# Terms of use

<!-- Factual update 2026-11-07. Still a template: counsel must review before release. -->

# Terms of Use

> **Note:** This is a template/placeholder legal document for a product still in development.
> It is not legal advice and does not create a binding contract in its current form. It
> should be reviewed and completed by qualified counsel — including the license terms,
> governing law, and contact details — before any commercial release.

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your use of Slate (the "Software"), a local-first
AI workspace desktop application with an optional team-sharing layer. Using the Software
requires an account: you sign in once with Google or GitHub. By installing or using the
Software, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Software.

## License to Use the Software

Slate is proprietary software. Copyright (c) 2026 Lioz Elmalem. All rights reserved. The
Software is licensed, not sold. No licence is granted except as these Terms state.

> **Note:** **Pricing.** Free for individuals. Team plans are coming. The Free plan is everything Slate
> does on your own machine, with no licence key, no trial timer and nothing to activate. Team
> is for shared workspaces; it is not available yet and has no price. Its price and terms will
> be published before any charge begins, and nothing is charged without that notice. Whatever
> plan you are on, your workspace stays yours — it is a file on your own machine that you can
> open, copy and export. Exact license grant, restrictions, and pricing will be finalized
> before any commercial release.

Subject to these Terms, you are granted a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable right
to install and use the Software on devices you control.

The Software includes open-source components. Each is licensed to you under its own
licence, not these Terms, and nothing here limits your rights under those licences. The
list of components and their licence texts is in Settings → About → Open-source licences.

## Acceptable Use

You agree to:

- Use the Software in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
- Use the Software only with content and systems you have the right to access.
- Not use the Software for unlawful activity, harassment, or surveillance.
- Not attempt to reverse engineer, circumvent licensing, or otherwise misuse the
  Software except to the extent such restriction is prohibited by law.

Because Slate can read and write your local workspace and reach connected tools, you
are responsible for reviewing AI-generated outputs and tool actions before relying on
them.

## Your Content

You retain full ownership of everything in your workspace and of any AI-generated
outputs. Slate stores your content locally in a SQLite file that you control, and
claims no ownership over it.

If you use the optional team layer, the contents of a shared workspace you create or
join are copied to a hosted database so that workspace's members can read them. Your
Personal workspace is transmitted only if you switch its sharing on. Your account (your
name, email address and plan) is held in the same hosted service. You are responsible for what you put into a
shared workspace — including making sure you have the right to share it, and that it
does not include confidential material belonging to someone else. Sharing is opt-in at
the level of the workspace and reversible, but not retroactive. See the
[Privacy Policy](https://liozelmalem-star.github.io/slate-releases/docs/legal/privacy-policy.md) for details on data handling.

## No Warranty

The Software is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind,
express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a
particular purpose, and non-infringement. Slate is pre-1.0 software: it is published for
macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), and Linux and Windows builds are early builds. AI features generate outputs probabilistically and may be inaccurate,
incomplete, or outdated. You are solely responsible for how you use the Software and
its outputs.

## Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the developer is not liable for any indirect,
incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, or for loss of data, loss of
profits, or reliance on AI-generated outputs, arising from your use of or inability to
use the Software. The developer is not responsible for interruptions or failures
caused by third-party software, operating systems, model providers, or services. You
are responsible for maintaining your own backups of your workspace.

## Third-Party Tools

Slate integrates with tools you install and control. These are governed by their own
terms, not by these Terms:

- The agents you connect (16 supported, see the [docs](https://liozelmalem-star.github.io/slate-releases/docs/features/agent/brains.md)) make
  model calls under the terms of each tool's vendor and of whichever provider you
  configured in it. You authenticate those tools yourself.
- Sign-in is provided by **Google** or **GitHub**, whichever you choose, and your account
  is stored by **Supabase**, each under its own terms.
- Any **MCP server** you connect to Slate operates under its own terms; you are
  responsible for the data you send to it.

Your use of these third-party tools is between you and their providers.

## Changes to These Terms

These Terms may be updated as Slate moves toward a commercial release, including to
finalize the licensing model or to reflect legal requirements. Continued use of the
Software after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

## Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of [Insert Jurisdiction], without regard to
conflict-of-law principles. [Insert dispute-resolution and venue provisions before
release.]

## Contact

[Insert contact address before release.]

## See also

- [Privacy & Security](https://liozelmalem-star.github.io/slate-releases/docs/features/privacy-and-security.md)
- [Licensing & Updates](https://liozelmalem-star.github.io/slate-releases/docs/features/licensing.md)
