license: relicense AetherSDR from GPL v3 to AGPL v3 + add CLA

.github/workflows/cla-assistant.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+name: "CLA Assistant"
+
+# CLA Assistant Lite — a GitHub Action that requires pull-request authors
+# to acknowledge the AetherSDR Contributor License Agreement (CLA.md)
+# before their PR can be merged. Acceptance is recorded by the
+# contributor posting a specific comment on their PR; the action
+# stores their signature in a separate signatures file on a dedicated
+# branch, so consent is auditable and persistent.
+#
+# Choice of implementation: contributor-assertion-action is a maintained
+# fork that keeps the original cla-assistant flow without requiring an
+# external SaaS app to be installed on the repository (no permissions
+# beyond the GITHUB_TOKEN this workflow already has). See:
+#   https://github.com/contributor-assistant/github-action
+
+on:
+  issue_comment:
+    types: [created]
+  pull_request_target:
+    types: [opened, closed, synchronize]
+
+# Required permissions are the minimum needed for the action to
+# (a) read PR metadata, (b) post a comment requesting signature,
+# (c) commit the signature record to the signatures branch.
+permissions:
+  actions: write
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
+  statuses: write
+
+jobs:
+  CLAAssistant:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: "CLA Assistant"
+        if: (github.event.comment.body == 'recheck' || github.event.comment.body == 'I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA') || github.event_name == 'pull_request_target'
+        uses: contributor-assistant/github-action@v2.6.1
+        env:
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        with:
+          # Signatures stored on a dedicated branch of THIS repository
+          # (not a remote signatures repo).  Storing in-repo keeps the
+          # action working with the workflow's built-in GITHUB_TOKEN —
+          # a remote storage repo would require a separately-issued
+          # PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN with cross-repo write access.
+          path-to-signatures: 'signatures/cla-signatures.json'
+          path-to-document: 'https://github.com/aethersdr/AetherSDR/blob/main/CLA.md'
+          branch: 'cla-signatures'
+          allowlist: dependabot[bot],aethersdr-agent[bot],github-actions[bot]
+          create-file-commit-message: 'chore(cla): create signature file for CLA Assistant'
+          signed-commit-message: 'chore(cla): $contributorName has signed the CLA on PR #$pullRequestNo'
+          custom-notsigned-prcomment: |
+            Thank you for your pull request — and welcome to AetherSDR.
+
+            Before this PR can be merged, our [Contributor License Agreement (CLA)](https://github.com/aethersdr/AetherSDR/blob/main/CLA.md) must be accepted by all contributors who have authored commits on this PR.
+
+            **To sign the CLA**, please post the following comment on this PR:
+
+            > I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA
+
+            After signing, the CLA bot will record your acceptance on a separate signatures branch and unblock this PR. If anything in the CLA is unclear, please ask in the PR thread or open a discussion under "Project Governance" — we're happy to clarify before you sign.
+
+            *AetherSDR moved from GPL v3 to AGPL v3 in 2026. The CLA is part of that transition; it gives the project maintainer the ability to relicense the project under any OSI-approved open-source license in the future without contacting every past contributor individually. See the [LICENSE](https://github.com/aethersdr/AetherSDR/blob/main/LICENSE) file for context.*
+          custom-pr-sign-comment: 'I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA'
+          custom-allsigned-prcomment: 'All contributors have signed the CLA — this PR is now eligible for review and merge.'
+          lock-pullrequest-aftermerge: false

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -6,6 +6,35 @@ Format follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/).
 > **Versioning:** Starting with **v26.5.1**, AetherSDR moves to **CalVer**
 > (`YY.M.patch`). Earlier tags used semver through v0.9.8.
 
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### License — moved to AGPL v3 (from GPL v3)
+
+AetherSDR's license has changed from **GPL v3** to **AGPL v3** to close
+a gap in which AetherSDR could be hosted as a paid remote-SDR-as-a-service
+offering without sharing modifications, undermining the commercial-use
+protections that FlexRadio Systems requires under their own SmartSDR EULA
+(revised January 19, 2026).
+
+The mechanism uses GPL v3 section 13 — existing GPL v3 contributions
+retain their original license; new contributions are AGPL v3 (via the
+Contributor License Agreement, `CLA.md`); the combined work is governed
+by AGPL v3's network-use clause. Personal, non-commercial, community, and
+private use are unaffected.
+
+A small new module (`src/core/ProjectLicenseNotice.cpp/.h`) anchors the
+AGPL v3 portion of the combined work and provides the license summary
+shown in the About dialog and startup log.
+
+A **Contributor License Agreement** (`CLA.md`) is now required for new
+PRs, enforced by the **CLA Assistant Lite** GitHub Action. The CLA grants
+the project maintainer the right to relicense the project under any
+OSI-approved open-source license in the future, eliminating the need to
+contact every past contributor individually.
+
+For full reasoning and history, see `LICENSE`, `LICENSE-AGPL-v3.txt`,
+`LICENSE-GPL-v3.txt`, and `CLA.md`.
+
 ## [v26.6.1.1] — 2026-06-02
 
