What license is FreeRDP released under and what does that allow?

Updated

FreeRDP is released under the Apache license, according to the project's own description on freerdp.com. That means, in general terms, you can use, modify, and redistribute the software, including for commercial purposes, provided you meet the usual Apache-style conditions such as preserving copyright and license notices. The exact terms that govern your situation are the ones in the license file shipped with the project, not a summary like this one.

What the project says

The site describes FreeRDP as "a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), released under the Apache license." It frames this as "the freedom of using your software wherever you want, the way you want it, in a world where interoperability can finally liberate your computing experience."

Two things are worth separating here:

  • "Free" refers to the license, not the price. The project's claim is about the freedoms the license grants, not about a price tag. The page evidence does not state pricing, so don't read "free" as a confirmed zero-cost commercial term.
  • The license is named, not quoted. The site names the Apache license but does not reproduce its clauses. For anything binding, go to the license file in the repository.

What an Apache license typically allows

Apache-2.0 is a permissive license. In the common form of that license, the following generally hold:

Action Typically permitted? Typical condition
Use the software, including commercially Yes Keep notices intact
Modify the source Yes Mark modified files / retain notices
Redistribute source or binaries Yes Include the license and NOTICE file
Sublicense or combine with other code Yes Comply with notice requirements
Use the project name to endorse your product No Trademark rights are not granted

The last row matters in practice: a permissive code license does not hand you the project's trademarks. If you fork FreeRDP and ship it, you generally should not imply the upstream project endorses your build.

What this means for common situations

You want to use FreeRDP as an RDP client on your own machines. The license is not the constraint. Install it and use it; the obligations attach when you distribute, not when you run it.

You want to embed FreeRDP in a product you ship. This is the case where the notice requirements actually bite. You would typically need to include the license text and any NOTICE file, and to preserve copyright headers in the source you redistribute.

You want to modify FreeRDP and publish your changes. Permitted under a permissive license, with the usual expectation that you retain the notices and make clear what you changed.

You are worried about security exposure. This is a separate question from licensing, but relevant if you are deciding whether to depend on the project. The site's latest post describes a "Regression, bugfix and security release" and notes the project has "been under close scrutiny by various security researchers," with the code base hardened "against malicious client and/or server messages." The post lists a long series of CVE advisories. If you ship FreeRDP, tracking releases is part of the maintenance cost, independent of the license.

Where to verify the actual terms

The site's own navigation points to a GitHub repository and a wiki. The authoritative license text lives there, not on the marketing page. Before you rely on any permission described above, open the license file in the repository and read it, and check whether the project ships a separate NOTICE file that adds attribution requirements.

If your use is unusual — for example, you are combining FreeRDP with code under an incompatible license, or you need a legal opinion for a commercial distribution — the license file is your starting point, and a lawyer is the right next step. Nothing on freerdp.com substitutes for that.