Developer Documentation / Project Tools

LICENSE Generator

Create a LICENSE file for MIT, Apache 2.0, GPL-3.0, BSD, ISC, MPL-2.0 or the Unlicense with your name and year filled in.

Pick a license, enter the copyright holder and year, and get the standard license text ready to save as LICENSE in your repository.

License

Year

Project name (used in the GPL notice)

What Is the LICENSE Generator?

It creates the LICENSE file for a project from the standard text of a common open source license, with your name and the year filled in. MIT, ISC, BSD 2-Clause, BSD 3-Clause and the Unlicense are short, so the complete text is generated. Apache 2.0, GPL 3.0 and MPL 2.0 are long official documents, so the tool produces the short notice their authors recommend and links to the full text you should add alongside it.

Why and When to Use It

Code without a license is "all rights reserved" by default: others cannot legally reuse it, even on a public repository. Add a license when you publish a repository, before you publish a package to npm, PyPI or Packagist, or when your company asks you to open source an internal tool.

How to Use It

Pick a license. The summary card shows what it permits and requires.
Enter the copyright holder (a person or organisation) and check the year.
Click Generate LICENSE, then copy the text or download the file into the root of your repository.

Example

Choosing MIT with the holder "Acme Ltd" produces the standard MIT text beginning Copyright (c) 2026 Acme Ltd. Choosing Apache 2.0 produces the short notice that belongs at the top of source files or in a NOTICE file, plus a reminder to add the full license text.

Understanding the Output

The license text is reproduced word for word apart from the placeholders, because changing a license's wording can change its meaning. "Permissive" licenses (MIT, BSD, ISC, Apache) let others use your code in closed source products; "copyleft" licenses (GPL, and file-level MPL) require changes to be shared under the same license.

Limitations

This is not legal advice. The tool does not choose a license for you or check the licenses of your dependencies. For dual licensing, contributor agreements or commercial terms, talk to a lawyer. Once the license is in place, describe how people can contribute with the CONTRIBUTING.md Generator and mention the license in your README.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you want the fewest restrictions, MIT is the most common choice. Apache 2.0 is similar but adds an explicit patent grant, which companies often prefer. Choose GPL-3.0 if you want every modified version that is distributed to stay open source. This is general information, not legal advice.

Those licenses are long official documents that must be copied exactly. The tool generates the short notice their authors recommend and links to the official full text, which you should save as the LICENSE file alongside it.

Use the year the work was first published. Many projects use a range such as 2021-2026 once the code has been updated over several years; either form is widely accepted.

No. Without a license, the default copyright rules apply and others have no permission to copy, modify or redistribute the code, even though they can view it. Adding a license file is what grants those rights.