# Is Ownbox open source

Updated: 2026-11-10

# Is Ownbox open source?

Who owns what on an Ownbox, where the code is, and what you can build on it. Updated 2026-11-10. The full Ownbox Software License is at https://www.ownbox.io/license.

## Is Ownbox open source?

No. The Ownbox software is licensed to the business that buys it. It is not open source, and it is not sold. AIBM Inc., the company behind Ownbox, keeps the rights in the software and its source code.

## Is Ownbox's code on GitHub?

No. There is no public Ownbox repository on GitHub, and the license does not let anyone publish the software or its source code.

## What do I own, then?

- **Your Ownbox.** You own your Ownbox: the server it runs on, once it is in your own hosting account.
- **Your data.** Everything your business puts into your Ownbox or makes with it is yours: your AI Brain, conversations, contacts, files and settings. Ownbox claims no ownership of it.
- **A license that does not run out.** On payment you receive a perpetual license to run the software on your one Ownbox, for your own business. A server that takes its place still counts: a restore from its backup, or the copy made when you move it to your own hosting account.

## What can't I do with the software?

Without written permission from AIBM Inc., you may not:

- resell it, rent it, lend it or give it away;
- copy it anywhere but your one Ownbox and its backups;
- run it for another business, or host it as a service for anyone else;
- publish or distribute it, its source code included;
- use it to build a product or service that competes with Ownbox.

One purchase is one Ownbox.

## Does Ownbox use open-source software?

Yes. The open-source libraries, fonts and other components that come with the software keep their own licenses, which ship beside them.

## Can I build on Ownbox without its source code?

Yes, in either of two ways:

1. **Describe it in plain words.** On an Ownbox, you describe the machine you want. Your Ownbox builds it and tests it on your real data without sending anything. It installs only when you approve.
2. **Build it as a developer.** A developer starts free on their own computer, with no sign-up and no card. The guide is at https://www.ownbox.io/sdk.

## Do I keep getting updates?

The license says updates come with Ownbox Managed, and that an Ownbox outside Managed keeps running as it is.

## Is there an open-source or self-hosted unified inbox?

That question has its own article: https://www.ownbox.io/articles/is-there-a-self-hosted-or-open-source-unified-inbox