homectl

Terms of service

Last updated 24 October 2026.

These terms cover your use of homectl: the open-source software (the hctl and hctl-net programs and the code at github.com/homectl-ai) and this website. By installing or using homectl you agree to them. If you don't agree, don't use it.

The software and its licence

homectl is free software under the Apache License 2.0. The licence governs what you may do with the code (use, change, share). These terms add nothing to it and take nothing away; where they differ, the licence wins.

No service, no account

homectl runs on your own devices. homectl.ai runs no service for it, holds no account for you and receives none of your data; see the privacy policy. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to pay.

Your network, your responsibility

homectl changes real things: it can switch internet access off for people and devices, change your router's settings and control devices in your home. You decide what it does and you're responsible for that, including:

• having the right to manage the network and devices you point it at;
• telling the people in your home what it does, and following the law where you live on monitoring other people's use of the internet;
• keeping your backup key and recovery passphrase safe. Backups are encrypted with them; without them nobody, including us, can restore your data.

Google Drive and other services

If you connect Google Drive (or another storage service), homectl uses it on your behalf only to store, list and delete its own encrypted backup copies. Your use of that service stays under its own terms (for Google Drive, Google's Terms of Service). You can disconnect it at any time with hctl backup target rm or at myaccount.google.com/permissions.

No warranty

homectl is provided "as is", without warranties or conditions of any kind, as the licence says. It may have bugs, it may lose connectivity or data, and a change it makes may need undoing by hand. Test changes, keep backups and keep a way to reach your router without homectl.

Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, the homectl authors and contributors are not liable for any damages arising from your use of homectl or this website, including lost data, lost connectivity or interrupted service, as set out in sections 7 and 8 of the licence.

Changes

We may update these terms; the date above says when they last changed, and the history is public in the website's repository. Using homectl after a change means you accept the new terms.

Contact

privacy@homectl.ai, or an issue on GitHub.