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SurfSense

individual

Scores

1 product on the map — 1 open-ish.

SurfSense

Openness

2 high confidence
2.0
license
Apache-2.0(OSI, everything outside the proprietary directory)+BSL-1.1(Business Source License 1.1 - surfsense_backend/app/proprietary (crawler engine and platform extractors, published in the tree))
source
public(github.com/MODSetter/SurfSense)
self-host
primary(Desktop app runs on the user's own machine
core features withheld
no

Everything outside surfsense_backend/app/proprietary is Apache-2.0. That directory holds the web crawler engine and the platform extractors behind the paid scraper plugins, and carries the Business Source License 1.1, which bars offering it to third parties as a commercial or hosted service. The whole tree is public, and the paid license adds only those plugins and priority support, so the app itself stays free to run and build.

  • https://api.github.com/repos/MODSetter/SurfSense/contents/surfsense_backend/app/proprietary recorded 2026-08-14

    The BSL-covered directory exists and ships code - LICENSE, __init__.py, platforms/ and web_crawler/. It is the connector surface rather than a placeholder.

  • https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/MODSetter/SurfSense@main/LICENSE recorded 2026-09-29

    Root LICENSE served through the jsDelivr mirror of the main branch. It says everything under the "surfsense_backend/app/proprietary/" directory "is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1" and that content outside that directory "is available under the Apache License, Version 2.0", followed by the full Apache text. Two governing licenses, one repository.

  • https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/MODSetter/SurfSense@main/README.md recorded 2026-09-29

    Current README: "SurfSense is a free, open-source desktop app for the documents you already have". On licensing it says "A licence adds plugins and priority support and gates nothing else", and that the Docker stack in this repo stays open source and installable but is "community-supported: no SLA and no hosted service behind it." The desktop app is the supported path for new users.

  • https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/MODSetter/SurfSense@main/surfsense_backend/app/proprietary/__init__.py recorded 2026-09-29

    Package docstring of the BSL directory in the public tree: everything under it is licensed separately from the Apache-2.0 project root, and the package holds "the in-house undetectable crawler engine and (future) platform-specific actors".

  • https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/MODSetter/SurfSense@main/surfsense_backend/app/proprietary/LICENSE recorded 2026-09-29

    Business Source License 1.1 for the proprietary directory, whose Additional Use Grant allows production use "provided such use does not include offering the Licensed Work" to third parties as a commercial product or hosted service. The Change License is "Apache License, Version 2.0", effective four years after each version is released.

  • https://github.com/MODSetter/SurfSense recorded 2026-08-14

    Repository page, 15,906 stars. GitHub records the license as spdxId NOASSERTION / 'Other', which is GitHub declining to classify the split LICENSE file. The page still reads 'self-hosting stays free and open source' and 'Self-hosted installs run with billing off', so nothing is withheld from the published tree for a paid tier.

  • https://github.com/MODSetter/SurfSense/blob/main/LICENSE recorded 2026-06-17

    Apache License 2.0

  • https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MODSetter/SurfSense/main/LICENSE recorded 2026-08-14

    Root LICENSE, read rather than assumed. 'Portions of this software are licensed as follows - All content that resides under the "surfsense_backend/app/proprietary/" directory of this repository is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 as defined in "surfsense_backend/app/proprietary/LICENSE". ... Content outside of the above-mentioned directory is available under the Apache License, Version 2.0', followed by the full Apache text. Two governing licenses, one repository.

  • https://www.surfsense.com/pricing recorded 2026-09-29

    Pricing page: "The source is public" and "self-building is free too", while a paid licence adds the scraper plugins and priority support; "No plugin ships in version 2.0".

Adoption

3 medium confidence
3.0

SurfSense publishes no download or deployment telemetry for a self-hosted web app, leaving GitHub stars as the only adoption signal. A star is not a use, so real-world deployment remains unproven even as the repository draws attention.

Capability

4 low confidence
4.0

SurfSense has repositioned as an open web research platform for AI agents, with live-data connectors to Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Amazon, Walmart, Google Maps, Google Search and Indeed, reachable over one REST API or an MCP server, plus scheduled and event-triggered agents. Most of that breadth comes from the README rather than independent verification.