> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.larksh.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Open source > Lark is open source. Run it yourself, read the code, and never get locked in. Lark is proudly open source. The realtime database engine and edge gateway behind Lark Cloud are the same code you can read, build, and run on your own machines. See our open source community at [github.com/lark-sh/lark](https://github.com/lark-sh/lark). Picking a database is a long-term bet, and the biggest risk is what happens if the vendor disappears, changes terms, or prices you out. With Lark there's an exit: the whole engine is open, so you can self-host whenever you want. ## Run it yourself Self-hosting gives you: * **No lock-in.** The engine is yours to run under the AGPL license. * **Full inspection.** Read the source, audit the security rules engine, and understand exactly how your data is stored and synced. * **Your infrastructure.** Run it on your own hardware, in your own cloud, inside your own network boundary. The product behaves the same either way. Everything in the [Platform](/platform/data-structure), [Lark SDK](/lark-sdk/overview), [REST API](/rest-api/overview), and [Firebase SDK](/firebase/overview) docs is correct for both Lark Cloud and self-hosted Lark. If you're interested in self-hosting Lark, start in the Github repo where you'll find instructions: [github.com/lark-sh/lark](https://github.com/lark-sh/lark). ## Why choose Lark Cloud? Self-hosting means you operate Lark. Lark Cloud means we do: * **Managed operations.** Provisioning, upgrades, monitoring, and on-call are handled for you. * **Scaling.** Capacity grows with your traffic without you sizing clusters or tuning the edge. * **Support.** Direct access to the team building Lark. Most teams start on Lark Cloud and stay there because operating a low-latency realtime database well is real work. Create a project and build your first real-time app in minutes. ## License Lark is licensed under the **GNU Affero General Public License v3 (AGPL v3)**. For commercial licensing questions, or if you need different licensing terms, please reach out at [team@lark.sh](mailto:team@lark.sh).