At Civitai, our mission has always been to empower creators by giving them the tools they need to protect, control, and monetize their work. We believe that innovation flourishes when creators have choices - whether that’s sharing openly, via Early Access, or exploring new ways to distribute their content.
Today, we’re introducing a new feature called Usage Control, which allows creators to upload resources that can be used exclusively through Civitai’s on-site generator. This means the model weights won’t be downloadable for local use, but users can still generate images directly on Civitai, should the Creator wish to enable it.
Why We’re Introducing This Feature
The Civitai community is diverse, with creators who have different goals, concerns, and preferences for how their work is consumed & shared. Some creators prefer to distribute their models freely, while others want more control over how their work is accessed and used. Usage Control isn't about restricting the community - it’s about providing more options for creators to share their work in ways that align with their needs.
Open-Source Values and Creator Choice
At Civitai, we’ve always supported open-source principles while also recognizing that creators need options to sustain their work. Features like Early Access were designed to balance early supporter benefits with eventual open availability. Usage Control is another step in that journey - not a departure from it.
We understand that some in the community may see this feature as "anti-open-source," but our goal isn’t to take anything away from open sharing - it’s to add an alternative. Open models will always have a place on Civitai. What we’re introducing is a new option for creators who prefer to distribute their work in a different way, one that still allows community engagement through on-site usage.
Open-source ecosystems thrive when creators have agency. Just as some developers choose to publish open-source software while others release proprietary apps, we believe creators should have similar flexibility when sharing their resources.
What This Means for Users
For the majority of users, this won’t change the way they engage with Civitai. Models that are uploaded with On-Site Generation Only will still be usable - just within the platform’s built-in tools. This feature is launching first for Gold-tier Civitai Subscribers as we refine and improve its functionality.
As always, we welcome your feedback and look forward to seeing how creators and users engage with this new tool. Our goal is to support a healthy ecosystem where artists, Creators, and enthusiasts all have the freedom to create and share in ways that work best for them.
What about Licensing?
Licensing is a crucial aspect of model distribution, and we want to clarify how it intersects with the Usage Control feature.
Civitai provides a platform for creators to share their models, but we do not have visibility into the licensing lineage of every model uploaded. Therefore, it is the creator's responsibility to ensure that their model complies with all applicable licenses, especially when using features like Usage Control.
If you believe that your license has been breached by a derivative model trained from your work, we encourage you to contact the resource creator directly.