Open source · AGPL-3.0
The Cognitive Collision Engine™—the council pattern that powers ThinqBits—is available to NGOs, research labs, universities, and mission-aligned teams. Free once granted. Pay for customization, deployment, and access to premium AI skills.
A ThinqBits project · Stewarded by the ThinqBits team
What you’re licensing
ThinqBits is a managed open-source project. The engine is the architecture for orchestrating multiple AI perspectives into a structured, auditable cognitive collision.
After grant approval · AGPL-3.0
One-time setup + monthly hosting
For closed-source SaaS / proprietary use
What teams build
Anywhere a single LLM gives a confident-but-flat answer, a council can surface what was missing.
Cross-disciplinary AI scientist panels for climate, public health, and biomedical research—surfacing cross-domain insights teams would otherwise miss.
Multi-stakeholder deliberation councils for NGOs and government, pressure-testing decisions before they ship.
Socratic teaching councils, dissertation committees, and peer-review simulators using multiple expert lenses instead of one generic AI.
Attribution
AGPL-3.0 covers the legal floor. The grant adds a visible attribution requirement.
Required in the footer of any deployment:
Powered by ThinqBits™ Cognitive Collision Engine
thinqbits.com
Required in your README / about page:
This project uses the ThinqBits Cognitive Collision Engine
(AGPL-3.0) under a grant from ThinqBits.
Source: https://github.com/thinqbits/thinqbits
“ThinqBits” and “Cognitive Collision Engine” are trademarks. The grant gives you the right to use them in attribution. Removing attribution voids the grant.
Why AGPL-3.0
AGPL is the strongest copyleft license. The grant program keeps it from becoming a wall.
Anyone running a modified version as a service must publish their changes. Mission-aligned forks stay public; closed-source clones require a commercial license.
NGOs, research labs, universities, and independent builders get the engine free under the grant. The criteria are public, and the answer is usually yes.
Commercial licenses fund engine development, the public Pack registry, and grant-tier support so the free tier stays good.
Grant application
Most grants are approved within five business days. Once approved, you get the repo, attribution kit, and a listing in the public Grant Registry.
FAQ
Yes—if your derivative is also AGPL-3.0 and source-available. If you want to build a closed-source SaaS or sell proprietary features on top of the engine, you’ll need a commercial license.
The engine is the orchestration architecture. Thinqer Packs are domain-specific cognitive frameworks—JSON definitions, tuned prompts, and, for Agent Packs, external endpoints. Framework-tier Packs are free; Enhanced and Agent Packs are sold via the marketplace with a 70/30 or 80/20 revenue split with developers.
No. Your deployment can use any name. The attribution requirement is a “Powered by ThinqBits” line in the footer and README. You own your brand; the architecture credit goes to the engine.
This is rare, but it happens for use cases that conflict with the project’s mission, such as surveillance or manipulation tooling. You’ll get a written explanation and can resubmit with a revised scope or take the commercial-license route.
Community support through GitHub issues is included. Direct architect support, custom Pack authoring, and managed hosting are paid services.
It is released to grant recipients today. A public read-only mirror is coming after the first wave of grants. The grant gates the supported version with the attribution kit; the engine itself will eventually be fully public.