 ### Hotfix: macOS DMG release build + two GUI fixes

CLA.md

@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+# AetherSDR Individual Contributor License Agreement (CLA) v1.0
+
+Thank you for your interest in contributing to AetherSDR (the "Project").
+This Contributor License Agreement ("Agreement") documents the rights
+granted by contributors to the Project. This Agreement is between the
+contributor ("You") and Jeremy Fielder (KK7GWY) ("the Project Maintainer")
+on behalf of the Project.
+
+This Agreement is adapted from the Apache Software Foundation Individual
+Contributor License Agreement (v2.0) with project-specific modifications,
+most importantly the right to relicense under different open-source
+licenses in the future.
+
+By submitting a Contribution to the Project (by opening a pull request,
+patch submission, or any other means), you agree to the terms below.
+
+## 1. Definitions
+
+- **"You"** (or **"Your"**) means the copyright owner or legal entity
+  authorized by the copyright owner that is making this Agreement. For
+  legal entities, the entity making a Contribution and all other entities
+  that control, are controlled by, or are under common control with that
+  entity are considered to be a single Contributor. For the purposes of
+  this definition, "control" means (i) the power, direct or indirect, to
+  cause the direction or management of such entity, whether by contract
+  or otherwise, or (ii) ownership of fifty percent (50%) or more of the
+  outstanding shares, or (iii) beneficial ownership of such entity.
+- **"Contribution"** means any original work of authorship, including any
+  modifications or additions to an existing work, that is intentionally
+  submitted by You to the Project for inclusion in, or documentation of,
+  any of the products owned or managed by the Project. For the purposes
+  of this definition, "submitted" means any form of electronic, verbal,
+  or written communication sent to the Project or its representatives,
+  including but not limited to communication on electronic mailing
+  lists, source code control systems, and issue tracking systems that
+  are managed by, or on behalf of, the Project for the purpose of
+  discussing and improving the Project, but excluding communication that
+  is conspicuously marked or otherwise designated in writing by You as
+  "Not a Contribution."
+
+## 2. Grant of Copyright License
+
+Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, You hereby grant
+to the Project Maintainer and to recipients of software distributed by
+the Project a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge,
+royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare
+derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and
+distribute Your Contributions and such derivative works.
+
+## 3. Grant of Patent License
+
+Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, You hereby grant
+to the Project Maintainer and to recipients of software distributed by
+the Project a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge,
+royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in this section) patent
+license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, import, and
+otherwise transfer the Project, where such license applies only to
+those patent claims licensable by You that are necessarily infringed by
+Your Contribution(s) alone or by combination of Your Contribution(s)
+with the Project to which such Contribution(s) was submitted. If any
+entity institutes patent litigation against You or any other entity
+(including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that
+Your Contribution, or the Project to which You have contributed,
+constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then any patent
+licenses granted to that entity under this Agreement for that
+Contribution or Project shall terminate as of the date such litigation
+is filed.
+
+## 4. Right to Relicense
+
+You acknowledge that the Project Maintainer may, in the Project
+Maintainer's sole discretion and at any time in the future, relicense
+the Project (in whole or in part) under any OSI-approved open-source
+software license. You grant to the Project Maintainer the right to
+relicense Your Contributions under any such OSI-approved open-source
+license without further consent or notice from You.
+
+This relicensing right is limited to OSI-approved open-source licenses
+and does not authorize the Project Maintainer to release the Project,
+or Your Contributions, under a proprietary or non-open-source license.
+
+## 5. Representations
+
+You represent that:
+
+1. You are legally entitled to grant the licenses granted by this
+   Agreement. If Your employer(s) has rights to intellectual property
+   that You create that includes Your Contributions, You represent that
+   You have received permission to make Contributions on behalf of that
+   employer, that Your employer has waived such rights for Your
+   Contributions to the Project, or that Your employer has executed a
+   separate Corporate CLA with the Project.
+
+2. Each of Your Contributions is Your original creation (see Section 7
+   for submissions on behalf of others). You represent that Your
+   Contribution submissions include complete details of any third-party
+   license or other restriction (including, but not limited to, related
+   patents and trademarks) of which You are personally aware and which
+   are associated with any part of Your Contributions.
+
+3. If any of Your Contributions includes or is based on output produced
+   by a generative AI tool (including but not limited to Claude, ChatGPT,
+   Codex, Copilot, Gemini, or similar), You represent that You have
+   reviewed and accepted that output as Your own work, that You have the
+   right to contribute it under the terms of this Agreement, and that
+   doing so does not violate the terms of service or licensing terms of
+   the tool that produced the output. The Project explicitly welcomes
+   AI-assisted contributions but treats the human contributor — not the
+   AI tool — as the author of record for the purposes of this Agreement.
+
+## 6. Support
+
+You are not expected to provide support for Your Contributions, except
+to the extent You desire to provide support. You may provide support
+for free, for a fee, or not at all. Unless required by applicable law or
+agreed to in writing, You provide Your Contributions on an "AS IS"
+BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or
+implied, including, without limitation, any warranties or conditions of
+TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
+PURPOSE.
+
+## 7. Submissions on Behalf of Others
+
+Should You wish to submit work that is not Your original creation, You
+may submit it to the Project separately from any Contribution,
+identifying the complete details of its source and of any license or
+other restriction (including, but not limited to, related patents,
+trademarks, and license agreements) of which You are personally aware,
+and conspicuously marking the work as "Submitted on behalf of a
+third-party: [named here]".
+
+## 8. Notification of Changes
+
+You agree to notify the Project Maintainer of any facts or circumstances
+of which You become aware that would make these representations
+inaccurate in any respect.
+
+## 9. Governing Law
+
+This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Idaho, United
+States of America, without regard to its conflict of law principles.
+
+## 10. Effective Date
+
+This Agreement is effective as of the date You first submit a
+Contribution to the Project after the publication of this Agreement.
+
+────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+**To accept this Agreement:** comment on your first pull request with
+the phrase "I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA"
+(or a substantively equivalent statement). The CLA Assistant Lite
+GitHub Action will record your acceptance and gate the Project's PR
+merge process until your acceptance is recorded.
+
+**Questions** about this Agreement should be raised in a GitHub
+discussion under the "Project Governance" category, or directly with
+the Project Maintainer.

