License Compliance Check

Goal

Scan a project's dependencies and generate a license compliance report, classifying each dependency as permissive (OK), weak copyleft (MEDIUM), or restrictive (HIGH). Supports 9 ecosystems: JS/TS (pnpm/npm/yarn), Rust (cargo), Python (pip/poetry/uv/pipenv), Swift (SPM), Kotlin (Gradle), Dart (pub), Go (modules), C# (NuGet), and Solidity (Foundry).

When to use

• Checking license compliance before shipping
• Evaluating a new dependency or library
• Preparing for security/legal audits
• Reviewing a project you don't own (use --repo mode)
• Replacing Snyk license compliance checks
• Org-wide license sweeps across multiple GitHub orgs (use --org mode)
• Tracking license compliance posture over time
• Scanning Rust crates for license compliance (via cargo metadata)
• Scanning Python packages for license compliance (via lockfile + PyPI)

When not to use

• Unsupported ecosystems (Ruby/Bundler, PHP/Composer, Java/Maven, Scala/sbt, Elixir/Mix, etc.)
• Checking for security vulnerabilities (use /github-dependabot-report instead)

Inputs

• A project directory with a supported lockfile, OR a GitHub org/repo reference
  • JS/TS: pnpm-lock.yaml, package-lock.json, or yarn.lock
  • Rust: Cargo.lock or Cargo.toml
  • Python: poetry.lock, uv.lock, Pipfile.lock, or requirements.txt
  • Swift: Package.resolved
  • Kotlin: gradle/libs.versions.toml or build.gradle.kts
  • Dart: pubspec.lock or pubspec.yaml
  • Go: go.sum or go.mod
  • C#: Directory.Packages.props or *.csproj
  • Solidity: foundry.toml
• Optional: --prod-only to skip devDependencies (JS/TS and Python only; Rust treats all deps as prod)
• Optional: --repo org/repo for remote scanning
• Optional: --ref branch-name to scan a specific branch

Outputs

• Formatted markdown compliance report displayed to user

Default workflow

Step 1: Run the scanner

The scanner auto-detects the project type based on lockfiles/manifest files present.

For a local project:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/license-compliance/scripts/license_check.py --path /path/to/project --verbose 2>/dev/null

For a remote GitHub repo (works for any supported ecosystem):

python3 ~/.claude/skills/license-compliance/scripts/license_check.py --repo org/repo --verbose 2>/dev/null

For production dependencies only (JS/TS and Python):

python3 ~/.claude/skills/license-compliance/scripts/license_check.py --path /path/to/project --prod-only --verbose 2>/dev/null

Ecosystem notes:

• JS/TS: Requires pnpm, npm, or yarn installed. Runs install + ls --json to extract licenses.
• Rust: Requires cargo installed. Uses cargo metadata — no build needed. All deps treated as prod (Rust doesn't distinguish dev deps in metadata).
• Python: No tools required beyond Python. Parses lockfiles directly and looks up licenses via PyPI API.
• Swift: Parses Package.resolved, looks up licenses via GitHub API.
• Kotlin: Parses Gradle version catalogs (libs.versions.toml), looks up licenses via Maven Central.
• Dart: Parses pubspec.lock or pubspec.yaml, looks up via pub.dev API + GitHub.
• Go: Parses go.sum, maps module paths to GitHub repos for license lookup.
• C#: Parses .csproj or Directory.Packages.props, looks up licenses via NuGet API.
• Solidity: Parses .gitmodules for Foundry submodule deps + npm deps.

Note: The script outputs JSON to stdout and progress messages to stderr. Use 2>/dev/null to capture clean JSON, or omit it to see progress.

Step 2: Parse the JSON output and format the report

Read the JSON output from the script. If there's an error field, display it and stop.

