Terms of Service

Last updated 25 September 2026

1. Operator and scope

The Merkur service is operated by Dmytro Pletenskyi, a sole proprietor (FOP) registered in Ukraine ("we", "us", "our"). Contact: dmitriy.pletenskoy@gmail.com.

These Terms of Service ("terms") govern your access to and use of the Merkur service at merkur.sh, including the web application, your account, our relay and connection servers, and the Linux machines we host on your behalf ("boxes") (together, the "service"). By creating an account or using the service, you agree to these terms. The processing of personal data is described in our Privacy Policy.

The Merkur software is licensed separately, principally under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. Those licences govern the software; these terms govern the service.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction if higher, and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement. If you use the service on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you are authorised to accept these terms on its behalf.

3. Your account

• You must provide accurate registration information. Where sign-in is by email, the email address must be your own, and it is verified by a one-time code.
• We may decline to create an account, including for an address at a disposable email service or an address that reaches the same mailbox as a suspended account.
• You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for all activity under your account.
• We cannot recover or reset a lost password. Your password protects your account key, and neither is disclosed to us. If your password is lost, the account cannot be recovered, and any machines linked to it must be linked to a new account.
• You must notify us promptly of any suspected unauthorised access to your account. Browser sessions may be revoked under Settings, Sessions.

4. Linked machines

You may install the Merkur daemon only on machines that you own or are authorised to use for this purpose. The daemon gives your signed-in browsers access to a terminal on that machine. You are solely responsible for each linked machine and for all activity carried out on it through the service.

5. Hosted boxes

• Boxes are offered as a beta feature and are subject to approval. We may decline any request, and may pause or end the beta.
• Each box is subject to limits on processor, memory, disk and network use, which we may set and change.
• Boxes are not a backup service. Hardware failures and errors may occur. You are responsible for keeping copies of any data you cannot afford to lose.
• When your account is deleted or terminated, its boxes and all of their contents are permanently deleted.
• We may restart or interrupt a box for maintenance and updates.

6. Acceptable use

You must not use the service, including any hosted box, to:

• violate any applicable law or infringe the rights of any person;
• attack, scan or probe any system you are not authorised to test, or send spam or phishing messages;
• distribute malware or operate botnet infrastructure;
• mine cryptocurrency;
• host or distribute unlawful content, including child sexual abuse material;
• deliberately overload our infrastructure, circumvent resource limits, or attempt to access other users' boxes or data;
• resell access to the service without our prior written consent.

Security research on your own account and machines is permitted. Vulnerabilities should be reported to us privately before any public disclosure.

7. Your content

You retain all rights in the content you create or store using the service. You grant us only the rights necessary to operate the service for you. Terminal sessions are encrypted end to end between your browser and your machine. Our handling of personal data, including the circumstances in which we may access a hosted box, is described in the Privacy Policy.

8. Fees

The service is currently provided free of charge. If paid features are introduced, they will apply only if you choose to purchase them, at the price and under the billing terms presented at the time of purchase.

9. Suspension and termination

• You may stop using the service and delete your account at any time under Settings, Account.
• We may suspend or terminate an account, or stop a box, if it breaches these terms, poses a risk to the service or to others, or where required by law.
• To maintain the service for all users, we may limit, pause or suspend any account or box whose use of shared resources, including relay traffic, connections, and box processor, memory, disk and network capacity, exceeds what we reasonably determine the service can support, whether or not any published limit has been reached.
• We may modify, suspend or discontinue the service, or any part of it.

10. Changes to the service

The service is under active development. We may add, modify or remove features of the service from time to time.

Descriptions of the service on our website, in the app, in our documentation or in other communications reflect the service at the time they are made or our intentions at that time. Statements about plans, roadmaps or future features are not commitments and do not form part of these terms.

11. Disclaimer and limitation of liability

The service is provided "as is" and "as available". To the extent permitted by law, we make no warranty, express or implied, as to the availability, performance, reliability or continuity of the service, that it will be free of errors or interruptions, or that it will be fit for a particular purpose. No uptime or service level commitment applies to the service, and its behaviour may differ between releases.

To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any indirect or consequential loss, or for any loss of data, profits or business. Our total liability to you is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim and 50 US dollars.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes liability for intentional misconduct or gross negligence, for death or personal injury, or any right you have as a consumer under mandatory law.

12. Changes to these terms

We may amend these terms from time to time. The version published on this page is the version in force. Amendments that are minor, or that are required by law or for the security of the service, take effect on publication. We will notify you of any other material amendment in the app or by email before it takes effect. Your continued use of the service after an amendment takes effect constitutes acceptance of it. If you do not accept an amendment, you may delete your account.

13. Contributions

The Merkur software is open source. Anyone may report issues, propose improvements or contribute code through its GitHub repository, subject to its contributing guide. Whether and when any report or contribution is reviewed, answered or incorporated into the service is at our discretion.

14. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of Ukraine, and the courts of Ukraine have jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them. If you are a consumer resident in the European Union, you also retain the protection of the mandatory laws of your country of residence and may bring a claim before its courts.

Before commencing proceedings, please contact us by email so that we can attempt to resolve the matter.

15. General

These terms and the Privacy Policy constitute the entire agreement between you and us concerning the service. They supersede any prior or other statements, written or oral, concerning the service, and may be amended only by an update published on this page. If any provision of these terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect. Our failure to enforce any provision does not constitute a waiver of it. You may not assign or transfer your account without our prior consent.