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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <TITLE>Nmap Public Source License</TITLE> <META name="description" content="Documents the license which applies to the Nmap Security Scanner."> <link rel="canonical" href="https://nmap.org/npsl/"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#2A0D45"> <link rel="preload" as="image" href="/images/sitelogo.png" imagesizes="168px" imagesrcset="/images/sitelogo.png, /images/sitelogo-2x.png 2x"> <link rel="preload" as="image" href="/shared/images/nst-icons.svg"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/shared/css/nst.css?v=2"> <script async src="/shared/js/nst.js?v=2"></script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/shared/css/nst-foot.css?v=2" media="print" onload="this.media='all'"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/site.css">  <link rel="preload" href="https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js" as="script"> <script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-11009417-1', 'auto'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script>  <META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOARCHIVE"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/shared/images/tiny-eyeicon.png" type="image/png"> </head> <body><div id="nst-wrapper"> <div id="menu"> <div class="blur"> <header id="nst-head"> <a id="menu-open" href="#menu" aria-label="Open menu"> <img width="44" height="44" alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="/shared/images/nst-icons.svg#menu"> </a> <a id="menu-close" href="#" aria-label="Close menu"> <img width="44" height="44" alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="/shared/images/nst-icons.svg#close"> </a> <a id="nst-logo" href="/" aria-label="Home page"> <img alt="Home page logo" srcset="/images/sitelogo.png, /images/sitelogo-2x.png 2x" src="/images/sitelogo.png" onerror="this.onerror=null;this.srcset=this.src" height=90 width=168></a> <nav id="nst-gnav"> <a class="nlink" href="https://nmap.org/">Nmap.org</a> <a class="nlink" href="https://npcap.com/">Npcap.com</a> <a class="nlink" href="https://seclists.org/">Seclists.org</a> <a class="nlink" href="https://sectools.org">Sectools.org</a> <a class="nlink" href="https://insecure.org/">Insecure.org</a> </nav> <form class="nst-search" id="nst-head-search" action="/search/"> <input class="nst-search-q" name="q" type="search" placeholder="Site Search"> <button class="nst-search-button" title="Search"> <img style="width:100%;aspect-ratio:1/1;" alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="/shared/images/nst-icons.svg#search"> </button> </form> </header> </div> </div> <main id="nst-content"> <nav id="nst-sitenav"> <a class="nlink" href="/download.html">Download</a> <a class="nlink" href="/book/man.html">Reference Guide</a> <a class="nlink" href="/book/">Book</a> <a class="nlink" href="/docs.html">Docs</a> <a class="nlink" href="/zenmap/">Zenmap GUI</a> <a class="nlink" href="/movies/">In the Movies</a> </nav> <h2 id="intro" class="purpleheader">Nmap Public Source License</h2> <P>Nmap is distributed under the terms of the Nmap Public Source License (<a href="npsl-annotated.html">annotated HTML version</a> / <a href="https://svn.nmap.org/nmap/LICENSE">plain text version</a>). This license is based on the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html">GNU GPLv2</a>, but with important additional terms, conditions, clarifications and exceptions. It also contains a warranty disclaimer and contributor agreement. We believe it is compliant with the <a href="http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php">Open Source Definition</a>, but we haven't gone through their certification process (which requires an attorney). <P>The primary goals of this license are: <ul> <li>Keep Nmap free for the millions of individuals and organizations who depend on it. <li>Prohibit redistribution and use of Nmap within proprietary hardware and software products. This is because we fund the Nmap Project by selling a special <a href="https://nmap.org/oem/">Nmap OEM license</a> for companies that wish to embed Nmap technology within their products. <a href="https://nmap.org/oem/">Nmap OEM</a> also includes commercial support, indemnification, and custom Windows builds. <li>Keep the Nmap source code available for public review. This helps people understand how Nmap works and evaluate Nmap for security and code quality. Users are even encouraged to <a href="https://svn.nmap.org/nmap/HACKING">submit patches that improve Nmap further</a>. </ul> <P>The <a href="https://svn.nmap.org/nmap/LICENSE">license itself</a> is rather terse, so we have created the <a href="npsl-annotated.html">Annotated HTML Nmap Public Source