reuse

Check compliance

$ reuse lint

$ reuse annotate --license [MIT] --copyright "[Author]" [file]

$ reuse download [MIT]

$ reuse spdx

$ reuse init

$ reuse status

reuse command [options]

reuse is a tool for managing software licensing according to the FSFE REUSE specification, which ensures every file in a project has clear, machine-readable copyright and license information. It helps developers add standardized SPDX license headers to source files and validates that the entire project meets compliance requirements.
The lint command checks a project for REUSE compliance, verifying that all files have proper license and copyright annotations. The annotate command adds or updates SPDX headers in source files, automatically adapting the comment style to match the file type. License texts can be downloaded with reuse download using standard SPDX identifiers like MIT, Apache-2.0, or GPL-3.0-or-later.
The tool also generates SPDX Software Bill of Materials files with the spdx command, providing a complete machine-readable inventory of all licenses and copyrights in the project. This output integrates well with CI/CD pipelines and compliance auditing workflows.

lint

Check compliance.

Add license headers.

Get license text.

Generate SPDX file.

Initialize project.

SPDX license identifier.

Copyright holder.

SPDX identifiers required. Some licenses complex. Learning curve for setup.

reuse implements the FSFE REUSE specification, providing tools to make software licensing clear and machine-readable.

licensecheck(1), spdx(1)