Licenses | Choose a License

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/WebSite"> <meta charset="utf-8"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Chivo:900"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/application.css?v=26638690a007c584c2d5287a4fbd672eba3631b7"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no">  <title>Licenses | Choose a License</title> <meta name="generator" content="Jekyll v3.10.0" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Licenses" /> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" /> <meta name="description" content="Non-judgmental guidance on choosing a license for your open source project" /> <meta property="og:description" content="Non-judgmental guidance on choosing a license for your open source project" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://choosealicense.com/licenses/" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://choosealicense.com/licenses/" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Choose a License" /> <meta property="og:type" content="website" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary" /> <meta property="twitter:title" content="Licenses" /> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@github" /> <script type="application/ld+json"> {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","description":"Non-judgmental guidance on choosing a license for your open source project","headline":"Licenses","url":"https://choosealicense.com/licenses/"}</script>  </head> <body class="default license-types"> <div class="container"> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> </ol> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [{ "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@id": "https://choosealicense.com/", "name": "Home" } },{ "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@id": "https://choosealicense.com/licenses/", "name": "Licenses" } }] } </script> <h1>Licenses</h1> <p>Open source licenses grant permission for anybody to use, modify, and share licensed software for any purpose, subject to conditions preserving the provenance and openness of the software. The following licenses are sorted by the number of conditions, from most (GNU AGPLv3) to none (Unlicense). Notice that the popular licenses featured on the <a href="/">home page</a> (GNU GPLv3 and MIT) fall within this spectrum.</p> <p style="font-size:small; margin-bottom: 40px">If you鈥檙e looking for a reference table of every license on choosealicense.com, see the <a href="/appendix">appendix</a>.</p> <div class="license-overview clearfix" id="agpl-3-0"> <div class="license-overview-heading"> <h3 class="license-overview-name"> <a href="/licenses/agpl-3.0/"> GNU AGPLv3 </a> </h3> <p class="license-overview-description">Permissions of this strongest copyleft license are conditioned on making available complete source code of licensed works and modifications, which include larger works using a licensed work, under the same license. Copyright and license notices must be preserved. Contributors provide an express grant of patent rights. When a modified version is used to provide a service over a network, the complete source code of the modified version must be made available.</p> </div> <div class="license-details"> <table class="license-rules"> <tr> <th class="label">Permissions</th> <th class="label">Conditions</th> <th class="label">Limitations</th> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul class="license-permissions"> <li class="commercial-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Commercial use </li> <li class="distribution"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Distribution </li> <li class="modifications"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Modification </li> <li class="patent-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Patent use </li> <li class="private-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Private use </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-conditions"> <li class="disclose-source"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Disclose source </li> <li class="include-copyright"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> License and copyright notice </li> <li class="network-use-disclose"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Network use is distribution </li> <li class="same-license"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Same license </li> <li class="document-changes"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> State changes </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-limitations"> <li class="liability"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Liability </li> <li class="warranty"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Warranty </li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <p class="small"><a href="/licenses/agpl-3.0/">View full GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 禄</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="license-overview clearfix" id="gpl-3-0"> <div class="license-overview-heading"> <h3 class="license-overview-name"> <a href="/licenses/gpl-3.0/"> GNU GPLv3 </a> </h3> <p class="license-overview-description">Permissions of this strong copyleft license are conditioned on making available complete source code of licensed works and modifications, which include larger works using a licensed work, under the same license. Copyright and license notices must be preserved. Contributors provide an express grant of patent rights.</p> </div> <div class="license-details"> <table class="license-rules"> <tr> <th class="label">Permissions</th> <th class="label">Conditions</th> <th class="label">Limitations</th> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul class="license-permissions"> <li class="commercial-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Commercial use </li> <li class="distribution"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Distribution </li> <li class="modifications"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Modification </li> <li class="patent-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Patent use </li> <li class="private-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Private use </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-conditions"> <li class="disclose-source"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Disclose source </li> <li class="include-copyright"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> License and copyright notice </li> <li class="same-license"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Same license </li> <li class="document-changes"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> State changes </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-limitations"> <li class="liability"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Liability </li> <li class="warranty"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Warranty </li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <p class="small"><a href="/licenses/gpl-3.0/">View full GNU General Public License v3.0 禄</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="license-overview clearfix" id="lgpl-3-0"> <div class="license-overview-heading"> <h3 class="license-overview-name"> <a href="/licenses/lgpl-3.0/"> GNU LGPLv3 </a> </h3> <p class="license-overview-description">Permissions of this copyleft license are conditioned on making available complete source code of licensed works and modifications under the same license or the GNU GPLv3. Copyright and license notices must be preserved. Contributors provide an express grant of patent rights. However, a larger work using the licensed work through interfaces provided by the licensed work may be distributed under different terms and without source code for the larger work.