I actually sent a message to them recently, and now I got today a response.
Here is the copy of the mail I received:
Re: B1 Free Archiver - General question
Adam Buyer
support [at] b1 [dot] org Fri, Aug 9, 2013 at 6:06 PM
To: myself600 [at] gmail [dot] com
Hi
B1 Pack Project is open
You claimed that the installer for MS Windows has the liberal license, and
not the archiver. I also tried the Debian package first, in which the license
is usually placed within the /usr/share/doc/program_name folder, but not this
time. The license is not even available in the program
Kindly note that I had found both of these before beginning this thread:
I'm not sure about the license; the site claims it's the Apache License but
the Windows installer run via WINE has a shortened BSD License.
Seeing source code available on GitHub, I assumed it was for the GUI.
Okay, okay, I'm really sorry about this as it looks like the Archiver is
proprietary. DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT!
Anyways, I think they may release the source code for the GUI if asked. After
all, if they've placed the object code under a BSD license, and released some
more of the program's source
It looks like they produce a free software tool called b1pack available here
https://github.com/b1-pack/b1-pack. I checked the license headers of a few
files and it's Apache. Basically it means that the underlying library and
commandline tool are Free, but the main application is not(no
It is listed in the Free Software Directory
https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/B1_Free_Archiver
Whether it is a mistake or not I am not sure.
Interesting... it's definitely a mistake. The only part of the program which
is free/libre software, is called B1 Pack Project. The website describes it
as following:
„B1 Pack is an open-source software project that produces a cross-platform
command-line tool and a Java library for
I checked the license thoroughly and found it was under the Apache license.
The sole problem is that the source code is not available.
There is a license statement: http://dev.b1.org/license.html;
http://b1.org/about.jsp (We work under Apache License).
1. The license is for the B1 Pack Project, and not for B1 Free Archiver
(proof)
2. It does not matter what license they use internally if they does not
release the source code for the program
No matter from what point of view of you're looking at it, the program is
still proprietary, and
There is a license statement: http://dev.b1.org/license.html;
http://b1.org/about.jsp (We work under Apache License).
Apparently that refers to B1 archive format but not to B1 Free Archiver?
The sole problem is that the source code is not available.
This means it's dead in the water.
I found this application while searching for a free software archiver for my
Android phone. It has a beautiful UI, it can open a variety of formats, and
it's free software! (I'm not sure about the license; the site claims it's the
Apache License but the Windows installer run via WINE has a
The website reminds me of cheesy virus-infested software download sites.
I know, me too. But as proprietary as it may look, it's free, and it works
fantastically.
B1 Free Archiver is a proprietary freeware application. Please avoid
recommending software before you properly check its license.
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