macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install licensefinderlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install licensefinder with Homebrew, Nix
Find licenses for your project's dependencies. Version 7.2.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#license_findernixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/li/license_finder/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Find licenses for your project's dependencies
Project links
Commands and aliases
- license_finder
history
Project history and usage
LicenseFinder is Pivotal's long-running Ruby CLI for finding dependency licenses, comparing them with approved policies, and reporting unapproved packages. It covers many project types by calling their native package managers rather than treating license scanning as a single-language problem.
Project history
The public repository was created on 2011-01-17. The README describes a tool that works with package managers to find dependencies, detect licenses, compare them with permitted licenses, and produce actionable exception reports.
The changelog records a broadening scope over time: support for Ruby, Node, Python, Java, Go, CocoaPods, Swift Package Manager, Rust Cargo, PHP Composer, Conda, Flutter, and other ecosystems appears across releases. Release 7.0.0 in 2022 added Ruby 3 support, Flutter scanning, and SPDX identifier reporting.
Adoption history
LicenseFinder spread through CLI, RubyGems, Homebrew, Docker, and pre-commit workflows. Its Docker image bundles package managers so CI jobs can scan mixed-language repositories without installing every ecosystem tool on the host.
How it is used
Users run license_finder after installing project dependencies. The tool records approvals and permitted licenses, exits non-zero for unapproved dependencies, and can run in CI to catch new dependency-license work items.
Why package nerds care
LicenseFinder is important to package people because it exposes the practical mess of license metadata: every package manager has different files, commands, and metadata conventions, so the tool's value is in its adapters and decision record as much as in license detection.
Timeline
- 2011-01-17: GitHub repository created.
- 2021-06-25: v6.14.1 changelog entry includes a command-injection fix for CocoaPods projects.
- 2022-03-04: v7.0.0 adds Ruby 3 support, Flutter scanning, and SPDX identifier reporting.
- 2022-11-28: v7.1.0 adds a pre-commit hook.
- 2024-05-07: v7.2.0 adds Ruby 3.3 support and several package-manager compatibility updates.
Related projects
- Related projects include package-manager license commands, SPDX identifiers, pre-commit, and license-policy tools such as Licensed.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Configuration files
Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.
- Unix
config/license_finder.ymldoc/dependency_decisions.yml
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
license_finder | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-08
manager version7.2.1
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://github.com/pivotal/LicenseFinder
- infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/pivotal/LicenseFindernone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:licensefinder |
|---|---|
| Version | 7.2.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/licensefinder |
| Homepage | https://github.com/pivotal/LicenseFinder |
| Repository | https://github.com/pivotal/LicenseFinder |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/pivotal/LicenseFinder#readme |
| License | MIT |
| Source archive | https://github.com/pivotal/LicenseFinder.git |
| Last updated | 2026-06-22T14:05:10-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | ruby |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | licensefinder |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 1 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Nix92%
license_finder
nix profile install nixpkgs#license_finder- installed executable or alias match
- Matched by: License Finder
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment