Terms of Service

Effective: 26 May 2026 · Last updated: 26 May 2026

Biosmith is free, open-source molecular biology software. By using it you agree to these terms.

The service

Biosmith provides tools for plasmid design, cloning, sequence analysis, protein analysis, and related molecular biology workflows. It is available as a web application at biosmith.app and as a desktop application for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Biosmith is provided free of charge during beta. We may introduce paid features in the future, but existing free features will remain free.

Open-source licence

Biosmith's source code is licenced under the GNU Affero General Public Licence v3.0 (AGPL-3.0). This means:

• You can view, modify, and redistribute the source code
• Derivative works must also be released under AGPL-3.0
• If you run a modified version as a network service, you must make the source available to users

The full licence text is included in the source repository.

AI assistant disclaimer

The AI assistant uses third-party language models configured by you. AI responses are generated automatically and have not been peer-reviewed or validated. They may contain errors, hallucinations, or outdated information.

• Always verify AI-suggested primers, cloning strategies, and sequence analyses before use in the lab
• AI responses about gene function, protein properties, or biological mechanisms should be cross-referenced with primary literature
• Biosmith is not responsible for the accuracy, availability, or behaviour of third-party AI providers

Your data

You retain all rights to your sequences, plasmid designs, annotations, and any other data you create or load in Biosmith. We claim no ownership or licence over your scientific data.

Biosmith does not store your data on our servers. Everything stays on your device. See our Privacy Policy for details.

No warranty

Biosmith is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or implied. We do not guarantee that:

• The software will be error-free or uninterrupted
• Calculations (Tm, GC%, codon adaptation index, restriction sites, etc.) are free from bugs
• The service will be available at all times

Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Biosmith and its developer shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the software. This includes, but is not limited to, failed experiments, incorrect primer orders, or wasted reagents resulting from software errors.

Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Use Biosmith to design sequences intended to cause harm (biological weapons, dangerous organisms)
• Attempt to overload, disrupt, or interfere with the service
• Scrape or programmatically access the web app in a way that degrades service for others
• Misrepresent Biosmith's outputs as clinically validated or peer-reviewed

Third-party services

Biosmith integrates with third-party services that have their own terms:

• AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, etc.) — governed by their respective terms of service
• NCBI BLAST — governed by NCBI's usage policies
• Vercel — hosting infrastructure

Changes

We may update these terms. Material changes will be communicated via the app or this page. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.