercial exploitation of the software itself.

Quick Summary

  • ✅ Free to use in your applications (including commercial)
  • ✅ Free to modify and improve
  • ✅ Free to fork and contribute
  • ❌ Cannot sell as a standalone product
  • 🔒 Must attribute when creating adapters/extensions

License Type: MIT + Commons Clause + Attribution

This three-part license combines:

  1. MIT License - Permissive base license
  2. Commons Clause - Prevents selling the software itself
  3. Attribution Requirement - Ensures proper credit for derivatives

What You Can Do

✅ Allowed Without Restrictions

  • Use MSR in commercial applications (SaaS, enterprise, startups)
  • Use MSR in internal company tools
  • Modify MSR for your specific needs
  • Fork and contribute improvements
  • Bundle MSR with your product
  • Deploy MSR in production

✅ Allowed With Attribution

  • Create and share database adapters (PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.)
  • Build extensions on top of MSR
  • Create forks with new features

❌ Not Allowed

  • Sell MSR as a standalone product
  • Sell database adapters as products
  • Offer “MSR-as-a-Service” commercially
  • Create paid “Pro” versions of MSR

Can I Use MSR?

✅ YES - These Are Allowed

Use in Your Application 

// Your commercial web application
import { MigrationScriptExecutor } from '@migration-script-runner/core';

const executor = new MigrationScriptExecutor({ handler }, config);
await executor.migrate();

// ✅ This is completely free
// ✅ No attribution required
// ✅ Sell your app freely

Examples:

  • Netflix uses MSR for database migrations ✅
  • E-commerce platform uses MSR internally ✅
  • SaaS startup uses MSR in their product ✅
  • Mobile app backend uses MSR ✅

Internal Company Use 

Your Company:
├── Internal Tools (using MSR) ✅
├── Production Apps (using MSR) ✅
├── Development Environment (using MSR) ✅
└── CI/CD Pipelines (using MSR) ✅

No restrictions on internal use!

Contributing Improvements 

# Fork MSR and fix a bug
git clone https://github.com/migration-script-runner/msr-core.git
# Make improvements
git commit -m "Fix: Resolve migration ordering issue"
# Submit PR
gh pr create

# ✅ Completely allowed and encouraged!

Creating Free Adapters 

// @yourname/postgres-adapter (FREE, open source)
export class PostgresAdapter implements IDatabaseMigrationHandler<IDB> {
  // Your PostgreSQL implementation
}

// ✅ Allowed if you:
// 1. Include attribution to MSR
// 2. Make it free (not sold)
// 3. Share source code

❌ NO - These Are Prohibited

Selling as a Product 

❌ "PostgreSQL Migration Tool" - $99/month
❌ "MSR Pro Edition" - $199/year
❌ "Database Migrator (powered by MSR)" - $49 license
❌ "MSR Cloud Service" - $50/month hosting

Why prohibited: The product’s value derives primarily from MSR functionality.

Selling Adapters 

// ❌ Selling this as a product is prohibited
// "Premium PostgreSQL Adapter for MSR" - $29

export class PostgresAdapter implements IDatabaseMigrationHandler<IDB> {
  // Cannot sell this as a standalone product
}

❌ "MSR Consulting Services" - $200/hour
   (Focused specifically on MSR implementation)

❌ "MSR Support Subscription" - $99/month
   (Paid support for MSR issues)

❌ "Managed MSR Service" - $150/month
   (Hosting/managing MSR for clients)

Note: General consulting that includes MSR as one part of application development is allowed.

Attribution Requirements

When Attribution Is Required

You MUST provide attribution if you create:

  1. Database Adapters
    • PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB adapters
    • Custom database implementations
  2. Migration Tools
    • Alternative migration runners
    • Enhanced versions of MSR
    • Forks with new features
  3. Extensions
    • Plugins that extend MSR functionality
    • Tools built on MSR architecture

When Attribution Is NOT Required

You do NOT need attribution if you:

  • ✅ Use MSR as a library in your application
  • ✅ Integrate MSR into your product
  • ✅ Use MSR internally within your company
  • ✅ Write applications that happen to use MSR

How to Provide Attribution

If you’re creating an adapter or extension, include this in your README and documentation:

## Attribution

This project is based on [Migration Script Runner](https://github.com/migration-script-runner/msr-core)
by Volodymyr Lavrynovych.