</p> </div> <div class="license-details"> <table class="license-rules"> <tr> <th class="label">Permissions</th> <th class="label">Conditions</th> <th class="label">Limitations</th> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul class="license-permissions"> <li class="commercial-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Commercial use </li> <li class="distribution"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Distribution </li> <li class="modifications"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Modification </li> <li class="patent-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Patent use </li> <li class="private-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Private use </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-conditions"> <li class="disclose-source"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Disclose source </li> <li class="include-copyright"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> License and copyright notice </li> <li class="same-license--library"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Same license (library) </li> <li class="document-changes"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> State changes </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-limitations"> <li class="liability"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Liability </li> <li class="warranty"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Warranty </li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <p class="small"><a href="/licenses/lgpl-3.0/">View full GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 禄</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="license-overview clearfix" id="mpl-2-0"> <div class="license-overview-heading"> <h3 class="license-overview-name"> <a href="/licenses/mpl-2.0/"> Mozilla Public License 2.0 </a> </h3> <p class="license-overview-description">Permissions of this weak copyleft license are conditioned on making available source code of licensed files and modifications of those files under the same license (or in certain cases, one of the GNU licenses). Copyright and license notices must be preserved. Contributors provide an express grant of patent rights. However, a larger work using the licensed work may be distributed under different terms and without source code for files added in the larger work.</p> </div> <div class="license-details"> <table class="license-rules"> <tr> <th class="label">Permissions</th> <th class="label">Conditions</th> <th class="label">Limitations</th> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul class="license-permissions"> <li class="commercial-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Commercial use </li> <li class="distribution"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Distribution </li> <li class="modifications"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Modification </li> <li class="patent-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Patent use </li> <li class="private-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Private use </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-conditions"> <li class="disclose-source"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Disclose source </li> <li class="include-copyright"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> License and copyright notice </li> <li class="same-license--file"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Same license (file) </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-limitations"> <li class="liability"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Liability </li> <li class="trademark-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Trademark use </li> <li class="warranty"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Warranty </li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <p class="small"><a href="/licenses/mpl-2.0/">View full Mozilla Public License 2.0 禄</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="license-overview clearfix" id="apache-2-0"> <div class="license-overview-heading"> <h3 class="license-overview-name"> <a href="/licenses/apache-2.0/"> Apache License 2.0 </a> </h3> <p class="license-overview-description">A permissive license whose main conditions require preservation of copyright and license notices. Contributors provide an express grant of patent rights. Licensed works, modifications, and larger works may be distributed under different terms and without source code.</p> </div> <div class="license-details"> <table class="license-rules"> <tr> <th class="label">Permissions</th> <th class="label">Conditions</th> <th class="label">Limitations</th> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul class="license-permissions"> <li class="commercial-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Commercial use </li> <li class="distribution"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Distribution </li> <li class="modifications"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Modification </li> <li class="patent-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Patent use </li> <li class="private-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Private use </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-conditions"> <li class="include-copyright"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> License and copyright notice </li> <li class="document-changes"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> State changes </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-limitations"> <li class="liability"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Liability </li> <li class="trademark-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Trademark use </li> <li class="warranty"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Warranty </li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <p class="small"><a href="/licenses/apache-2.0/">View full Apache License 2.0 禄</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="license-overview clearfix" id="mit"> <div class="license-overview-heading"> <h3 class="license-overview-name"> <a href="/licenses/mit/"> MIT License </a> </h3> <p class="license-overview-description">A short and simple permissive license with conditions only requiring preservation of copyright and license notices. Licensed works, modifications, and larger works may be distributed under different terms and without source code.</p> </div> <div class="license-details"> <table class="license-rules"> <tr> <th class="label">Permissions</th> <th class="label">Conditions</th> <th class="label">Limitations</th> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul class="license-permissions"> <li class="commercial-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Commercial use </li> <li class="distribution"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Distribution </li> <li class="modifications"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Modification </li> <li class="private-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Private use </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-conditions"> <li class="include-copyright"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> License and copyright notice </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-limitations"> <li class="liability"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Liability </li> <li class="warranty"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Warranty </li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <p class="small"><a href="/licenses/mit/">View full MIT License 禄</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="license-overview clearfix" id="bsl-1-0"> <div class="license-overview-heading"> <h3 class="license-overview-name"> <a href="/licenses/bsl-1.0/"> Boost Software License 1.0 </a> </h3> <p class="license-overview-description">A simple permissive license only requiring preservation of copyright and license notices for source (and not binary) distribution. Licensed works, modifications, and larger works may be distributed under different terms and without source code.