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ISC License

Functionally equivalent to a simplified MIT / BSD. Very short.

Nickname: ISC Steward: Internet Systems Consortium Copyleft: None (permissive) First published: 1995 SPDX page ↗ Official ↗

ISC is a permissive license produced by the Internet Systems Consortium. It is functionally identical to the simplified BSD license and the MIT license — use, modify, distribute, include the copyright notice — but uses even fewer words.

It is npm’s default license for new packages, which is why you’ll see it on a lot of small JavaScript libraries.

How to apply

Add a LICENSE file with the full ISC text, filling in the copyright year and holder.

Permissions

  • Commercial use
    The licensed material and derivatives may be used for commercial purposes.
  • Modification
    The licensed material may be modified.
  • Distribution
    The licensed material may be distributed.
  • Private use
    The licensed material may be used and modified in private.

Conditions

  • License and copyright notice
    Include a copy of the license and copyright notice with the material.

Limitations

  • Liability
    This license includes a limitation of liability.
  • Warranty
    This license explicitly states that it does NOT provide any warranty.
Full license text
ISC License

Copyright (c) [year] [fullname]

Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any
purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH
REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT,
INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM
LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR
OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR
PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

Raw text also available at /license-texts/ISC.txt — handy for curl.

Similar licenses

Upgrade path

If you find this license too limited, these are common next steps:

Notable users

  • OpenBSD
  • npm (as default license)
Notice

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