Legal

Terms of Service

Last updated: October 4, 2026

This page is a general template provided for convenience and does not constitute legal advice. Please review it with qualified legal counsel before relying on it for your business.

Welcome to Askimo. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Askimo desktop application, command-line interface (CLI), community forum, website, and any related services (collectively, the "Service"), provided by Askimo ("we", "us", or "our"). By downloading, installing, accessing, or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By using any part of the Service — including the desktop app, CLI, website, or forum — you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our handling of data as described on our Security & Privacy page. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

2. The Service

Askimo is an open-source AI desktop application and CLI that lets you connect to multiple AI providers (such as OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Grok, Ollama, LM Studio, LocalAI, and Docker AI), index and search your own local files and documents (RAG), run multi-step automated workflows ("Plans"), connect external tools via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and run autonomous coding agents locally. We also operate a community forum and website to support users of the Service.

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We may add, change, or remove features at any time, with or without notice, as described in Section 15.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 16 years old (or the age of digital consent in your jurisdiction, if higher) to use the Service. By using the Service, you represent that you meet this requirement.

4. Open Source License

The Askimo desktop app, CLI, and related source code are made available under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPLv3). The AGPLv3 license, not these Terms, governs your rights to copy, modify, distribute, and self-host the underlying source code. These Terms govern your use of the hosted/official builds of the Service (e.g. the binaries we distribute, our website, and our forum), including any usage limits, acceptable-use rules, and disclaimers described below. Nothing in these Terms is intended to restrict any right granted to you under the AGPLv3 for the source code itself.

5. Accounts & Authentication

The core desktop app and CLI do not require an account. Certain features — such as posting on our community forum — require you to sign in using a third-party identity provider (currently GitHub, Google, or Microsoft/Entra ID). When you sign in:

  • We receive basic profile information from that provider (such as your username, display name, email address, and avatar) solely to identify you within the forum.
  • You are responsible for maintaining the security of your third-party account and for all activity that occurs under your Askimo forum identity.
  • We may suspend or ban an account that violates Section 7 (Acceptable Use) or applicable law.

6. User Content (Forum & Community)

Our forum allows you to post threads, replies, and attachments ("User Content"). You retain ownership of your User Content. By posting, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, and display that content solely for the purpose of operating and improving the Service (for example, rendering your post to other users, or sending optional email notifications about new replies).

You are solely responsible for your User Content. You agree not to post content that:

  • Is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, hateful, or sexually explicit;
  • Infringes someone else's intellectual property or privacy rights;
  • Contains malware, spam, or unsolicited advertising;
  • Impersonates any person or entity; or
  • Violates any applicable law or regulation.

We reserve the right (but have no obligation) to review, moderate, lock, pin, or remove any User Content, and to suspend or ban accounts, at our sole discretion, with or without notice.

7. Acceptable Use

You agree not to, and not to attempt to:

  • Use the Service to violate any applicable law or third party's rights;
  • Reverse engineer, decompile, or circumvent any security or access-control measures of the official hosted Service (this does not limit your AGPLv3 rights to the source code itself);
  • Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service (e.g. denial-of-service attacks, scraping at abusive rates, or exploiting vulnerabilities);
  • Use the Service to generate, store, or distribute content that is illegal, infringing, or harmful to others; or
  • Use automated means to create forum accounts or post spam.

8. Third-Party AI Providers & Costs

Askimo lets you connect your own accounts and API keys for third-party AI providers (e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI) and local/self-hosted model runners (e.g. Ollama, LM Studio, LocalAI, Docker AI). When you use these providers through Askimo:

  • Your prompts, files, and context are sent directly from your device to that provider using your own credentials — Askimo does not operate as an intermediary or store this traffic on our servers.
  • Your use of each provider is governed by that provider's own terms of service, privacy policy, and pricing. You are solely responsible for any fees, usage limits, or policy violations associated with your provider accounts.
  • We do not control, and are not responsible for, the availability, accuracy, safety, or output of any third-party AI model or provider.

See our Security & Privacy page for more detail on how data is handled locally.

Askimo is free for individual use. We plan to introduce a paid "Team Edition" with additional collaboration features. If and when paid plans become available, additional terms covering billing, subscriptions, renewals, and refunds will be presented to you at the time of purchase and will supplement these Terms. Pricing and features are subject to change prior to general availability; see our Pricing page for the latest status.

10. Intellectual Property

Except for the open-source source code licensed under the AGPLv3 (see Section 4), the Askimo name, logo, website content, and documentation are owned by us or our licensors and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws. Nothing in these Terms grants you any right to use our trademarks or branding without our prior written permission.

11. Disclaimers

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, OR THAT ANY AI-GENERATED OUTPUT WILL BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR SUITABLE FOR YOUR PURPOSE. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING AND VERIFYING ANY OUTPUT BEFORE RELYING ON IT, ESPECIALLY WHEN AN AUTONOMOUS AGENT MODIFIES FILES OR RUNS COMMANDS ON YOUR MACHINE.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US, IF ANY, IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) USD $50. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

13. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in any way connected with: (a) your use or misuse of the Service; (b) your User Content; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any applicable law or third-party right.

14. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time, including by uninstalling the desktop app and deleting your local ~/.askimo folder. We may suspend or terminate your access to hosted components of the Service (such as the forum), in whole or in part, at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms or for any other reason. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 4, 10–13, and 16) will survive.

15. Changes to the Service or Terms

We may modify these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice (such as a banner on this site). Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. We may also change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time.

17. Contact Us

Questions about these Terms? Reach out via: