choose-a-license
This guide explains how to choose a license when publishing free software projects.
About choose-a-license
This guide explains how to choose a license when publishing free software projects. Trade-offs matter because changing a license later can be difficult. It compares copyleft and permissive approaches and recommends widely used licenses by use case. It also describes how to include the license when sharing software.
Pricing is not clearly stated.
Key features
- MPL 2.0 for libraries where vendoring is allowed
- LGPL for libraries where vendoring is disallowed
- GPL for executable programs
- AGPL for networked services
- MIT and BSD 3-clause permissive licenses
- Apache 2.0 for trademark and patent considerations
- CC0 and Unlicense for public-domain-equivalent rights
- COPYING file with REUSE approach for complex scenarios
Best for: People publishing free software projects who need to compare license options before sharing code.
choose-a-license at a glance
- Category
- Development › Developer Tools
- Type
- Website
- Pricing
- Not confirmed. Check the site
- Platforms
- Web
- Details verified
- Oct 23, 2026 · Official source
- Open source
- Not stated
- Language
- English
- Last checked
- Oct 5, 2026 · Online when checked
- Listed
- Oct 5, 2026
Guides for Developer Tools
choose-a-license alternatives
Tools and sites you could use instead, ranked by how closely they match.
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The SPDX License List provides standardized identifiers for commonly used software, data, hardware, and documentation licenses.
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