Tier 4 Pages Research
Research compiled for License page.
License Information
License Type
- GNU General Public License v2.0 (GNU/GPL v2)
- Some sources mention v3.0; verify in repository LICENSE file for exact version
Copyright
- Copyright holder: "2026 - the QElectroTech Team"
- Community/collaborative copyright
Key Licensing Principles
Freedom Granted:
- Free to use for any purpose
- Free to copy and redistribute
- Free to modify and create derivatives
- Free to access source code
- No licensing fees or commercial restrictions
Obligations:
- Modifications must remain under same GPL license
- When distributing, must provide source code
- Must include copyright and license notice
- Must document changes made
No Warranty:
- Software provided "as is"
- No guarantee of functionality
- Developers provide no legal guarantees
- Use at your own risk
What This Means
For Users:
- Completely free to use
- No cost, ever
- No vendor lock-in
- Your diagrams are yours
- No telemetry or tracking
- No subscription needed
For Developers:
- Can modify and improve
- Must share improvements under GPL
- Can use in commercial projects (modified or unmodified)
- Must provide source code if distributed
- Same freedoms and obligations apply
For Businesses:
- Free software reduces costs
- Can customize for needs
- Must comply with GPL (share source if distributed)
- No licensing hassles
- No dependency on single vendor
Why GPL?
The GPL ensures that:
- Software remains free for everyone
- Improvements benefit the whole community
- No one can make it proprietary
- Transparency and trust
- Democratic development model
Relevant Links
- GitHub LICENSE file: https://github.com/qelectrotech/qelectrotech-source-mirror/blob/main/LICENSE
- GNU.org GPL explanation: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/
- TLDR Legal GPL v2: https://tldrlegal.com/license/gnu-general-public-license-v2
Attribution
Standard attribution:
This project uses QElectroTech, licensed under the GNU General Public License v2.0
Or in projects:
QElectroTech © 2007-2026 The QElectroTech Team. Licensed under GNU/GPL v2.
Contributing
By contributing code/elements to QET:
- You agree your contributions are licensed under GPL
- Your work becomes part of the community project
- You retain copyright to your contributions
- QET Team can use/modify your work under GPL terms
Getting Started
🌐 Languages — English · Français · Deutsch
Guides
Conductors — wire properties, what feeds which export, and cables
Wire & cable catalogue — cable types, IEC 60757 core colours, assigning a core to a conductor
Printing and exporting — paper, PDF, images, and what each path does differently
Linking elements — master, slave, terminal
PLC modules — I/O tables and linking a wire to a specific point
Using the element editor — drawing tools, saving, checks
Preferences reference — what each settings page does
Keyboard-only control — mouseless QET, and the one real gap
Mouse modifiers — what Shift, Ctrl and Alt change while you drag
Managing collections — folders, writability, building your own shortlist
Templates — reusable multi-element blocks, and why clicking one does nothing
Search & Replace — bulk property changes
Building a nomenclature query — the BOM/summary table builder
Linking wires across pages — folio reports
Variables & formulas — %f, %{label}, sequences
Auto-numbering — schemes, sequences, freezing
Terminal strips — strips, levels, bridges
Title block templates — the .titleblock format
Importing EPLAN parts (.edz) — EPLAN Data Portal
DXF import & export — two unrelated features, one format
The project database — the in-memory SQLite cache
Development
Automating QET — CLI, XML formats, external tools
CLI Reference — command line usage
JavaScript Scripting — --run, geometry editing, undo
Vision — proposal, under discussion
