Licensing

[中文]

This chapter is the single reference for how licensing works across ESP-VISION. It is developer guidance, not legal advice; the license text and source-file headers for the exact version in use remain authoritative.

ESP-VISION’s own code (platform/, most of modules/, boards/, and build files) is released under Apache License 2.0, recorded in the repository-level LICENSE. Vendored and third-party code keeps the license declared by its own source files, SPDX identifiers, or upstream license; the repository-level LICENSE does not override or replace those.

License Inventory

The following table lists the direct dependencies most relevant to redistribution. It is not a complete inventory of transitive dependencies.

Project or code	Local path	Role in ESP-VISION	License
esptool-js 0.7.1	host/device-core/package.json dependency; loaded lazily by src/rom_loader.js	Shared browser Web Serial / Node ROM backend; upstream src/targets/stub_flasher/README.md identifies esp-flasher-stub v1.2.2 (set 2)	Apache-2.0 (installed package LICENSE); stub binaries dual Apache-2.0/MIT. Installed as a dependency; per-instance adapters do not modify upstream source. Transitive pako retains its MIT/Zlib notices; atob-lite retains MIT.
@serialport/bindings-cpp 13.0.0; Koffi 2.16.3	host/device-core/package.json optional dependencies; CLI/plugin native bundles	Native serial access and Linux USJ modem controls; original npm prebuilds and loaders	MIT; original package licenses and Koffi Node API/cnoke notices retained in portable bundles
Device Core host SDK	host/device-core	EV-MUX v4 host communication, Python, resource files, discovery and images	Apache-2.0 (host/device-core/LICENSE); historical MIT notices in NOTICE
Device-side camera/LCD test fixture	host/device-core/tests/fixtures/device-checks.py	Hardware acceptance functions migrated from the firmware tests; included in the npm package for shared hardware checks	Apache-2.0 (original notice retained)
sync-pr-to-gitlab (6ea5db6)	.github/actions/sync-pr-to-gitlab	GitHub PR to GitLab MR synchronization, adapted to remove Jira-specific metadata; original Python copyright and license notice retained	Apache-2.0
MicroPython v1.28.0	lib/micropython	Python runtime and ESP32 port baseline	MIT
MicroPython execution and thread adaptations	overlay/micropython/shared/runtime/pyexec.c, overlay/micropython/ports/esp32/mpthreadport.c	Session origin capture and inheritance based on the pinned upstream files; original copyright and license headers retained	MIT
MicroPython composite USB descriptor adaptation	overlay/micropython/shared/tinyusb/mp_usbd_descriptor.c (v1.28.0 baseline)	Built-in CDC/MSC/UVC descriptors and speed variants; original upstream header preserved	MIT
OV2710 timer lifecycle adaptation	tools/prepare_ov2710.py, platform/ov2710_lifecycle.inc and verbatim tools/tests/fixtures/ov2710/upstream.c; esp_cam_sensor 2.4.0, commit 8fc931636ffa937c89cab53b53f4ce380190c1a4	Checked build copy of sensors/ov2710/ov2710.c (SHA-256 4a9af395151527b156b1d685c39b298502490f33a8391a641a51ac72b3bc8876); acknowledge callback shutdown before SCCB release, preserving the original header without editing the managed component	Apache-2.0
TinyUSB UVC transfer adaptation	overlay/micropython/shared/tinyusb/esp_vision_video_transfer.inc, tools/tests/tinyusb_video_stubs/upstream_transfer.c; espressif/tinyusb 0.19.0~3, commit ab4a1817907ed865b10a712b5e03e5e0a9902df5	Checked build copy of src/class/video/video_device.c; terminate failed/short ISO frames, separate failure completion, and preserve the original copyright and license headers	MIT
micropython-ulab 6.12	lib/ulab	Array and numerical computing	MIT
OpenMV v5.0.0 imlib subset	components/imlib	Image processing and drawing algorithms	MIT, with separately licensed files
OpenMV Python binding code	modules/py_image*, modules/py_helper*	OpenMV-style image API bindings	MIT
OpenMV software JPEG adaptation	components/imlib/upstream/jpege.c	Initialize the quantizer cache with an invalid sentinel so a first encode at quality 100 initializes its tables; original OpenMV MIT notice retained	MIT
OpenMV AprilTag implementation	components/imlib/upstream/apriltag.c	AprilTag and rectangle detection	BSD-2-Clause
ZXing-C++ v3.0.2	lib/zxing-cpp	1D barcode reader backend	Apache-2.0
ESP-DL	Component Registry	Model inference runtime	MIT
TensorFlow Lite Micro / esp-tflite-micro	Component Registry	TensorFlow Lite Micro inference runtime	Apache-2.0
esp_new_jpeg	Component Registry	Software JPEG codec	Espressif MIT (product-scope)
esp32-camera	Component Registry	Camera driver	Apache-2.0
ESP-IDF	External SDK	Build system, drivers, and media components	Apache-2.0
NanoTrack V2 pretrained models	models/nanotrack_v2	Locally quantized single-object tracking assets	Upstream NanoTrack supplies Apache-2.0 text; separate weight terms not verified (see local README and provenance)

How to Interpret the Licenses

The repository-level LICENSE covers original ESP-VISION code and does not override third-party licenses:

• third-party files remain under their original licenses and retain their original copyright and license headers;

• a directory can contain multiple licenses: most imlib code is MIT while apriltag.c is BSD-2-Clause;

• permissive licenses such as Apache-2.0, MIT, and BSD generally allow combined distribution, but their copyright, license text, and notice requirements still apply;

• some Espressif components use licenses with product-scope conditions. For example, the current esp_new_jpeg license text limits use to Espressif products, so it should not be described only as unrestricted generic MIT;

• trademarks, patents, model files, and datasets may have separate terms that cannot be inferred from the source-code license.

Before distributing source or firmware, check at least:

1. the repository-level LICENSE;

2. the LICENSE in every Git submodule;

3. managed_components/*/LICENSE from the selected build;

4. SPDX identifiers, license headers, and copyright notices in modified or newly added source files;

5. provenance and terms for non-code assets such as models, fonts, and test images.

OpenMV and GPL Code Paths

Not every optional OpenMV upstream algorithm uses the same license. ESP-VISION sets OMV_NO_GPL=1 in micropython.cmake and components/imlib/CMakeLists.txt so GPL-conditioned OpenMV code paths are not compiled. This switch only describes what the default build excludes; it is not an automatic license classification for newly added files.

When changing imlib feature switches, synchronizing OpenMV upstream code, or adding algorithms, inspect each file’s license. Do not infer a license only from the directory containing the file.

Adding Third-Party Code

When adding a third-party package or source file to ESP-VISION:

1. pin a reproducible release or commit;

2. verify the license per file and its compatibility with the intended distribution;

3. preserve upstream copyright, SPDX identifiers, license text, and any required NOTICE;

4. record the source, version, local path, purpose, and license in this inventory;

5. verify that build switches actually exclude code that is not intended for distribution instead of relying on documentation alone;

6. obtain legal review before merging when licensing is unclear or imposes commercial-distribution constraints.

Native binary-upload tests use the system OpenSSL 3 libcrypto (Apache-2.0) as their SHA-256 oracle through a PSA test shim. This is a host-test dependency only; OpenSSL and the shim are not linked into firmware or distributed in the npm package. Firmware uses ESP-IDF PSA Crypto.