License Text Generator
Generate complete open source license text for MIT, Apache 2.0, GPL v3, BSD, ISC, MPL 2.0, and Unlicense.
Configure
Permissive. Allows commercial use, modification, distribution, and private use. Requires license and copyright notice.
License Text
When a license text generator is the right tool
Use this page to fill year and author into a bundled license template and copy or download a LICENSE file. It runs in your browser. It is not legal advice, and two of the eight entries are not complete official texts.
Use cases
Filling a short permissive license
MIT, ISC, and the BSD variants are full short texts with a copyright line that receives your year and name. Apache 2.0 is also bundled in full; its copyright placeholders are substituted the same way. Unlicense is a public-domain dedication and ignores those fields.
Checking the GPL or MPL entries
Those two items exist in the list, but the output is a short excerpt, not the full GPL 3.0 or MPL 2.0 document. If you intend to use either license, take the official text from the links below and add your copyright notice there.
How substitution works
The selected template is shown live. Every {{year}} and {{author}} token is replaced globally. The descriptions beside the form are hardcoded English summaries.
Copyright (c) 2026 Your NameWhat this tool does not do
It does not choose a license for you, add a NOTICE file, or retrieve live texts from SPDX. For repository ignore rules, see gitignore Generator. Generation stays in your browser.
How to use License Text Generator
- Select a license type and read the short summary (and, for GPL or MPL, the stub warning above).
- Set Year and Author / Organization when that template uses those fields.
- Copy the text or Download
LICENSEafter you have confirmed it is the document you want.
Frequently asked questions
Which licenses can I generate?
The menu offers eight SPDX identifiers: MIT, Apache-2.0, GPL-3.0-only, BSD-2-Clause, BSD-3-Clause, ISC, MPL-2.0, and Unlicense. Year defaults to the current year on this device; an empty year falls back to that value. An empty Author / Organization field is filled with “Your Name”. Those two values replace {{year}} and {{author}} wherever those placeholders appear. The Unlicense text has no placeholders, so year and author do not change it.
Are these the complete official license texts?
Not all of them. The MIT, Apache 2.0, BSD 2-Clause, BSD 3-Clause, ISC, and Unlicense entries are bundled as full texts. The GPL v3 and MPL 2.0 entries are short stubs (they are not the complete official licenses). Do not rely on those two outputs as the license you ship — use the official texts from the Free Software Foundation or Mozilla instead.
Is this legal advice? What do the short descriptions mean?
No. The one-paragraph note under the form is a bundled summary in English (for example, that MIT is permissive and that GPL v3 is copyleft). It is not a legal opinion and it does not replace reading the license. Choosing a license has consequences; consult a lawyer if you need advice.
Is anything uploaded?
No. Substitution runs in your browser. Copy puts the current text on the clipboard; Download saves a file named LICENSE.
Related tools and guides
References
- Official texts and identifiers are maintained by the SPDX License List, the GNU GPL v3, and the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Use those sources when you need the complete GPL or MPL.