License Generator
Generate open source license text and see how the terms differ
What is License Generator?
This open source license generator provides the complete text of the MIT, ISC, BSD-3-Clause and Unlicense licenses, plus the standard file headers and official download links for Apache-2.0, GPL-3.0 and MPL-2.0, each with a one-line summary of the obligations it places on users of your code. Everything is filled in locally in your browser.
How to use License Generator
- 1Choose a license — its core obligations are summarised above the text.
- 2Fill in the year and the copyright holder.
- 3Copy the result and save it as a LICENSE file (no extension) in your repository root.
Frequently asked questions
MIT vs Apache-2.0 vs GPL-3.0: which one should I pick?+
Pick MIT if you are happy for anyone to use the code however they like, including inside closed-source commercial products. Pick Apache-2.0 for the same permissiveness plus an explicit patent grant and trademark protection, which companies frequently require. Pick GPL-3.0 if you want derivative works to be released under the same open source terms. The deciding question is how far you are willing to let others use your code without sharing their own.
What happens if my repository has no LICENSE file?+
Copyright defaults to all rights reserved, which means others have no permission to use, copy or distribute your code — even though the repository is public. If you want the code to be used, you have to state a license explicitly.
Why does this tool only give the Apache-2.0 file header?+
The full Apache-2.0 text runs to about 11 KB; embedding it would bloat the page and invite drift from the official wording. The right approach is to download the original from the official URL and save it as LICENSE, then add the header shown here to the top of your source files.
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