Open-Source Licenses & Source Code
Last updated: 18 June 2026
The short version (summary)
This summary helps you understand this page at a glance. It is not a substitute for the open-source licences themselves, which are what legally apply.
- PCBJam runs open-source software in your browser. The application is built on KiCad (the open-source EDA suite) compiled to WebAssembly, together with wxWidgets and other open-source libraries. Each stays under its own licence.
- You have the right to the source. Because we deliver GPL-licensed software (KiCad) to your browser, you are entitled under the GNU GPL to the corresponding source code for the version you receive. See Getting the source code.
- These licences are not changed by us. Our Terms of Service govern the hosted PCBJam service and our own proprietary code; they do not modify or restrict your rights under the open-source licences with respect to the open-source components themselves.
- Trademarks. “KiCad” and related marks belong to their owners. PCBJam is an independent product built on KiCad and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the KiCad project.
Components and their licences
PCBJam is a combined work. The table below lists its principal open-source components and the licence that applies to each.
| Component | What it is | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| KiCad | EDA suite, compiled to WebAssembly — the core of PCBJam | GNU General Public License, version 3 (GPLv3) |
| wxWidgets (base) | Cross-platform GUI toolkit that KiCad uses | wxWindows Library Licence v3.1 (LGPL v2+ with a binary-distribution exception) |
| wxWidgets — WebAssembly port | The browser/WASM platform layer, derived from ahilss/wxWidgets-wasm | GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2 (LGPL v2) — without the wxWindows binary exception |
| Other bundled libraries | Various supporting libraries used by KiCad | Their respective licences (Apache-2.0, MIT, BSD-3-Clause, Boost, CC0, ISC, CC-BY-SA-4.0, and others) |
The combined application is conveyed to you under the GPLv3. The wxWidgets components are GPL-compatible: the base toolkit’s licence is explicitly compatible with GPL’d applications, and the LGPL v2 WebAssembly-port files may be combined into a GPLv3 work under the LGPL’s terms.
Note on the WebAssembly port. The wxWidgets WASM-port files (originally authored by Adam Hilss) are released under plain LGPL v2 without the wxWindows binary-distribution exception that the rest of wxWidgets grants. This does not affect your rights here — PCBJam is conveyed as open source under the GPLv3 regardless — but we state it so our notices are accurate. The unmodified wxWidgets base remains under the wxWindows Library Licence.
Getting the source code
In line with the GNU GPL (and as referenced in §12.4 of our Terms), the complete corresponding source code for the GPL-licensed software we deliver to your browser — together with the applicable licence texts and notices — is publicly available in one place:
https://github.com/emergence-engineering/pcbjam
The KiCad and wxWidgets forks are included in that repository as git submodules, so a recursive clone fetches everything needed to build PCBJam:
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/emergence-engineering/pcbjam.gitFor reference, the component forks pulled in as submodules are:
- KiCad fork — https://github.com/emergence-engineering/kicad-source-mirror (branch
wasm-port) - wxWidgets fork (incl. the WebAssembly port) — https://github.com/emergence-engineering/wxWidgets (branch
wasm-port)
The source corresponding to a specific deployed build is identified by the commit revisions — including submodule revisions — recorded in the application’s About / build information. If you need the exact corresponding source for a build you received and cannot locate it, contact us at hello@pcbjam.com and we will provide it.
We do not claim ownership of, and do not purport to relicense, the open-source components.
Full licence texts
- GNU General Public License v3 (GPLv3) — https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html
- GNU Lesser General Public License v2 (LGPL v2) — https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.0.html
- wxWindows Library Licence v3.1 — https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/licence/
Copies of these licences and the per-component notices are also included in the source repositories listed above.