Last reviewed: 10 July 2026
Short answer: Praxis Agents OS is Apache-licensed open-source software. Organisations can inspect, run, and extend the code. That is a different product and ownership boundary from paying for access to a proprietary SaaS application.
“Not SaaS” does not mean that software never runs in the cloud, never uses hosted services, or cannot be supported commercially.
It means the core Praxis Agents OS product is an open codebase rather than access to a vendor-controlled application sold by subscription.
SaaS describes how a finished service is supplied
In a typical software-as-a-service model, the provider operates the application and defines its primary interface, deployment, data model, extension points, administration, release cycle, and commercial access.
Customers configure and use that service. They may connect data, add workflows, write instructions, or build against an API, but the provider retains control of the underlying product boundary.
That model has real advantages:
- fast adoption
- central updates
- a consistent supported environment
- less infrastructure for the customer to operate
- a broad feature set shared across many organisations
For common requirements, SaaS is often the sensible choice.
Open-source software creates a different boundary
Praxis Agents OS is published under the Apache 2.0 licence. The public repository contains the application foundations and technical history. An organisation can inspect the implementation, run it in its own environment, modify it, and contribute generally useful improvements upstream.
The OS is intended to provide an organisational runtime around AI agents: workspaces, identity, tools, skills, files, schedules, approval controls, execution, and audit.
The current project is early-stage. Availability should be judged from the repository, tests, documentation, and roadmap rather than from a claim that every planned capability has shipped.
Self-hosting gives control and creates responsibility
Running open-source software does not remove operational work. It moves choices and responsibilities into view.
An operator needs to decide:
- where the application and data run
- how secrets and model-provider credentials are managed
- how access is configured and reviewed
- how releases and database migrations are applied
- how logs, backups, recovery, and incidents are handled
- which private changes are maintained locally
- how upstream updates are evaluated and merged
That tradeoff can be worthwhile when the workflow is differentiated, sensitive, or important enough to become part of the organisation’s own application architecture. It is unnecessary for every use case.
Open foundations and private extensions can coexist
The shared operating foundation can remain public while organisation-specific assets remain private.
Private layers may include:
- agents and instructions
- workflow rules and evaluation cases
- internal connectors
- role-specific views and review queues
- business data and credentials
- customer mappings and operational history
The distinction matters. “Open source” describes the licensed public code; it does not imply that an organisation must publish its data, secrets, internal processes, or private extensions.
Hosted dependencies do not turn the OS into SaaS
A self-hosted application may call commercial model APIs, use managed Postgres, store files in cloud object storage, or run on rented infrastructure.
Those are replaceable dependencies and operating choices. The question is whether the organisation can inspect and change the application layer coordinating them.
Avoiding every external provider is not the objective. Keeping the workflow, policy, interfaces, and records portable enough to change components deliberately is more useful than an abstract promise of “no lock-in.”
Services are separate from software access
Greg Asquith, the creator and maintainer, can provide implementation and ongoing development for organisations that want help deploying or extending Praxis Agents OS.
Those services pay for engineering and delivery. They do not convert the Apache-licensed OS into a proprietary product or restrict an organisation to buying access from one vendor.
This separation should remain clear:
- Praxis Agents OS: the open-source project
- Greg Asquith: creator and maintainer
- Gregory Asquith Limited: the legal entity that contracts for professional services
An organisation may evaluate and use the software without buying services.
When SaaS may still be the better choice
Choose a mature provider product when the requirement is broadly shared, its supported configuration is sufficient, and the organisation does not want to operate custom software.
Consider an organisation-owned layer when the workflow needs unusual policy, private interfaces, specialised data models, deployment control, or an extension path below the limits of provider configuration.
The decision is not ideological. It is an architecture and operating-model choice.
Frequently asked questions
Is Praxis Agents OS free to use?
The public software is licensed under Apache 2.0, subject to that licence’s terms. Running it still creates infrastructure, model, integration, security, and maintenance costs.
Can somebody host Praxis Agents OS as a service?
Apache 2.0 permits broad use and modification subject to its terms. A hosted deployment is a service around the software; it does not change the licence of the public project.
Does an organisation have to publish its changes?
Apache 2.0 does not generally require private modifications to be published. Organisations should take legal advice for their specific distribution and compliance obligations.
Does open source guarantee portability?
No. Portability also depends on infrastructure, data formats, provider-specific code, private extensions, and operating documentation. Open code makes migration and adaptation possible; it does not make them effortless.