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -485,6 +485,8 @@ endif()
 
 # Sources
 set(CORE_SOURCES
+    # AGPL v3 — combined-work anchor for GPL v3 §13 (see LICENSE).
+    src/core/ProjectLicenseNotice.cpp
     src/core/AppSettings.cpp
     src/core/SettingsHelpers.cpp
     src/core/ThemeManager.cpp

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -57,12 +57,20 @@ that matches our conventions.
    Persistence). Your PR's commit message will cite the principle it
    honors (e.g. `Principle V.` for nested-JSON persistence or
    `Principle X.` for verified-base patch generation).
-3. **One issue per PR.** Keep changes focused and reviewable.
-4. **Follow the coding conventions** below.
-5. **Test your changes** against a real FlexRadio if possible.
-6. **Sign your commits** (required by branch protection — SSH or GPG;
+3. **Accept the [Contributor License Agreement](CLA.md).** AetherSDR
+   moved from GPL v3 to AGPL v3 in 2026. The CLA grants the project
+   maintainer the right to relicense the project under any OSI-approved
+   open-source license in the future without contacting every past
+   contributor individually. The CLA Assistant Lite bot will comment
+   on your first PR with the signing instructions; reply with the
+   single-line acknowledgement and the bot records your signature.
+   You sign once per GitHub account — not once per PR.
+4. **One issue per PR.** Keep changes focused and reviewable.
+5. **Follow the coding conventions** below.
+6. **Test your changes** against a real FlexRadio if possible.
+7. **Sign your commits** (required by branch protection — SSH or GPG;
    see [Commit Signing](#commit-signing) below).
-7. **Open a pull request** against `main` with a clear description.
+8. **Open a pull request** against `main` with a clear description.
 
 ---