License Generator

A repository without a license file is a repository that nobody may legally reuse: copyright law grants the author all rights by default, and a visitor who copies the code is technically infringing them. One file and a few characters of metadata change that — LICENSE in the project root says what can and cannot be done with the work, and git hosts turn it into a badge over the code. The usual obstacle is not the decision but the ceremony: choosing between dozens of similar-sounding licenses, pasting the correct legal text into a file, and remembering to fill in the year and the copyright holder. This generator removes the ceremony — pick the license, fill two fields where the license uses them, and download the exact official text, ready to commit.

The tool covers the licenses that cover most of the open-source world. MIT and ISC are the shortest and most permissive, used by huge numbers of JavaScript projects. BSD-2-Clause and BSD-3-Clause are their permissive cousins, the three-clause variant adding a no-endorsement clause. Apache-2.0 is the corporate favourite: permissive, but with an explicit patent grant and a trademark clause. On the copyleft side, GPL-3.0 is the strong copyleft license used by Linux-style projects, and MPL-2.0 is the file-level, middle-ground license from Mozilla. Finally, Unlicense and CC0-1.0 are public-domain-style dedications for projects whose author wants to give up copyright almost entirely.

Using the page is straightforward. Choose the license from the list; where a license text contains placeholders — a year and a holder, as MIT, BSD and ISC do — the matching fields appear and the year is pre-filled with the current one. Choose the output file name — LICENSE is the convention that every git host recognizes. Press Generate and the complete legal text appears, statistics (lines, bytes) at the top, a preview beneath. Copy it into a NEW LICENSE file in the repository root, or download it directly to disk — the download button names the file exactly as you chose.

A note on the scope of the page: it assembles and personalizes the official license texts — it does not advise on which license fits your situation, because that depends on your project, your goals and sometimes your employer. The texts themselves are rendered as the license authors published them, without editorial changes. Everything runs in the browser; not a single character leaves your machine, which makes the tool trustworthy for proprietary or unreleased work as well.

• Nine official licenses — MIT, Apache-2.0, GPL-3.0, BSD-2-Clause, BSD-3-Clause, MPL-2.0, ISC, Unlicense and CC0-1.0, each the verbatim legal text.
• Year and holder fields — where a license uses placeholders (MIT, BSD, ISC) they are filled automatically.
• Current-year default — the copyright year is pre-filled with today’s date and can be edited.
• File name choice — generate as LICENSE, LICENSE.txt or LICENSE.md.
• Permissive and copyleft — the full spectrum, from public-domain dedications to strong copyleft.
• Live statistics — lines and bytes of the generated file update on every change.
• Copy and download — get LICENSE in one click, fully client-side and offline.
• Nothing uploaded — the legal texts ship with the page; your input never leaves the browser.

1. Pick a license — permissive (MIT, Apache, BSD, ISC), copyleft (GPL, MPL) or public domain (Unlicense, CC0).
2. Set the copyright details — the year and the holder fields appear for the licenses that use them.
3. Choose the file name — LICENSE is the convention git hosts recognize automatically.
4. Generate LICENSE — the full legal text is assembled with your details filled in.
5. Read the preview and the statistics to confirm the file is complete.
6. Copy or download the file, place it in the repository root, and commit it.

Example 1 — npm package. MIT license, current year, the author’s name as holder. The generated LICENSE contains the two-sentence permissive grant with the copyright line Copyright (c) 2026 Author Name.

Example 2 — Company app. Apache-2.0, company as holder and year set to the release year — the patent grant and trademark clause fit a corporate project.

Example 3 — Linux-style utility. GPL-3.0 (no per-license year/holder needed) — the full copyleft text, ready to place in the root.

Example 4 — Academic code. BSD-3-Clause with the author as holder — the no-endorsement clause protects the author’s name.

Example 5 — Mobile library. MPL-2.0 — file-level copyleft that lets others combine the library with proprietary code.

Example 6 — Truly free project. Unlicense or CC0-1.0 — a public-domain dedication for projects whose author wants maximum reuse. Note CC0 also applies to data, not only code.

• Legal text without typos — the official license texts, rendered as published.
• No pasting errors — placeholders are replaced only where the license defines them.
• Instant — a repository-ready LICENSE in under a minute.
• Correct convention — the default file name is the one git hosts recognize.
• Private by design — your name and project stay in the browser.
• Both philosophies — permissive and copyleft licenses in one list for comparison.
• Offline friendly — the tool works with no network connection at all.