Model License Checklist for LocalForge

Why this check matters

Model files are distributed under terms chosen by their creators or publishers. Two files that work with the same architecture can grant very different rights. Compatibility answers whether a model can run; licensing answers what you may do with the model and its outputs.

This checklist is operational guidance, not legal advice. When the terms are unclear or the project is high-risk, ask the rights holder or qualified counsel.

1. Identify the authoritative source

Record the creator or organization, official model page, repository or distribution URL, and the exact filename. Avoid treating a repost, aggregator summary, screenshot, or copied license paragraph as authoritative when the original source is available.

The license label on a hub or repository page is a hint, not the license. Open the LICENSE file that ships with the model and read the license section of the model card. If the two disagree, the license text governs. Write the disagreement into your record so the decision can be traced later.

2. Match the license to the exact version

Licenses can change between releases. Save:

• Model name and version.
• File hash when available.
• Download date.
• Source URL.
• License name and full license URL or text.
• Any model card or acceptable-use addendum.

Do not assume a newer file inherited the terms of an older release.

3. Check the permitted uses

Look specifically for personal use, research, commercial use, redistribution, hosted-service use, fine-tuning, derivative models, and output restrictions. “Open weights,” “free download,” and “works locally” are not substitutes for permission.

Before you read the clauses, write your intended use in one plain sentence, for example: “Sell prints of images made with this model.” Then check each clause against that sentence and note whether it allows, forbids, or does not address the use. If a clause is ambiguous or missing, mark the item unresolved in your record. Do not guess; leave it unresolved until the rights holder or counsel answers.

4. Read restrictions and conditions

Note requirements involving attribution, notices, naming, prohibited uses, geographic limits, user age, downstream distribution, or sharing derivatives. If multiple documents apply, record all of them instead of selecting the most permissive sentence.

Sort what you find into three groups and record each item separately:

• Notices or attribution that must travel with the model or with its outputs.
• Use restrictions you must pass on to anyone who receives or hosts the model.
• Naming rules that apply to derivative models, such as fine-tunes or merges.

5. Separate model rights from other rights

A model license cannot grant rights the publisher does not own. Prompts, reference images, trademarks, recognizable people, characters, datasets, and output content may involve separate copyright, publicity, privacy, contract, or platform rules.

6. Check commercial-use language

If the project earns money, supports a client, markets a product, or feeds a paid service, verify that the exact use is permitted. Pay attention to revenue thresholds, hosted API restrictions, enterprise clauses, attribution, and whether outputs or only weights are covered.

Look for scale and revenue gates such as user-count caps or revenue thresholds. Check who counts toward the line, including affiliates and a parent company, and what happens once you pass it. Often the answer is a separate agreement with the publisher, not a silent loss of rights, so note the contact route.

Then check output ownership. Does the license claim any rights in what you generate? Does the commercial grant cover outputs, weights, or both? Record the exact wording rather than your summary of it.

7. Keep evidence with the project

Store a license record beside the project or in an asset register. Include the source snapshot or text where permitted, but retain the original URL and date. A future broken link should not erase the basis for your decision.

8. Recheck before distribution

Review the record before shipping an output, model derivative, workflow bundle, or product. Distribution creates different obligations from private experimentation. Recheck after changing models, adding a LoRA, or incorporating a third-party reference.

Worked example: a filled license record

The record below is an illustration with generic entries, not a real model. It shows how the fields from step 2 and the notes from steps 1 to 6 sit together on one page.

• Model name and version: the name and version exactly as the creator’s page gives them.
• File hash: the hash of the file exactly as downloaded.
• Download date: the day you downloaded it.
• Source URL: the creator’s official model page.
• License name and URL: the name as written in the LICENSE file, plus its full URL.
• Addenda: the acceptable-use policy listed on the model card.
• Intended use: Sell prints of images made with this model.
• Disagreement: the hub tag names a different license than the LICENSE file. The LICENSE file governs.
• Conditions to pass on: keep the attribution notice with distributed outputs; pass the use restrictions to anyone who hosts the model.
• Scale and revenue gate: a revenue threshold applies to the company and its affiliates; past it, a separate agreement is needed.
• Output ownership: the terms were read for any claim on generated images, and the exact sentence is copied here.
• Unresolved: whether prints count as covered commercial use. Left unresolved and sent to the publisher; not assumed.

Red flags that should block use

• No identifiable creator or authoritative source.
• A missing license or contradictory license files.
• Commercial terms summarized only by an uploader.
• A file version that does not match the model card.
• Restrictions you cannot satisfy or explain.
• Pressure to remove notices or conceal provenance.
• A claim that local execution makes licensing irrelevant.

LocalForge’s role

Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Local execution gives you control over the runtime and files, but it does not grant model rights. Keep provenance and license decisions attached to every asset you install.

That includes any model that comes with a LocalForge tier. Give it the same record as a model you download yourself: license name, version, and source URL, kept with the project.