</p> </div> <div class="license-details"> <table class="license-rules"> <tr> <th class="label">Permissions</th> <th class="label">Conditions</th> <th class="label">Limitations</th> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul class="license-permissions"> <li class="commercial-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Commercial use </li> <li class="distribution"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Distribution </li> <li class="modifications"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Modification </li> <li class="private-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Private use </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-conditions"> <li class="include-copyright--source"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> License and copyright notice for source </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-limitations"> <li class="liability"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Liability </li> <li class="warranty"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Warranty </li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <p class="small"><a href="/licenses/bsl-1.0/">View full Boost Software License 1.0 禄</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="license-overview clearfix" id="unlicense"> <div class="license-overview-heading"> <h3 class="license-overview-name"> <a href="/licenses/unlicense/"> The Unlicense </a> </h3> <p class="license-overview-description">A license with no conditions whatsoever which dedicates works to the public domain. Unlicensed works, modifications, and larger works may be distributed under different terms and without source code.</p> </div> <div class="license-details"> <table class="license-rules"> <tr> <th class="label">Permissions</th> <th class="label">Conditions</th> <th class="label">Limitations</th> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul class="license-permissions"> <li class="commercial-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Commercial use </li> <li class="distribution"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Distribution </li> <li class="modifications"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Modification </li> <li class="private-use"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Private use </li> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-conditions"> </ul> </td> <td> <ul class="license-limitations"> <li class="liability"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Liability </li> <li class="warranty"> <span class="license-sprite"></span> Warranty </li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <p class="small"><a href="/licenses/unlicense/">View full The Unlicense 禄</a></p> </div> </div> The above licenses represent the entire spectrum of open source licenses, from highly protective to unconditional. One of these should work for most new open source projects. Many other open source licenses exist, including older versions of and close substitutes for some of the above. See the resources listed on our <a href="/about/">about page</a> if you鈥檇 like to read more. <footer class="site-footer clearfix"> <nav> <a href="/about/">About</a> <a href="/terms-of-service/">Terms of Service</a> <a href="https://github.com/github/choosealicense.com/edit/gh-pages/licenses.html">Help improve this page</a> </nav> <p> The content of this site is licensed under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"> Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License</a>. </p> <div class="with-love"> Curated with 鉂わ笍 by <a href="https://github.com">GitHub, Inc.</a> and <a href="https://github.com/github/choosealicense.com">You!</a> </div> </footer> </div>  <script src="/assets/vendor/jquery/jquery.min.js"></script> <script src="/assets/vendor/clipboard/dist/clipboard.min.js"></script> <script> window.annotations = {"permissions":[{"description":"The licensed material and derivatives may be used for commercial purposes.","label":"Commercial use","tag":"commercial-use"},{"description":"The licensed material may be modified.","label":"Modification","tag":"modifications"},{"description":"The licensed material may be distributed.","label":"Distribution","tag":"distribution"},{"description":"The licensed material may be used and modified in private.","label":"Private use","tag":"private-use"},{"description":"This license provides an express grant of patent rights from contributors.","label":"Patent use","tag":"patent-use"}],"conditions":[{"description":"A copy of the license and copyright notice must be included with the licensed material.","label":"License and copyright notice","tag":"include-copyright"},{"description":"A copy of the license and copyright notice must be included with the licensed material in source form, but is not required for binaries.","label":"License and copyright notice for source","tag":"include-copyright--source"},{"description":"Changes made to the licensed material must be documented.","label":"State changes","tag":"document-changes"},{"description":"Source code must be made available when the licensed material is distributed.","label":"Disclose source","tag":"disclose-source"},{"description":"Users who interact with the licensed material via network are given the right to receive a copy of the source code.","label":"Network use is distribution","tag":"network-use-disclose"},{"description":"Modifications must be released under the same license when distributing the licensed material. In some cases a similar or related license may be used.","label":"Same license","tag":"same-license"},{"description":"Modifications of existing files must be released under the same license when distributing the licensed material. In some cases a similar or related license may be used.","label":"Same license (file)","tag":"same-license--file"},{"description":"Modifications must be released under the same license when distributing the licensed material. In some cases a similar or related license may be used, or this condition may not apply to works that use the licensed material as a library.","label":"Same license (library)","tag":"same-license--library"}],"limitations":[{"description":"This license explicitly states that it does NOT grant trademark rights, even though licenses without such a statement probably do not grant any implicit trademark rights.","label":"Trademark use","tag":"trademark-use"},{"description":"This license includes a limitation of liability.","label":"Liability","tag":"liability"},{"description":"This license explicitly states that it does NOT grant any rights in the patents of contributors.","label":"Patent use","tag":"patent-use"},{"description":"This license explicitly states that it does NOT provide any warranty.","label":"Warranty","tag":"warranty"}]}; </script> <script src="/assets/js/app.js"></script> </body> </html>

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Licenses | Choose a License