fastsite is released under version 3 of the GNU General Public License. The full text ships in the LICENSE file in the repository, and that file is the authoritative version — everything on this page is a plain-language summary of it.
Source
The engine, the default shell, the build pipeline, and the MCP server all live in one repository: github.com/sitepointsystems/getfastsite_gnu. Issues and pull requests are welcome there.
What the licence gives you
- Run it. On any machine, for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, for as many sites and clients as you like. No seats, no usage tier, no phone-home.
- Read it. The whole engine is source you can audit — including everything that touches your credentials and your published output.
- Change it. Fork it, strip out what you do not need, bolt on what you do.
- Share it. Redistribute the original or your modified version.
What it asks in return
The GPL is a reciprocal licence. If you distribute fastsite — original or modified — you pass on the same freedoms you received:
- Ship the source along with the binary or image.
- License your modifications under the same terms.
- Keep the copyright and licence notices intact.
- State what you changed.
Running it for yourself is not distributing it
Hosting fastsite on your own server, for your own sites or your own agency's client sites, is use — not distribution. Your shell templates, your content, and the static output you publish are yours, and nothing in the licence reaches them.
Why GPL and not something permissive
The engine exists because publishing tooling keeps getting rented back to the people who depend on it. A reciprocal licence is the part that makes self-hosting a durable answer rather than a temporary one: improvements to the engine stay available to everyone running it, and no one can take the project closed.
Contributing
Bug reports with a reproduction are the most useful thing you can send. After that: build-audit rules, shell themes, and translations of the UI strings. Open an issue before starting anything large so the approach can be agreed first.
Not legal advice
This page describes the licence in ordinary language so you can decide whether fastsite fits how you work. It is a summary, not a legal opinion. If your situation is complicated — redistributing a modified engine inside a commercial product, for instance — read the LICENSE file and talk to someone qualified.