» License chooser · reference · comparison
Pick a license for code, content, or confidential work.
Filterable reference for open-source, fair-code, Creative Commons, and proprietary licenses. Not legal advice.
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The fastest way in. Browse all 15 licenses on the full catalogue.
- Prop
All Rights Reserved
ARR · all-rights-reserved
The default when no licence is granted. Copyright holder retains all rights. Nothing may be done without explicit permission.
- OS
Apache License 2.0
Apache 2.0 · Apache-2.0
A permissive license with an explicit patent grant. Common choice for large projects and corporate-backed open source.
- OS
BSD 3-Clause License
BSD · BSD-3-Clause
A short permissive license that additionally forbids using the author's name to endorse derived works.
- Fair
Business Source License 1.1
BUSL · BUSL-1.1
Source-available today, open-source tomorrow. Restricted use now with automatic conversion to an OSS license after a defined delay.
- CC
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
CC BY 4.0 · CC-BY-4.0
Attribution required; otherwise any use allowed, including commercial use and derivative works.
- CC
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Attribution plus share-alike. Derivatives must be distributed under the same or a compatible licence.
- CC
Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal
CC0 · CC0-1.0
Public-domain dedication. The author waives all copyright and related rights to the fullest extent allowed.
- Fair
Elastic License 2.0
ELv2 · Elastic-2.0
Source-available with three simple limitations, the biggest being no-hosting-as-a-service and no trademark use.
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Three ways to decide
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A short questionnaire that narrows to a shortlist based on what you want to allow, restrict, and require.
Open the wizard →Filter the catalogue
Browse every license and tick the permissions, conditions, and limitations that matter. AND across groups, OR within.
Open filters →Compare side-by-side
Pick two to four licenses and see their rules on a single table. Good for "GPL-3.0 vs AGPL-3.0"-style questions.
Open compare →» By category
Four categories, one filter vocabulary
Creative Commons + data
3Licenses for content, documentation, media, and datasets.
Browse CC →Fair code
3Source-available licenses with commercial or field-of-use restrictions. Not OSI-approved.
Browse Fair →Open source
7OSI-approved licenses that meet the Open Source Definition.
Browse OS →Proprietary
2Closed-source, commercial, and confidential-use templates.
Browse Prop →Not sure which license fits?
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