Terms of Service & End User License Agreement
Last updated: September 17, 2026
Rookery is currently in active pre-release development, hardening, and internal evaluation. The software, binaries, and commercial licenses are not currently offered for sale or commercial transaction. Any current use or preview is strictly for non-commercial evaluation and testing purposes. Commercial licensing terms and purchase mechanisms will be enabled upon public commercial launch.
1. Agreement to Terms
These Terms of Service and End User License Agreement ("Terms", "Agreement") govern your access to and use of the website rookery.email and the software distributions, Docker containers, binaries, and documentation associated with Rookery (the "Software").
By downloading, installing, running, or accessing the Software or interactive previews, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not install or use the Software.
2. Software Nature & Self-Hosted Architecture
Rookery is a self-hosted client and interface application designed to connect to your existing email servers, IMAP/SMTP mailboxes, and CalDAV services.
Rookery is NOT a hosted SaaS email service. We do not store, host, inspect, or relay your private emails, calendar records, contacts, or mailbox passwords on our infrastructure. You are solely responsible for operating, securing, backing up, and maintaining your own server infrastructure and underlying mail system.
3. License Grants & Tiers
A. Community / Personal License
Subject to compliance with these Terms, you may download and operate the community edition of the Software free of charge for non-commercial, personal, homelab, or evaluation use, up to five (5) distinct user accounts (seats). Multiple email aliases, forwarders, and sending identities linked to a single user account do not count toward this limit.
B. Commercial / Business License
Upon formal commercial launch, use of the Software by commercial entities, organizations exceeding community thresholds, or users requiring multi-tenant portal management and priority updates will require the purchase of a valid Commercial License key. Commercial licenses will be granted per server instance or per seat as specified at checkout.
C. White-Label & Custom Branding
White-label licenses permit the customization and rebranding of client-facing webmail portals for your domain or clients. Reselling or distributing the Software source code or installation packages to third parties without authorization remains strictly prohibited.
4. Restrictions
You agree that you will not, and will not allow any third party to:
- Circumvent, bypass, disable, or tamper with any license verification, key validation, or security mechanisms;
- Redistribute, sublicense, rent, lease, or commercially resell software packages or license keys without written agreement;
- Use the Software in any manner that violates applicable federal, state, or international laws;
- Remove, alter, or obscure any proprietary notices, copyright labels, or attribution markers.
5. Commercial Availability & Merchant of Record
Notice: Commercial license sales, subscriptions, and checkout are not currently active during this pre-release period.
Upon commercial release, paid licenses, subscriptions, and renewals will be facilitated through authorized Merchant of Record ("MoR") partners (such as Lemon Squeezy or Paddle). The MoR acts as the legal reseller and handles transaction processing, currency conversion, invoice issuance, and applicable sales tax or VAT compliance. Billing disputes, renewals, and refund requests will be subject to the terms and refund policy presented at checkout through the Merchant of Record.
6. Disclaimer of Warranties ("AS-IS")
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY.
THE SOFTWARE, DOCUMENTATION, AND SITE ARE PROVIDED STRICTLY "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ROOKERY AND ITS AUTHORS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL OPERATE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, BUG-FREE, OR FREE FROM DATA LOSS, OR THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL BE COMPATIBLE WITH EVERY COMBINATION OF SERVER CONFIGURATION, IMAP PROTOCOL EXTENSION, OR THIRD-PARTY TOOL.
7. Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL ROOKERY, ITS FOUNDERS, OPERATORS, CONTRIBUTORS, OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF EMAILS, SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS, BUSINESS DISRUPTIONS, LOSS OF REVENUE, OR SECURITY BREACHES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE.
OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIMITED TO AND SHALL NOT EXCEED THE ACTUAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU FOR THE RELEVANT LICENSE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR FIFTY UNITED STATES DOLLARS ($50.00 USD), WHICHEVER IS LESS.
8. Dispute Resolution: Binding Arbitration & Class Action Waiver
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT.
A. Mandatory Binding Arbitration: Except for disputes that qualify for small claims court or claims seeking emergency injunctive relief for intellectual property violations, all claims, controversies, or disputes arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Software, or the site shall be resolved by final, confidential, and binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules.
B. Class Action Waiver: YOU AND ROOKERY (THE LICENSOR) AGREE THAT ANY PROCEEDINGS TO RESOLVE DISPUTES WILL BE CONDUCTED SOLELY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. YOU EXPRESSLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO COMMENCE, JOIN, OR PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS-ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE LICENSOR, ITS AUTHORS, OR AFFILIATES.
C. Venue: The arbitration proceedings, hearings, and determinations shall be conducted in the State of Florida, United States, or virtually as mutually agreed or determined by the arbitrator under AAA rules.
D. Exceptions & Carve-Outs: Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party retains the right to: (1) bring an individual action in a small claims court of competent jurisdiction within the State of Florida; and (2) seek emergency injunctive, equitable, or declaratory relief in state or federal court to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, license keys, or other intellectual property rights.
E. 30-Day Right to Opt Out: You have the right to opt out of the provisions of this Section by sending written notice of your decision to [email protected] within thirty (30) days of your first download, installation, or use of the Software. If you opt out, all other provisions of these Terms will continue to apply.
9. Governing Law & Jurisdiction
These Terms and any dispute arising from or related to the Software shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Subject to the arbitration agreement above, you and the Licensor agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of Florida.
10. Contact & Legal Inquiries
For legal inquiries, copyright notices, or licensing correspondence, reach out directly at:
[email protected]