the license, in plain words
tripwire is released under the mit license. the legal text is in
LICENSE at the root of this repository. that file is what counts. this page
only explains it.
this page is not legal advice.
the short version
you can do almost anything with this code. you must keep the copyright notice. there is no warranty.
that is the whole license. it is one of the shortest in common use, at about 170 words.
what you may do
| you may | notes |
|---|---|
| use it | for anything, including at work |
| sell it | or sell something built on it |
| change it | no need to publish the change |
| share it | as source or as a built binary |
| relicense your own work | your changes can carry your own terms |
| use it in a closed product | you never have to open your source |
you do not have to ask. you do not have to pay. you do not have to tell anyone.
what you must do
keep the notice. every copy, and every large part you reuse, must carry
the copyright line and the licence text. for an app, this usually means an
"open source licences" screen or a NOTICES file.
that is the only requirement.
what you get no promise of
the license ends in capital letters, and it means it. the software comes "as is". there is:
- no promise it works
- no promise it fits your purpose
- no liability if it breaks something
if tripwire lets a bad change through, that is your risk. read the code before you depend on it.
why mit and not something stricter
a stricter licence, such as the gpl, forces anyone who ships a change to publish it. that protects a project from a closed fork.
mit does not. someone can take this code, improve it, sell it, and share nothing back. that is allowed on purpose.
the trade is adoption. mit is the lowest barrier there is. a company can use this code without a lawyer reading anything.
tripwire is meant to sit inside other people's build systems. wide adoption matters more here than protection against a fork.
common questions
do i have to open source my changes? no. mit has no such rule.
can i use this at a company? yes. no permission needed.
can i sell it? yes, on its own or inside something larger.
do i have to credit you in my ui? you must include the copyright notice somewhere. a licences page is enough. a credit on your home page is not required.
can i remove the copyright line? no. that is the one thing the license does not allow.
can i fork it and use a different licence? you may license your own changes as you like. the parts that are still this code stay under mit, and keep their notice.
what if i only copy one file? the notice requirement follows any "substantial portion". one whole file is usually substantial. a single line usually is not. when unsure, keep the notice.
dependencies
mit covers tripwire's own code. it does not cover the packages tripwire depends on. each of those carries its own licence.
most are mit or apache-2.0, and both are permissive. if you ship a build, your notice file should list them. read them yourself before you rely on this sentence.