How to add license to an existing GitHub project

Question

When I created a GitHub project I chose None.

How can I now add a GPL license to my already added project?

Second title from the bottom: https://help.github.com/articles/open-source-licensing/ — NightShadeQueen, Jul 26 '15 at 16:31

BrechtDeMan · Accepted Answer · 2018-04-30T09:47:41.867

436

In your repository, click 'Create new file'

2. a) Type 'LICENSE', 'LICENSE.md' or 'LICENSE.txt' as the new file's file name. b) The 'Want to use a new template?' dialog will appear.

Choose your preferred license.

The accepted answer is almost there, but confused me, because it said 'click the blue plus' - the interface may have changed - and the image is the same as the OP's.

edited Apr 30 '18 at 09:47

answered Jun 18 '16 at 09:56

BrechtDeMan

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As a bonus, the license will now be displayed in the upper right part of the page, after the number of contributors. – Dan Dascalescu Sep 13 '16 at 22:57
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So it is! Good feature. Probably not on-topic enough to include in my answer, but thanks for highlighting it. – BrechtDeMan Sep 20 '16 at 09:26
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Note that the most common file name is simply LICENSE, while LICENSE.txt and LICENSE.md are less common file names. – vog Apr 28 '18 at 21:25

score 378 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 04 '20 at 06:29

378

Go to your repository
Add a new file by clicking the blue plus icon
Type the file name as License.txt or License.md after which a license picker will show up. Then you can choose the type of license.

edited Jun 04 '20 at 06:29

AurumTechie

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answered Jul 28 '15 at 03:28

durgaselvan swaminathan

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score 106 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 23 '18 at 13:35

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There is an easier way to get to the 'Add License' wizard:

Go to your repository's Insights tab
Click Community on the left side
On the right side, click Add on the line wich says License

For some reason this is not even mentioned in the docs at github.

answered Sep 23 '18 at 13:35

Florian F

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This is better and easier approach than other answers. Should have been marked as "Accepted" in my view. – Muhammad Tariq Jan 04 '21 at 18:04
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This is now under Community Standards. – zimdanen May 25 '22 at 16:24

score 11 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 03 '16 at 07:19

Go to your repository
Click on "Create new file" Button
Type the file name as License.txt or License.md in the input box next to your repository name, a drop down button appears towards right side
Choose the type of license of your choice
Click "Commit new file" button at the bottom (Green button)

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 15 '21 at 03:12

I just wanted to add another valid alternative using https://choosealicense.com made by Github and many more.

ChooseALicense.com aims to provide accurate, non-judgmental, and understandable information about popular open source licenses in order to help people make informed decisions about the projects they start, maintain, contribute to, and use.

After you have picked your license there are two alternative ways to transfer your new license.

Copy to clipboard: Click button Copy license text to clipboard and paste into your LICENSE file anywhere you want. How to add license into Github is answered by others.
Github: Fill textfield Enter GitHub repository url and hit Enter (Bellow the button). You will be asked for permission to access your Github repository.

Note!

Create a text file (typically named LICENSE or LICENSE.txt) in the root of your source code and copy the text of the license into the file. Replace [year] with the current year and [fullname] with the name (or names) of the copyright holders

Example

How to add license to an existing GitHub project

5 Answers5

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