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LICENSES

OPEN-SOURCE LICENSE EXPLORER

Quickly understand what you can and cannot do with popular open source licenses, from permissive MIT/BSD to copyleft GPL/AGPL and weak copyleft MPL.

TOTAL CATALOG
22 LICENSES
OSI APPROVED
100% VERIFIED
CATEGORIES
4 TYPES
CURRENT VIEW
22 MATCHES
Permissive OSI APPROVED

MIT License

A short and simple permissive license with conditions only requiring preservation of copyright and license notices.

SLUG: mit
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • License and copyright notice must be included
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:React, Vue, jQuery, and Express are licensed under MIT.
Permissive OSI APPROVED

Apache License 2.0

A permissive license whose main conditions require preservation of copyright and license notices. Contributors provide an express grant of patent rights.

SLUG: apache-2.0
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Patent use
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • License and copyright notice
  • State changes
  • Include NOTICE file
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Trademark use
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:Kubernetes, Docker, and TensorFlow are licensed under Apache 2.0.
Permissive OSI APPROVED

BSD 2-Clause License

A very simple permissive license that allows unlimited redistribution for any purpose as long as copyright notices and the license's disclaimers are maintained.

SLUG: bsd-2-clause
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • License and copyright notice must be included
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:FreeBSD, Nginx, and Sentry (parts) use BSD 2-Clause.
Permissive OSI APPROVED

BSD 3-Clause License

A permissive license similar to the BSD 2-Clause but with a clause prohibiting the use of the name of the project or its contributors for endorsement without prior written permission.

SLUG: bsd-3-clause
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • License and copyright notice must be included
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:Go, FreeBSD, and NumPy are licensed under BSD 3-Clause.
Permissive OSI APPROVED

ISC License

A highly permissive license functionally equivalent to the two-clause BSD license and MIT license, but with even simpler language, removing language deemed unnecessary by the Berne Convention.

SLUG: isc
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • License and copyright notice must be included
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:npm, OpenSSH, and Node.js (some core dependencies) use the ISC license.
Permissive OSI APPROVED

zlib License

A permissive license designed for the zlib compression library. It allows software modification and distribution, provided that the origin is not misrepresented and modifications are marked.

SLUG: zlib
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • Modified versions must be marked as such
  • Do not misrepresent the origin of the original software
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:zlib, LibPNG, and SFML are licensed under the zlib License.
Permissive OSI APPROVED

Artistic License 2.0

A permissive license used primarily for Perl projects. It allows distribution and modification but requires modified packages to still be accessible, clearly documented, or released under compatible terms.

SLUG: artistic-2.0
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • License and copyright notice
  • State changes
  • Maintain compatibility or document changes clearly
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:Perl 5, Raku (formerly Perl 6), and associated modules are licensed under the Artistic License.
Permissive OSI APPROVED

Python Software Foundation License

A BSD-style permissive license designed for the Python programming language. It permits modification and commercial redistribution without requiring copyleft constraints.

SLUG: psfl
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • License and copyright notice must be included
  • State changes in Python files if modified
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:The main Python implementation (CPython) is licensed under the PSFL.
Permissive OSI APPROVED

Boost Software License 1.0

A highly permissive license similar to MIT and BSD, but unlike them, it does not require copyleft or attribution notices if the software is distributed in binary/compiled form.

SLUG: bsl-1.0
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • License and copyright notice required only for source code distribution
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:The Boost C++ Libraries and the D programming language compiler are licensed under BSL 1.0.
Permissive OSI APPROVED

University of Illinois/NCSA Open Source License

A permissive license combining terms from the MIT/X11 and BSD licenses, requiring license text preservation but prohibiting promotional use of developer names.

SLUG: ncsa
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • License and copyright notice must be included
  • Names of developers/institutes cannot be used for promotion
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:LLVM compiler infrastructure, Clang, and NCSA HTTPd were licensed under NCSA.
Weak Copyleft OSI APPROVED

Mozilla Public License 2.0

A weak copyleft license that requires source code of modified files to be made available. However, files with new/different code can be under other licenses.

SLUG: mpl-2.0
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Patent use
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • License and copyright notice
  • Disclose source (for modified files)
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Trademark use
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:Firefox, Rust's cargo-edit, and Terraform are licensed under MPL 2.0.
Weak Copyleft OSI APPROVED

GNU Lesser General Public License v2.1

A weak copyleft license allowing developers to link to a shared library without forcing their own application to be open sourced, though modifications to the library itself must remain under LGPL.

