Open Source Licenses API

GET Endpoint

https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses

Code Examples

Here are examples of how to call the Open Source Licenses API in different programming languages:

curl -X GET \
  "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses?name=MIT" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here"

const response = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses?name=MIT', {
  method: 'GET',
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

import requests

headers = {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

response = requests.get('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses?name=MIT', headers=headers)

data = response.json()
print(data)

const https = require('https');
const url = require('url');

const options = {
  method: 'GET',
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
};

const req = https.request('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses?name=MIT', options, (res) => {
  let data = '';
  res.on('data', (chunk) => data += chunk);
  res.on('end', () => console.log(JSON.parse(data)));
});

req.end();

<?php

$ch = curl_init();

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses?name=MIT');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST, 'GET');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
    'X-API-Key: your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type: application/json'
]);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

$data = json_decode($response, true);
print_r($data);

?>

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "io"
    "net/http"

)

func main() {
    req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses?name=MIT", nil)

    req.Header.Set("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here")
    req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    fmt.Println(string(body))
}

require 'net/http'
require 'json'

uri = URI('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses?name=MIT')
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
request['X-API-Key'] = 'your_api_key_here'
request['Content-Type'] = 'application/json'

response = http.request(request)
puts JSON.pretty_generate(JSON.parse(response.body))

using System;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        using var client = new HttpClient();
        client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here");

        var response = await client.GetAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses?name=MIT");
        response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();

        var responseBody = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
        Console.WriteLine(responseBody);
    }
}

Authentication

The Open Source Licenses API requires authentication via API key. Include your API key in the request header:

X-API-Key: your_api_key_here

Learn more about authentication →

Interactive API Playground

Test the Open Source Licenses API directly in your browser with live requests and responses.

Parameters

The following parameters are available for the Open Source Licenses API:

Response

The Open Source Licenses API returns responses in JSON, XML, YAML, and CSV formats:

Example Responses

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "domain_content": false,
    "domain_data": false,
    "domain_software": true,
    "legacy_ids": [
      "mit-license"
    ],
    "license": "MIT",
    "name": "MIT License",
    "license_url": "https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT",
    "license_status": "active"
  }
}

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<response>
  <status>ok</status>
  <error xsi:nil="true" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"/>
  <data>
    <domain_content>false</domain_content>
    <domain_data>false</domain_data>
    <domain_software>true</domain_software>
    <legacy_ids>
      <legacy_id>mit-license</legacy_id>
    </legacy_ids>
    <license>MIT</license>
    <name>MIT License</name>
    <license_url>https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT</license_url>
    <license_status>active</license_status>
  </data>
</response>

status: ok
error: null
data:
  domain_content: false
  domain_data: false
  domain_software: true
  legacy_ids:
    - mit-license
  license: MIT
  name: MIT License
  license_url: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT
  license_status: active

Response Structure

All API responses follow a consistent structure with the following fields:

Learn more about response formats →

Response Data Fields

When the request is successful, the data object contains the following fields:

Headers

Required and optional headers for Open Source Licenses API requests:

Learn more about request headers →

GraphQL AccessALPHA

Access Open Source Licenses through GraphQL to combine it with other API calls in a single request. Query only the open source licenses data you need with precise field selection, and orchestrate complex data fetching workflows.

Credit Cost: Each API called in your GraphQL query consumes its standard credit cost.

POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/graphql

query {
  openlicenses(
    input: {
      name: "MIT"
    }
  ) {
    domain_content
    domain_data
    domain_software
    legacy_ids
    license
    name
    license_url
    license_status
  }
}

Note: Authentication is handled via the x-api-key header in your GraphQL request, not as a query parameter.

CORS Support

The Open Source Licenses API supports Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) with wildcard configuration, allowing you to call Open Source Licenses directly from browser-based applications without proxy servers.

Browser Usage: You can call Open Source Licenses directly from JavaScript running in the browser without encountering CORS errors. No proxy server or additional configuration needed.

Learn more about CORS support →

Rate Limiting

Open Source Licenses API requests are subject to rate limiting based on your subscription plan. These limits ensure fair usage and maintain service quality for all Open Source Licenses users.

Learn more about rate limiting →

Rate Limit Headers

When rate limits apply, each Open Source Licenses response includes headers to help you track your usage:

Handling Rate Limits

Free Plan: When you exceed your rate limit, Open Source Licenses returns a 429 Too Many Requests status code. Your application should implement appropriate backoff logic to handle this gracefully.

Paid Plans: No rate limiting or throttling applied. All paid plans (Starter, Pro, Mega) are production-ready.

Best Practices for Open Source Licenses:

• Monitor the rate limit headers to track your Open Source Licenses usage (Free plan only)
• Cache open source licenses responses where appropriate to reduce API calls
• Upgrade to Pro or Mega for guaranteed no-throttle Open Source Licenses performance

Note: Open Source Licenses rate limits are separate from credit consumption. You may have credits remaining but still hit rate limits when using Open Source Licenses on Free tier.

Error Codes

The Open Source Licenses API uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate success or failure:

Learn more about error handling →

Need help? Contact support with your X-Request-ID for assistance.

Integrate Open Source Licenses with SDKs

Get started quickly with official Open Source Licenses SDKs for your preferred language. Each library handles authentication, request formatting, and error handling automatically.

Available for Node.js, Python, C#/.NET, and Android/Java. All SDKs are open source and regularly updated.

JitPack

Integrate Open Source Licenses with No-Code API Tools

Connect the Open Source Licenses API to your favorite automation platform without writing code. Build workflows that leverage open source licenses data across thousands of apps.

ZapierConnect Open Source Licenses to 6,000+ apps

MakeBuild visual open source licenses workflows

PipedreamCode-friendly open source licenses automation

n8nSelf-host your open source licenses workflows

Power AutomateUse Open Source Licenses in Microsoft 365

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