No. Everything runs in your browser.

LICENSE File Generator

Q: Which license should I choose?

MIT and ISC are the most permissive. Apache 2.0 adds patent protection. GPL 3.0 requires derivative works to stay open-source. BSD variants are similar to MIT with slight differences. Unlicense puts your code in the public domain.

Q: Is this license generator free?

Yes. Free forever, no account required. Runs 100% in your browser.

Q: What file should I save it as?

Save as LICENSE (no extension) in the root of your repository. GitHub auto-detects it.

Q: Can I use a different year?

Yes. The year field defaults to the current year but you can change it to any year.

Generate MIT, Apache-2.0, GPL-3.0, BSD, ISC, or Unlicense text with your name and year pre-filled.

License type Copyright holder name Year

MIT License

Permissive. Do whatever you want, just keep the copyright notice.

LICENSE 1066 chars

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 Your Name

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.

Summary — What Free LICENSE File Generator Does

What This Free Tool Is

Free LICENSE File Generator creates a ready-to-commit LICENSE file for your repository. Choose from MIT, Apache 2.0, GPL 3.0, BSD 2-Clause, BSD 3-Clause, ISC, or Unlicense, fill in your name and year, and download.

Privacy: This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your text is never uploaded, logged, or cached. Close the tab and it's gone. Verify in DevTools → Network: zero requests fire.

Why It's Free (And How We Keep It Free)

Every open-source project needs a license, and copy-pasting from choosealicense.com is tedious. The generator runs 100% in your browser.

Table of Use

At-a-Glance Reference

Input	Output	Typical size	Speed	Login needed
License type + name + year	LICENSE file	Any project	Real-time	No

LICENSE File Generator Features

Here's what this free tool does in detail — every feature is built to solve real problems, runs entirely in your browser, and is free forever.

7 Popular Licenses

MIT, Apache 2.0, GPL 3.0, BSD 2-Clause, BSD 3-Clause, ISC, and Unlicense. Each produces the full, standard-compliant license text with your copyright holder name and year pre-filled.

License Summary Card

Each license shows a short summary of its terms so you can make an informed choice without reading the full text. Permissive vs copyleft, patent grants, endorsement clauses — all explained in one line.

Name and Year Pre-filled

The year defaults to the current year. Enter the copyright holder name (person or organization) and it appears in the correct place in the license text.

One-Click Download

Download as LICENSE (no extension) — the filename GitHub, GitLab, and npm auto-detect. Drop it in your repo root and you are done.

Pair with a .gitignore and a README to complete your repo setup.

How To Use Free LICENSE File Generator

Step 1 — Choose a license

Select from 7 popular open-source licenses.

Step 2 — Enter your details

Type the copyright holder name and year.

Step 3 — Download LICENSE

Save to your repository root.

Who Can Use This Tool

Open-source maintainers

Add a proper LICENSE file without copy-pasting from GitHub templates.

Students publishing projects

Pick a license quickly with the summary card to guide the choice.

Startup CTOs

Standardize the license across all company open-source repos.

Package authors

Generate the LICENSE file that npm, PyPI, and crates.io expect.

Contractors

Set the right license for client-owned open-source projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this license generator free?

Yes. Free forever, no account required.

Which license should I choose?

MIT and ISC for maximum permissiveness, Apache 2.0 for patent protection, GPL 3.0 for copyleft, Unlicense for public domain.

What file should I save it as?

LICENSE (no extension) in the root of your repository.

Can I use a different year?

Yes. The year field defaults to the current year but accepts any value.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Runs 100% in your browser.

Can I edit the output?

Yes. It is plain text — customize further in any editor.