License Generator
Generate accurate open-source LICENSE files (MIT, Apache-2.0, GPL-3.0, ISC, MPL-2.0, BSD-3-Clause, Unlicense) with placeholders filled in
Examples
MIT license with a copyright holder
License: MIT · Year: 2026 · Holder: MrYesiller · Project: (empty)MIT License
Copyright (c) 2026 MrYesiller
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.MIT only needs the year and holder; the project field is ignored. The wording is the canonical MIT text from opensource.org.
Apache-2.0 with the optional appendix
License: Apache-2.0 · Year: 2026 · Holder: MrYesiller · Project: devtools Apache License
Version 2.0, January 2004
http://www.apache.org/licenses/
Copyright 2026 MrYesiller
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
...
limitations under the License.
APPENDIX: How to apply the Apache License to your work.
To apply the Apache License to your work, attach the following
boilerplate notice, with the fields enclosed by brackets "[]"
replaced with your own identifying information. (Don't include
the brackets!) ...
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.Apache-2.0 emits the long header and, when the project field is non-empty, the boilerplate appendix that asks downstream users to retain the notice.
GPL-3.0 header inlines the project name
License: GPL-3.0 · Year: 2026 · Holder: MrYesiller · Project: devtoolsdevtools Copyright (C) 2026 MrYesiller
This file is part of devtools.
devtools is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
devtools is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with devtools. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.Unlike the other licenses, the GPL-3.0 output here is the per-file copyright header rather than the full GPL text — the full license lives at the URL on the last line.
About this tool
Every public repository needs a LICENSE file — without one, most open-source conventions default to "all rights reserved" even if you intended otherwise. The challenge is that the popular open-source licenses have subtly different wording: MIT and ISC are short and permissive; Apache-2.0 has a long header plus an appendix that names the project; GPL-3.0 ships a heavyweight notice; MPL-2.0 scopes copyleft to individual files; BSD-3-Clause adds an explicit non-endorsement clause; and the Unlicense is a public-domain dedication rather than a permission grant.
This generator keeps the wording accurate for every supported license and fills in the three placeholders that always trip people up: the copyright year, the holder, and (where the license needs it) the project name. Apache-2.0 and GPL-3.0 both reference the project name in their generated text — leave the field blank to omit the optional appendix. The output is ready to drop into a LICENSE file at the root of your repository, no editing required.
Everything runs entirely in your browser — no upload, no signup, no telemetry. Your copyright details stay on your device.
How to use
Pick a license
Choose MIT, Apache-2.0, GPL-3.0, ISC, MPL-2.0, BSD-3-Clause or the Unlicense from the dropdown.
Fill in the fields
Type the copyright holder, the year, and the project name (Apache-2.0 and GPL-3.0 reference the project name).
Copy and save
Copy the generated LICENSE file and save it as LICENSE (no extension) at the root of your repository.
Use cases
Shipping a new open-source repository
Pick MIT for libraries or Apache-2.0 for company projects, fill in the holder and year, and drop the output into a LICENSE file at the repo root before the first commit.
Re-licensing after a contributor agreement
When ownership changes, regenerate the file with the new copyright holder and year. Copy/paste the result into LICENSE — no need to rewrite the boilerplate.
Dual-licensing a small project
Use the Unlicense option for a public-domain dedication, or Apache-2.0 / GPL-3.0 together by publishing one LICENSE file and pointing at the second in your README.
Compliance training for new contributors
Show the difference between permissive (MIT, ISC, BSD-3-Clause) and copyleft (GPL-3.0, MPL-2.0) licenses by generating both with the same holder and comparing the wording.
Supported licenses
| License | When to use it |
|---|---|
| MIT | Permissive, short — the default for libraries and most npm packages |
| Apache-2.0 | Permissive + explicit patent license; common at large companies |
| GPL-3.0 | Strong copyleft — derivative works must also be GPL |
| ISC | Functionally equivalent to MIT, slightly shorter wording |
| MPL-2.0 | File-level copyleft — modifications to MPL files stay MPL |
| BSD-3-Clause | Permissive with a non-endorsement clause |
| Unlicense | Public-domain dedication, not a permission grant |
Generated locally — your copyright details never leave the browser.
Common mistakes
Mistake:Leaving the copyright year as the placeholder.
Fix:Set the year to the year you are creating or modifying the file. Many legal opinions treat an empty or stale year as unhelpful for enforcing the copyright.
Mistake:Using GPL-3.0 expecting it to be a short header like MIT.
Fix:The tool emits a GPL-3.0 copyright header that references the full license text at gnu.org. If you need the entire 700+ line GPL text in your repo, fetch it from the canonical URL and concatenate.
Mistake:Choosing Apache-2.0 for a personal hobby library without understanding the patent clause.
Fix:Apache-2.0 includes an explicit patent grant that survives termination if you sue for patent infringement. Pick MIT/ISC if you'd rather avoid that commitment.
Mistake:Editing the generated text by hand and breaking the boilerplate.
Fix:Re-generate with the tool instead of hand-editing — small wording changes in licenses like Apache-2.0 and GPL-3.0 can change their legal meaning.
Frequently asked questions
Related guides
Semantic Versioning: How Versions Bump, Compare and Precedence Work
What major/minor/patch actually communicate, how prerelease versions sort, why ^ and ~ matter in package.json, and how to bump correctly.
Open-Source Licenses Explained: MIT, Apache 2.0, GPL 3.0, ISC and MPL 2.0
A practical guide to picking an open-source license. Learn the difference between permissive and copyleft, what each major license actually requires, and which to choose for libraries, applications, and internal tools.
References & standards
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