GNU General Public License v3.0

All licenses
Copyleft · Share distributed derivativesGPL-3.0-only

License decision brief

GNU General Public License v3.0

Strong copyleft: distributed modified versions stay under the same license with source available.

Good fit: Projects that want improvements to distributed derivatives to remain open under GPL terms.

Reciprocity

On distribution

Patent use

Explicitly listed

Bundled text

Abridged excerpt

Decision signal

Share distributed derivatives

Projects that want improvements to distributed derivatives to remain open under GPL terms.

Watch before choosing

Combining and distributing the work can impose source-disclosure and same-license duties.

Rights, duties, and boundaries

Permissions

  • Commercial use
  • Modification
  • Distribution
  • Patent use
  • Private use

Conditions

  • License and copyright notice
  • State changes
  • Disclose source
  • Same license

Limitations

  • Liability
  • Warranty

Implementation identifiers

machine-readable

Source-file header

SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-only

package.json

"license": "GPL-3.0-only"

SPDX identifiers are compact, machine-readable labels. They identify the license; they do not replace the license text or the notices your distribution must carry.

Included license text

GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
Version 3, 29 June 2007

Copyright (C) 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc. <https://fsf.org/>
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.

[Abridged for presentation - Please view https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.txt for full 35,000+ character legal document.]

Preamble

The GNU General Public License is a free, copyleft license for
software and other kinds of works.

The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed
to take away your freedom to share and change the works.  By contrast,
the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to
share and change all versions of a program--to make sure it remains free
software for all its users. We, the Free Software Foundation, use the
GNU General Public License for most of our software; it applies also to
any other work released this way by its authors.  You can apply it to
your programs, too.

This repository contains an excerpt, not the complete legal instrument. Do not ship it as your LICENSE file.

Canonical SPDX text

Compare nearby choices

4
GNU Affero General Public License v3.0AGPL-3.0-onlyOver a networkThe UnlicenseUnlicenseNoneMIT LicenseMITNoneBSD 3-Clause 'New' or 'Revised' LicenseBSD-3-ClauseNone
FamilyCopyleft
Permissions5
Conditions4
GPL compatibleListed yes

Educational summary only—not legal advice. License compatibility depends on the exact versions, combination, distribution model, and facts of a project.