validate-npm-package-license

What is validate-npm-package-license?

The validate-npm-package-license package is used to validate and parse license identifiers based on the SPDX license list. It helps ensure that package licenses are valid and SPDX-compliant, which is important for legal compliance and software distribution.

What are validate-npm-package-license's main functionalities?

License Validation

This feature allows you to validate a string to check if it's a valid SPDX license expression. The code sample demonstrates how to validate the 'MIT' license identifier.

"use strict";\nconst validate = require('validate-npm-package-license');\nconst result = validate('MIT');\nconsole.log(result);

License Parsing

This feature enables parsing of complex SPDX license expressions, such as dual licenses. The code sample shows how to parse and validate a compound license expression that includes both 'MIT' and 'Apache-2.0' licenses.

"use strict";\nconst validate = require('validate-npm-package-license');\nconst result = validate('(MIT OR Apache-2.0)');\nconsole.log(result);

Other packages similar to validate-npm-package-license

spdx-correct

The spdx-correct package is designed to help correct invalid SPDX license IDs to their nearest valid identifiers. It is similar to validate-npm-package-license in that it deals with SPDX licenses, but it focuses more on correcting typos and common mistakes rather than validation.

spdx-expression-parse

This package provides functionality to parse SPDX license expressions, similar to one of the features of validate-npm-package-license. However, spdx-expression-parse focuses solely on parsing and does not include validation against the SPDX license list.

README

validate-npm-package-license

Give me a string and I'll tell you if it's a valid npm package license string.

var noWarnings = {
  validForNewPackages: true,
  validForOldPackages: true
};

// SPDX license identifier for common open-source licenses
valid('MIT'); // => noWarnings
valid('BSD-2-Clause'); // => noWarnings
valid('Apache-2.0'); // => noWarnings
valid('ISC'); // => noWarnings

// Simple SPDX license expression for dual licensing
valid('(GPL-3.0 OR BSD-2-Clause)'); // => noWarnings

// Refer to a non-standard license found in the package
valid('SEE LICENSE IN LICENSE.txt'); // => noWarnings
valid('SEE LICENSE IN license.md'); // => noWarnings

// No license
valid('UNLICENSED'); // => noWarnings
valid('UNLICENCED'); // => noWarnings

var warningsWithSuggestion = {
  validForOldPackages: false,
  validForNewPackages: false,
  warnings: [
    'license should be ' +
    'a valid SPDX license expression without "LicenseRef", ' + 
    '"UNLICENSED", or ' +
    '"SEE LICENSE IN <filename>"',
    'license is similar to the valid expression "Apache-2.0"'
  ]
};

// Almost a valid SPDX license identifier
valid('Apache 2.0'); // => warningsWithSuggestion

var warningAboutLicenseRef = {
  validForOldPackages: false,
  validForNewPackages: false,
  warnings: [
    'license should be ' +
    'a valid SPDX license expression without "LicenseRef", ' + 
    '"UNLICENSED", or ' +
    '"SEE LICENSE IN <filename>"',
  ]
};

// LicenseRef-* identifiers are valid SPDX expressions,
// but not valid in package.json
valid('LicenseRef-Made-Up'); // => warningAboutLicenseRef
valid('(MIT OR LicenseRef-Made-Up)'); // => warningAboutLicenseRef