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Choosing a license

A license specifies the conditions under which others may use, modify, and/or distribute your work.

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Simply making a repository publicly accessible is not sufficient to allow others to make use of your work. Unless you include a license that specifies otherwise, nobody else can copy, distribute, or modify your work.

There are many different types of licenses that you can use, and the number of options can seem overwhelming. But it is usually straightforward to narrow down your options.

  • If you're working on an existing project, the easiest option is to use that project's license.

  • If you're working with an existing community, they may have a preferred license.

  • If you want to choose an open source license, the Choose an open source license website provides advice for selecting a license that meets your needs.

For further information about the various types of available licenses, and some advice for selecting a suitable license for academic software, see A Quick Guide to Software Licensing for the Scientist-Programmer.