Choosing an Open Source License
It’s easy to get caught up in code. Sharing your code isn’t everything, though: it’s also important to tell people how they can use that code. Choosing an open source…
It’s easy to get caught up in code. Sharing your code isn’t everything, though: it’s also important to tell people how they can use that code.
Choosing an open source license can be confusing. We’ve created ChooseALicense.com to help you make that decision.
You can see a breakdown of what’s required, what’s permitted, and what’s forbidden for each license:
When you’ve made your choice, copy it to your clipboard with one click:
Have any suggestions? ChooseALicense.com itself is open source. Send us a Pull Request with your changes.
Licenses on GitHub.com
Now that we have all these licenses in one happy home, we want to help people choose their licenses on GitHub, too. When you create a new repository you’ll see a new license picker:
To get started, simply point your browser at choosealicense.com, or for more information, you can dive into the full documentation. Happy licensing!
Written by
Related posts

How GitHub Models can help open source maintainers focus on what matters
Learn how GitHub Models helps open source maintainers automate repetitive tasks like issue triage, duplicate detection, and contributor onboarding — saving hours each week.

Who will maintain the future? Rethinking open source leadership for a new generation
Open source is aging. We can better support Gen Z contributors through purpose, flexibility, and pathways to leadership.

Highlights from Git 2.51
The open source Git project just released Git 2.51. Here is GitHub’s look at some of the most interesting features and changes introduced since last time.