Terms of Service
Effective Date: January 22, 2026
1. Introduction
Welcome to Crate Gateway ("Crate," "we," "us," or "our"). By creating an account or using our API gateway services (the "Service"), you agree to these Terms of Service with 5pm dev, Inc. ("Crate"). If you do not agree, you may not use the Service.
2. The Service
Crate provides a high-performance API gateway that allows you ("Customer") to route, manage, and secure web traffic to your backend applications.
Availability: We strive to keep the Service available 24/7, subject to our Service Level Agreement (SLA).
Modifications: We may update the Service or these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via email or dashboard notification.
3. Account & Security
Registration: You must provide accurate email and payment information.
Credentials: You are responsible for keeping your API keys and passwords secure. You are responsible for all traffic and fees incurred under your credentials.
Enterprise Isolation: "Business" plan customers are provisioned on isolated infrastructure. While this mitigates "noisy neighbor" issues, you acknowledge that the Service is hosted on shared cloud or bare-metal providers.
Since Crate proxies public traffic, strictly prohibited use is grounds for immediate termination without refund. You agree NOT to use Crate to:
- Host or Proxy Malicious Content: Phishing sites, malware, command-and-control (C2) infrastructure, or illegal content.
- Conduct Attacks: DDoS attacks, port scanning, or vulnerability scanning against third parties.
- Bypass Limits: Attempting to circumvent bandwidth quotas or rate limits.
- High-Risk Activities: Operate critical infrastructure where Service failure could lead to physical injury or death.
We reserve the right to inspect traffic metadata (headers, IPs) to detect and block abuse.
5. Fees and Payment
Billing: Services are billed monthly in advance. Overage fees (for bandwidth exceeding plan limits) are billed in arrears at the start of the next cycle.
Overage Rates:
- Standard: $0.01 per GB.
- Business: $0.01 per GB (unless otherwise negotiated).
Refunds: Payments are non-refundable, except as required by law or under the specific terms of our SLA.
Cancellation: You may cancel at any time via the dashboard. Service will continue until the end of the current billing period.
6. Service Level Agreement (SLA)
For "Business" plan customers, we guarantee 99.0% monthly uptime.
Remedy: If uptime falls below 99.0% (excluding force majeure or customer misconfiguration), you are eligible for a Service Credit of 10% of your monthly fee.
Claiming Credit: You must contact support within 30 days of the incident to request credit.
Sole Remedy: Service Credits are your sole and exclusive remedy for any unavailability.
7. Intellectual Property
Your Data: You retain all rights to your code, backend services, and customer data passing through the Gateway. You grant us a limited license to transmit this data solely to provide the Service.
Our IP: Crate retains all rights to the Gateway software, documentation, and infrastructure.
8. Limitation of Liability ("The Shield")
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Crate shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, data, or goodwill. In no event shall our total liability exceed the amount you paid to Crate in the three (3) months preceding the claim.
9. Indemnification
You agree to hold Crate harmless from any claims, damages, or losses arising from your use of the Service, your backend applications, or your violation of these Terms. (e.g., If a third party sues Crate because your app stole their data, you pay Crate's legal bills).
10. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, United States.