Shadowfetch Linux

Licensing & source

Shadowfetch Linux is free software, assembled from Debian, KDE and other upstream projects with a small Shadowfetch layer on top. Every part keeps its own license, and the corresponding source is published.

What Shadowfetch Linux is built from

Almost everything on the system comes straight from upstream free and open-source projects and is distributed under their own licenses. None of it is relicensed by Shadowfetch; each package carries its upstream copyright and license text in/usr/share/doc/<package>/copyright.

Debian base system and archive: GPL, LGPL, MIT, BSD, Apache-2.0 and other DFSG-free licenses, per package
Linux kernel: GPL-2.0
KDE Plasma 6, Frameworks and KDE apps: GPL-2.0/3.0 and LGPL-2.1/3.0
DrKonqi pickup correction: compiled KDE source: GPL-3.0-only OR LicenseRef-KDE-Accepted-GPL
Calamares installer: GPL-3.0-or-later
systemd, PipeWire, Mesa, NetworkManager, GRUB, Plymouth, SDDM: GPL, LGPL, MIT and other permissive licenses

Shadowfetch’s own components

The parts Shadowfetch writes and maintains — the KDE look-and-feel and themes, the Welcome assistant, the default configuration, the creative and desktop metapackages, and this website’s meta — are offered under theGPL-3.0-or-later license.

The shadowfetch-drkonqi-pickup helper is a specific exception: its own code and packaging use GPL-3.0-only. Its compiled KDE source retains GPL-3.0-only OR LicenseRef-KDE-Accepted-GPL. The source package includes the full upstream archive, its signature, release key and downstream patch. Files in that archive keep their individual license notices; nothing here relicenses them.

The Shadowfetch name, wordmark and emblem are trademarks of Shadowfetch. The trademarks themselves are not licensed for reuse, but the code, colour schemes and configuration that make up the branding packages areGPL-3.0-or-later.

Written offer for corresponding source

For every binary package built for the signed Shadowfetch APT repository, the complete corresponding source code is made available under the same license terms, for at least three years. It is published in themain/source component alongside the binaries — no request or fee required. The 4.1 repository contains 18 binary packages built from 16 source packages.

The ISO’s package manifest records its total installed inventory, including Debian and other upstream components. That inventory is broader than the Shadowfetch repository; repository counts are not ISO package counts. For Debian packages, use the corresponding Debian source archive and the source package name recorded in the package metadata. Consult each package's copyright file for its license and upstream source information; optional vendor applications also retain their own terms. The release's package inventory and source-input report identify the package versions and configured archives. Contact us for a source request that those locations do not cover.

Enable the Shadowfetch source component and fetch a repository package:

echo "deb-src [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/shadowfetch.gpg] https://www.shadowfetch.com/linux/apt/ umbra main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/shadowfetch.list
sudo apt update
apt-get source shadowfetch-welcome

You can also browse the published source package index directly.

Source package index (main/source/Sources)

For a licensing question, or a source request the repository does not cover, emaillinux@shadowfetchlinux.org.

Debian is a registered trademark of Software in the Public Interest, Inc. Shadowfetch Linux is an independent derivative and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Debian project.