Which license should I choose?

MIT and ISC are permissive (anyone can use freely, even in commercial software). Apache 2.0 adds patent protection. GPL-3.0 is copyleft (derivatives must also be GPL). BSD is similar to MIT. Choose based on your goals around commercial use and derivative works.

Where does the LICENSE file go?

In the root of your repository, named LICENSE or LICENSE.txt. GitHub detects and displays it automatically on your repository page.

License Generator

Generates complete open source license files ready to add to your project. Choose from MIT, Apache 2.0, GPL-2.0, GPL-3.0, LGPL, ISC, BSD-2-Clause, BSD-3-Clause, MPL-2.0, and WTFPL. Enter your name and year (or use today's year) and get the formatted license text to copy or download as LICENSE.

License Type

MIT License

Permissive. Allows use in closed-source software.

Apache License 2.0

Permissive. Includes an explicit patent grant.

GNU GPL v3

Copyleft. Derivative works must use the same license.

GNU LGPL v3

Weak copyleft. Allows linking from non-GPL software.

BSD 2-Clause License

Permissive. Minimal restrictions.

ISC License

Permissive. Functionally equivalent to the simplified BSD.

The Unlicense

Dedicates software to the public domain.

Author / Organisation

Year

LICENSE

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 Your Name

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.

Select your license, enter your name, and copy the complete license text for your repository.

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