Original project: https://github.com/migration-script-runner/msr-core
License: MIT with Commons Clause and Attribution

And in your LICENSE file:

Based on Migration Script Runner
Copyright (c) 2023-2025 Volodymyr Lavrynovych
https://github.com/migration-script-runner/msr-core

[Your License]

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Building a Web Application

Question: Can I use MSR in my commercial SaaS application?

Answer: ✅ YES! Use it freely. No attribution required.

// Your app.ts
const executor = new MigrationScriptExecutor({ handler }, config);
await executor.migrate();

// Sell your SaaS product - completely allowed

Scenario 2: Creating a PostgreSQL Adapter

Question: Can I create a PostgreSQL adapter and share it?

Answer: ✅ YES! But you must:

  1. Include attribution to MSR
  2. Make it free (cannot sell)
  3. Include the LICENSE file
# postgres-adapter/README.md

Based on Migration Script Runner by Volodymyr Lavrynovych
https://github.com/migration-script-runner/msr-core

Scenario 3: Building “DB Migrator Pro”

Question: Can I build a commercial migration tool based on MSR?

Answer: ❌ NO. You cannot sell products where the primary value is MSR’s functionality.

Scenario 4: Consulting Services

Question: Can I offer consulting that includes MSR setup?

Answer: ✅ YES, with conditions:

✅ Allowed: “We’ll build your application and set up MSR for migrations” (MSR is one component of broader services)

❌ Prohibited: “MSR Implementation Service - $5000” (Service focused specifically on MSR)

Scenario 5: Internal Company Tools

Question: Our company wants to use MSR in 50 internal tools. Any restrictions?

Answer: ✅ Absolutely none! Internal use is completely unrestricted.

Scenario 6: Open Source Project

Question: Can my open-source project use MSR?

Answer: ✅ YES! Open source projects can freely use MSR as a dependency with no restrictions.

Why This License?

Goals

  1. Keep MSR free for everyone to use in their applications
  2. Prevent commercial exploitation where someone sells MSR itself
  3. Encourage contributions by ensuring extensions remain accessible
  4. Protect the ecosystem of free database adapters

What We Want

✅ Companies using MSR in their products (free usage) ✅ Developers creating free database adapters (with attribution) ✅ Community improvements and bug fixes ✅ MSR becoming the standard migration framework

What We Don’t Want

❌ Companies selling “PostgreSQL Migrator” built on MSR ❌ Closed-source commercial adapters ❌ “MSR-as-a-Service” products ❌ Fragmentation of paid tools in the ecosystem

Comparison with Other Licenses

License Use in Apps Sell Product Attribution Source Required
MSR (MIT+CC+Attrib) ✅ Free ❌ No 🔒 For extensions For extensions
MIT ✅ Free ✅ Yes ❌ No ❌ No
LGPL ✅ Free ⚠️ Complex ✅ Always ✅ Always
Apache 2.0 ✅ Free ✅ Yes ⚠️ Optional ❌ No

FAQ

Is this “open source”?

Technically, no. The Open Source Initiative (OSI) requires the freedom to sell software. However, MSR is source-available and free for all non-commercial-distribution purposes.

Can I fork MSR?

✅ Yes! You can fork, modify, and improve MSR. Just:

  1. Keep the attribution
  2. Don’t sell it as a product
  3. Share your improvements

What if I want to sell a product based on MSR?

Contact the author to discuss commercial licensing options. We’re open to case-by-case arrangements.

Can I use MSR at my company?

✅ Absolutely! Companies can freely use MSR in all their applications, tools, and services. No restrictions on commercial use as a library.

Do I need to mention MSR in my app’s credits?

❌ No. Only if you’re creating migration tools/adapters. Regular application use requires no attribution.

Can I create paid training courses about MSR?

✅ Yes. Educational content about MSR is allowed.

What about competitors using MSR?

✅ They can! Even your direct competitors can use MSR in their products. That’s intentional - MSR should be available to everyone.

Questions?

If you have questions about licensing:

  1. Read the LICENSE file in the repository
  2. Check the NOTICE file for quick FAQ
  3. Open an issue at github.com/migration-script-runner/msr-core/issues

Full License Text

For the complete legal text, see the LICENSE file in the repository.

TL;DR: Use MSR freely in your apps. Don’t sell MSR itself. Attribute if extending. Questions? Ask us!