GENERATORS

License Generator

Fill in your name, year and project and get a ready-to-commit open-source LICENSE file — MIT, ISC, BSD, Apache-2.0, MPL, GPL/LGPL/AGPL, Unlicense and more — with an SPDX header, a per-language file header, and a permissions / conditions / limitations summary.

What this tool does

Pick a license, enter the copyright holder, the year (or a range) and — where relevant — the project name, and it produces the exact text to save as your LICENSE file, plus the SPDX identifier and a short header comment to drop at the top of each source file.

Full text vs apply-notice

The short permissive licenses (MIT, MIT-0, ISC, BSD-2-Clause, BSD-3-Clause, 0BSD, Boost, Unlicense, WTFPL) are emitted in full with your details filled in. The long licenses (Apache-2.0, MPL-2.0, GPL-3.0, LGPL-3.0, AGPL-3.0, CC0-1.0, CC-BY-4.0) are emitted as the official "how to apply" notice — the block their own authors tell you to add — with a link to fetch the unabridged legal text, which you commit verbatim and unmodified.

The summary table

For each license the tool shows what it permits (commercial use, modification, distribution, private use, patent grant), what it requires (license and copyright notice, state changes, disclose source, same license, network-use disclosure) and what it does not provide (liability, warranty, trademark rights).

Not legal advice

This is a formatting aid. Choosing a license is a legal decision; if the choice matters to you, take advice.

Privacy

Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does it output the complete license text?

For the short permissive licenses, yes. For Apache-2.0, the GPL family, MPL and the Creative Commons licenses it outputs the official apply-notice and links you to the canonical full text, which you must commit unchanged.

What year should I put?

The year the work was first published. For an actively maintained project a range like 2021-2026 is common. The tool fills the current year by default.

What is the SPDX identifier for?

A short machine-readable code (e.g. MIT, Apache-2.0, GPL-3.0-or-later) used in package metadata and SPDX file headers so tools can detect your license.

Can it give me a header for my source files?

Yes — pick your language and it produces a one-to-three line comment with the SPDX identifier and copyright line in the right comment syntax.

Is this legal advice?

No. It only formats license text. The choice of license is yours (and possibly your lawyer’s).