License</a>. This version includes further reasoning behind and explanations of the license terms. These annotations are not a legal document or legal advice. If you need to know <i>exactly</i> what the license requires, you need to read and understand the <a href="https://svn.nmap.org/nmap/LICENSE">license itself</a>; if you need legal advice, talk to a lawyer. <P>Note that some releases of Nmap may fall under a previous version of this license, or a different license entirely. The exact terms for a given version of Nmap can be found in the included LICENSE or COPYING file. To ease the transition to the NPSL, the first three Nmap releases made under that license (Nmap 7.90, 7.91, and 7.92) may also be used under the <a href="https://nmap.org/misc/nmap-v7.80-license.txt">previous Nmap license terms</a> by anyone who prefers those. </main> <footer id="nst-foot"> <form class="nst-search" id="nst-foot-search" action="/search/"> <input class="nst-search-q" name="q" type="search" placeholder="Site Search"> <button class="nst-search-button" title="Search"> <img style="width:100%;aspect-ratio:1/1;" alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="/shared/images/nst-icons.svg#search"> </button> </form> <div class="flexlists"> <div class="fl-unit"> <h2><a class="nlink" href="https://nmap.org/">Nmap Security Scanner</a></h2> <ul> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://nmap.org/book/man.html">Ref Guide</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://nmap.org/book/install.html">Install Guide</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://nmap.org/docs.html">Docs</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://nmap.org/download.html">Download</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://nmap.org/oem/">Nmap OEM</a> </ul> </div> <div class="fl-unit"> <h2><a class="nlink" href="https://npcap.com/">Npcap packet capture</a></h2> <ul> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://npcap.com/guide/">User's Guide</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://npcap.com/guide/npcap-devguide.html#npcap-api">API docs</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://npcap.com/#download">Download</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://npcap.com/oem/">Npcap OEM</a> </ul> </div> <div class="fl-unit"> <h2><a class="nlink" href="https://seclists.org/">Security Lists</a></h2> <ul> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://seclists.org/nmap-announce/">Nmap Announce</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://seclists.org/nmap-dev/">Nmap Dev</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/">Full Disclosure</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://seclists.org/oss-sec/">Open Source Security</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://seclists.org/dataloss/">BreachExchange</a> </ul> </div> <div class="fl-unit"> <h2><a class="nlink" href="https://sectools.org">Security Tools</a></h2> <ul> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://sectools.org/tag/vuln-scanners/">Vuln scanners</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://sectools.org/tag/pass-audit/">Password audit</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://sectools.org/tag/web-scanners/">Web scanners</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://sectools.org/tag/wireless/">Wireless</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://sectools.org/tag/sploits/">Exploitation</a> </ul> </div> <div class="fl-unit"> <h2><a class="nlink" href="https://insecure.org/">About</a></h2> <ul> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://insecure.org/fyodor/">About/Contact</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://insecure.org/privacy.html">Privacy</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://insecure.org/advertising.html">Advertising</a> <li><a class="nlink" href="https://nmap.org/npsl/">Nmap Public Source License</a> </ul> </div> <div class="fl-unit social-links"> <a class="nlink" href="https://twitter.com/nmap" title="Visit us on Twitter"> <img width="32" height="32" src="/shared/images/nst-icons.svg#twitter" alt="" aria-hidden="true"> </a> <a class="nlink" href="https://facebook.com/nmap" title="Visit us on Facebook"> <img width="32" height="32" src="/shared/images/nst-icons.svg#facebook" alt="" aria-hidden="true"> </a> <a class="nlink" href="https://github.com/nmap/" title="Visit us on Github"> <img width="32" height="32" src="/shared/images/nst-icons.svg#github" alt="" aria-hidden="true"> </a> <a class="nlink" href="https://reddit.com/r/nmap/" title="Discuss Nmap on Reddit"> <img width="32" height="32" src="/shared/images/nst-icons.svg#reddit" alt="" aria-hidden="true"> </a> </div> </div> </footer> </div> </body> </html>