SLUG: lgpl-2.1
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • Disclose source of LGPL code
  • License and copyright notice
  • State changes
  • Allow users to relink or reverse engineer the host application
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:FFmpeg (standard config), GTK 2, and GNU C Library (glibc) are licensed under LGPL 2.1.
Weak Copyleft OSI APPROVED

GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0

An updated version of LGPL v2.1 incorporating GPLv3's terms. It guarantees rights to relink and reverse-engineer, while offering patent grants and protection against anti-circumvention laws.

SLUG: lgpl-3.0
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Patent use
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • Disclose source of LGPL code
  • License and copyright notice
  • State changes
  • Allow users to relink or reverse engineer the host application
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:7-Zip (some modules), Mono Class Libraries, and GNU MPFR are licensed under LGPL 3.0.
Weak Copyleft OSI APPROVED

Eclipse Public License 2.0

A weak copyleft license designed to be business-friendly. Modified files must be disclosed, but it allows sub-licensing of binaries and provides clear patent terms.

SLUG: epl-2.0
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Patent use
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • Disclose source of modified EPL files
  • License and copyright notice
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:Eclipse IDE, Jetty web server, and Clojure are licensed under EPL 2.0.
Weak Copyleft OSI APPROVED

Common Development and Distribution License

A weak copyleft license based on the Mozilla Public License. It requires source code release of CDDL-covered files if modified, but allows combining them with other proprietary files.

SLUG: cddl-1.0
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Patent use
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • Disclose source of CDDL files
  • License and copyright notice
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:OpenSolaris, ZFS (OpenZFS), and GlassFish are licensed under CDDL.
Strong Copyleft OSI APPROVED

GNU General Public License v2.0

A strong copyleft license that requires any derivative work, linked code, or modifications to be distributed under the exact same license terms. Source code must be provided.

SLUG: gpl-2.0
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • Disclose source
  • License and copyright notice
  • State changes
  • Use identical license (GPLv2)
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:The Linux Kernel, Git (v2 only), and MySQL (community) are licensed under GPLv2.
Strong Copyleft OSI APPROVED

GNU GPLv3

A strong copyleft license requiring derivative works to be open sourced under GPLv3. It provides explicit protection against patent litigation and tivoization (hardware locking source code).

SLUG: gpl-3.0
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Patent use
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • Disclose source
  • License and copyright notice
  • State changes
  • Use identical license (GPLv3)
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:Bash, GnuPG, and GCC are licensed under GPLv3.
Strong Copyleft OSI APPROVED

GNU AGPLv3

A strong copyleft license designed for network-served software. If you run a modified version on a server for users to interact with over a network, you must disclose the source code.

SLUG: agpl-3.0
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Patent use
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • Disclose source
  • License and copyright notice
  • State changes
  • Use identical license (AGPLv3)
  • Network trigger (disclose source when run on a network)
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:Mastodon, Grafana, and MongoDB (previously) used AGPLv3.
Strong Copyleft OSI APPROVED

European Union Public Licence 1.2

A strong copyleft license drafted in 22 European languages, conforming to EU law. It has compatibility provisions allowing code to be integrated with GPL, MPL, and other copyleft licenses.

SLUG: eupl-1.2
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Patent use
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • Disclose source
  • License and copyright notice
  • State changes
  • Use compatible copyleft license
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:Joint Research Centre (JRC) software and various EU government tools use EUPL.
Strong Copyleft OSI APPROVED

CeCILL License v2.1

A French law-compliant strong copyleft license designed by CEA, CNRS, and Inria. It is fully compatible with GNU GPL, facilitating copyleft licensing within European/French legal frameworks.

SLUG: cecill-2.1
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
  • Disclose source
  • License and copyright notice
  • State changes
  • Use identical license (CeCILL) or GPL
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:Gnuplot (partially), French academic software projects use CeCILL.
Public Domain-like OSI APPROVED

The Unlicense

A public domain equivalent license that releases the code into the public domain, allowing anyone to do whatever they want with it, without any conditions.

SLUG: unlicense
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
None. Absolutely no conditions or obligations required.
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:youtube-dl and sqlite-jdbc are licensed under Unlicense.
Public Domain-like OSI APPROVED

CC0 1.0 Universal

A public dedication tool from Creative Commons that waives all copyright and related rights in a work worldwide, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

SLUG: cc0-1.0
PERMISSIONS
  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Private use
CONDITIONS
None. Absolutely no conditions or obligations required.
LIMITATIONS
  • Liability
  • Warranty
USAGE EXAMPLE:SQLite, public domain assets, and components of various open repositories use CC0.