License Generator

Generate the exact text of a MIT, Apache 2.0, GPL 3.0, BSD 3-Clause, or ISC license with your name and year filled in. Runs entirely in your browser.

runs locally on your browser. Your data never leaves your device.

License

Short and permissive: do almost anything with the code, just preserve the copyright notice.

Year

Permissions

Commercial use
Modification
Distribution
Private use

Conditions

License and copyright notice

Limitations

Liability
Warranty

LICENSE: MIT

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 [fullname]

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.

Common Use Cases

Generate a LICENSE file for a new open-source repository before your first push

Add a properly worded license to a personal or side project you're open-sourcing for the first time

Switch a project from one permissive license to another and get the exact replacement text

Produce a license file for internal tooling that still needs a formal copyright/permission notice

About License Generator

Every open-source (and most closed-source) codebase needs a LICENSE file that spells out, in the license's own exact legal wording, what other people are allowed to do with the code. Getting that wording right matters: tools like GitHub's license detector, package registries, and dependency-scanning software match against the license's official text, not a paraphrase, so a hand-typed or subtly-reworded license can fail to be recognized even if the intent is identical.

This generator bundles the verbatim, official text of five of the most common open-source licenses: the MIT License, the Apache License 2.0, the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0), the BSD 3-Clause "New" License, and the ISC License. Pick a license from the dropdown to see a short summary of what it permits, requires, and limits, then fill in your name (or your organization's) and the year, and the generator fills those into the license's own copyright line the moment you type, everywhere that license expects them, leaving the rest of the legal text completely untouched.

Each license has different permissions, conditions, and limitations. MIT, BSD 3-Clause, and ISC are short, permissive licenses that mainly just require keeping the copyright notice intact. Apache 2.0 is also permissive but adds an explicit patent grant from contributors and a requirement to document changes. GPL-3.0 is a strong "copyleft" license: anyone who distributes a modified version of your code has to release their source under the same license too. The summary panel next to the picker is there to help you compare them at a glance, not to replace reading the actual license or asking a lawyer if the choice matters for your project.

Once you're happy with the result, copy it to your clipboard or download it directly as a file named "LICENSE", the exact filename GitHub, GitLab, and most package registries look for at the root of a repository. Everything is assembled with plain JavaScript running in your browser tab; nothing you type is ever uploaded to a server, logged, or stored.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which license should I pick?

It depends on how permissive you want to be. MIT, BSD 3-Clause, and ISC are simple and permissive: almost anyone can use, modify, and redistribute your code with few restrictions. Apache 2.0 is similarly permissive but adds an explicit patent grant. GPL-3.0 is a copyleft license that requires anyone distributing a modified version to release their source code under the same terms. This tool doesn't recommend one over another: compare the Permissions/Conditions/Limitations panel for each, and check with a lawyer if the choice has real stakes for your project.

Is the license text exactly the official wording?

Yes. Each template is the verbatim, unmodified official text of that license, with only the copyright holder's name and year filled in wherever that specific license defines a placeholder for them; nothing else is reworded, reformatted, or paraphrased.

What should I name the downloaded file?

The download button already names it "LICENSE" with no file extension, the exact filename GitHub, GitLab, npm, and most other tooling look for at the root of a repository to automatically detect and display your project's license.

Can I use a company name instead of a person's name?

Yes. The copyright holder field accepts anything you type, whether that's an individual's name, a company name, or a list of contributors. Every license template uses that field exactly where it defines a copyright-holder placeholder.

Is anything I type here sent anywhere?

No. The license text is assembled entirely in your browser using plain JavaScript, so nothing you type is ever uploaded to a server, logged, or stored anywhere outside your current browser tab.

Related Tools

View all Generators

.gitignore Generator

Build a merged, deduped .gitignore by checking off any combination of language, editor, and OS templates (Node, Python, VS Code, macOS, and more).

.htaccess Generator

Assemble a working Apache .htaccess file by checking off common recipes: force HTTPS, www redirects, gzip compression, browser caching, and a custom 404 page.

robots.txt Generator

Build a robots.txt file with per-bot allow/disallow rules, a sitemap URL, and one-click presets for Googlebot, GPTBot, and other common crawlers.