Open Source Licenses

Overview

Pass any license name or identifier to retrieve its official metadata. The API checks the record and returns the full name, canonical URL, SPDX ID, legacy identifiers, and whether it is active, retired, or superseded. It also flags applicability across software, content, or data domains, with paid plans adding compatible domain details.

Live Test Open Source Licenses API →

Endpoint

One host, one path per API. The block below shows this call in four languages; every one of them is the same HTTP request. Making requests covers the timeouts, retries and parameter rules that apply to all of them. The SDKs wrap the same call in a typed client.

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curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses?name=MIT" \
  -H "x-api-key: your_api_key_here"

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const res = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses?name=MIT', {
  headers: { 'x-api-key': 'your_api_key_here' },
});

if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);

const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);

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import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/openlicenses?name=MIT",
    headers={"x-api-key": "your_api_key_here"},
    timeout=15,
)
res.raise_for_status()

print(res.json()["data"])

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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")

	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	out, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(out))
}

Replace your_api_key_here with the key from your dashboard. When the inputs arrive as a list rather than one at a time, batch requests run up to 200 of them through this same API in a single call.

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — there is no token exchange and no per-endpoint scope to configure. Authentication covers creating, rotating and revoking keys.

Parameters

Sent in the query string. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

Response

Every API returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape. Response format covers the envelope, the other output formats and how premium fields are withheld.

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{
  "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",
    "isOsiApproved": true,
    "compatibleDomains": [
      "software"
    ]
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change. Error handling covers the full status list and which of them are worth retrying.

Use cases

Dependency Compliance Auditing

CI pipelines check third-party package licenses against OSI approval and active status flags before merging pull requests.

SBOM Metadata Enrichment

Software asset managers match SPDX identifiers and canonical URLs to internal components when assembling software bills of materials.

Package Registry Verification

When developers publish a package, code repositories verify that declared license names map to active SPDX IDs.

Dataset Ingestion Governance

Flag datasets governed by retired licenses or terms not meant for data before ingesting them into analytics environments.

Other ways to use Open Source Licenses

Set up Open Source Licenses on APIVerve, or reach the same source a different way. Your APIVerve account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

Related

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