diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..afb81b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+Jake Labs Non-Commercial Software Licence
+
+Copyright (c) 2026 JakeBreath
+
+0. Authorized Distribution and Scope
+
+This Licence applies exclusively to copies of the Software that have been
+lawfully obtained from a public distribution channel explicitly designated
+by the Licensor (e.g., GitHub, GitLab, Codeberg, Itch.io, Steam, or any
+similar public repository or platform) where the Software has been published
+by the copyright holder. Any copy of the Software acquired through any other
+means - including but not limited to breach of contract, violation of a
+non-disclosure agreement, unauthorized access to private repositories,
+exploitation of security vulnerabilities, hacking, or accessing a developer's
+personal computer, local network, or development device - is not authorized,
+and this Licence does not grant any rights whatsoever with respect to such
+copies. Such copies receive no licence and remain fully protected by
+copyright. No rights under this Licence are conveyed to any recipient of such
+an unauthorized copy.
+
+1. Grant of Rights and Conditions
+
+Subject to the terms of this Licence, you are granted a worldwide,
+royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable licence to use, copy, modify, merge,
+publish, distribute, and sublicense copies of the Software, provided that:
+
+   a) Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to this
+      Licence, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any
+      reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the Licensor
+      endorses you or your use.
+
+   b) Copyleft: Any modified version of the Software that you distribute must
+      be licensed as a whole under this same Licence, and you must make the
+      corresponding source code readily available to recipients under these
+      same terms. This requirement applies to the modified work as a whole,
+      including any combined or derivative works that include any portion of
+      the Software.
+
+   c) Strictly Non-Commercial: Commercial use of the Software, in original or
+      modified form, is prohibited. "Commercial use" includes, but is not
+      limited to:
+
+        (i)   selling the Software, including it in a product or service for
+              which a fee is charged, or using it to provide a paid service;
+
+        (ii)  using the Software (directly or indirectly) on any website,
+              platform, application, or online service that displays
+              advertisements, sponsored content, or other promotional
+              material intended to generate revenue - including incidental
+              or automatically injected advertisements;
+
+        (iii) using the Software as part of the backend infrastructure,
+              content delivery network (CDN), or server-side processing of
+              any website, application, or service that restricts access to
+              content behind a paywall, subscription, or other payment
+              mechanism, or that otherwise monetizes content through
+              advertisements, commercial data collection, or similar means.
+
+        Any output, data, or results generated by the Software may not be
+        used in connection with any such monetized or advertisement-supported
+        platform.
+
+2. Term and Termination
+
+Your rights under this Licence terminate automatically if you violate any of
+its terms. If you cure the violation within 30 days of it occurring, your
+rights are reinstated automatically as of the date the violation is cured. On
+termination you must stop using and distributing the Software. Termination
+does not affect the rights of recipients who obtained copies from you in
+compliance with this Licence. The Disclaimer of Warranty survives
+termination.
+
+3. Disclaimer of Warranty
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS
+IN THE SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 28976f6..7b7dbe0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -36,3 +36,11 @@ npm run dev                            # http://localhost:5173, proxies /api to
 Not wired up yet — planned: Nginx serving the SPA build, `/media` and `/library` media
 directly, and proxying `/api` to Waitress/Django. See `frontend/` design docs for the UI
 specification.
+
+## Licence
+
+Source-available, **non-commercial**: personal and other non-commercial use is
+welcome under the [Jake Labs Non-Commercial Software Licence](LICENSE), which
+requires attribution and keeps derivative works under the same licence.
+Commercial use is not permitted. Third-party dependencies keep their own
+licences (all permissive: MIT, BSD, Apache-2.0, ISC).