Step 3: Display the report

Format the results as a markdown report using this template:

# License Compliance Report

**Project:** /path/to/project
**Package manager:** pnpm (monorepo, 24 workspaces)
**Scanned:** 1,847 packages in 3.2s
**Mode:** all dependencies

| Classification | Count | Status |
|:---------------|------:|:-------|
| Permissive     | 1,820 | OK     |
| Weak Copyleft  |     3 | MEDIUM |
| Restrictive    |     1 | HIGH   |
| Unknown        |    23 | Review |

## HIGH: Restrictive Licenses

| Package | Version | License | Dev? | Introduced By |
|:--------|:--------|:--------|:-----|:--------------|
| some-gpl-pkg | 2.1.0 | GPL-3.0 | No | `wasm-parser` added by Jane Doe on 2024-03-15 ([a1b2c3d](https://github.com/org/repo/commit/a1b2c3d)) |

> Strong copyleft obligations — likely incompatible with commercial use. These packages must be replaced or receive legal approval.
>
> **Introduced By** shows which direct dependency pulled in the violation, who added it, and when. If the flagged package is itself a direct dependency, just the author/date is shown. If blame data is unavailable (shallow clone, no git history), the column shows "—".

## MEDIUM: Weak Copyleft

| Package | Version | License | Dev? |
|:--------|:--------|:--------|:-----|
| some-mpl-pkg | 1.0.0 | MPL-2.0 | No |

> May be acceptable depending on linking/usage. Flag for review.

## Unknown Licenses (Manual Review)

| Package | Version | Raw License |
|:--------|:--------|:------------|
| mystery-pkg | 0.3.1 | SEE LICENSE IN LICENSE.md |

> These packages have non-standard or missing license declarations. Check their repos manually.

## Action Items

1. **Replace** restrictive-licensed packages or obtain legal approval
2. **Review** weak copyleft packages for linking compatibility
3. **Verify** unknown licenses by checking package repositories

Adapt the template based on actual results:

• Omit sections with zero entries (e.g., skip "HIGH" section if no restrictive packages)
• If everything is permissive and no unknowns, display a clean bill of health
• Note if --prod-only was used
• Include exit code info: exit 0 = clean, exit 2 = HIGH violations found

Org-wide scanning workflow

Use this workflow when the user invokes /license-compliance --org or asks for an org-wide license sweep.

Step 0: Locate or create tracker and report files

Before running the scanner, check if the user already has a tracker file and report:

1. Search for existing tracker: Look for license-tracker.json in the user's working directory and common locations. If found, confirm: "I found an existing tracker at <path> — should I use it?"
2. If no tracker exists: Ask the user where to store both files. Suggest placing them alongside related reports in the same directory.
3. Always ask for report path too: The script generates a markdown report via --report. Ask where to write it, or suggest license-compliance-report.md next to the tracker.

Step 1: Run the org scanner

The script takes --tracker (JSON state file) and --report (markdown output) as separate paths.

First run (discovers + scans all supported repos):

python3 ~/.claude/skills/license-compliance/scripts/org_scanner.py \
  --orgs reown-com,walletconnect \
  --tracker <tracker-path>/license-tracker.json \
  --report <report-path>/license-compliance-report.md 2>/dev/null

Discovery only (no scanning, useful for initial setup):

python3 ~/.claude/skills/license-compliance/scripts/org_scanner.py \
  --orgs reown-com,walletconnect \
  --tracker <tracker-path>/license-tracker.json \
  --report <report-path>/license-compliance-report.md \
  --discover-only 2>/dev/null

Resume / re-scan stale repos:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/license-compliance/scripts/org_scanner.py \
  --orgs reown-com,walletconnect \
  --tracker <tracker-path>/license-tracker.json \
  --report <report-path>/license-compliance-report.md \
  --stale-days 30 2>/dev/null

Scan specific repos only:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/license-compliance/scripts/org_scanner.py \
  --tracker <tracker-path>/license-tracker.json \
  --report <report-path>/license-compliance-report.md \
  --only reown-com/appkit,reown-com/web-monorepo 2>/dev/null

Resume behavior: When the tracker file already exists and --orgs is provided, the scanner discovers new repos and merges them into the existing tracker. It only scans repos that haven't been scanned yet (or are stale per --stale-days). Already-scanned repos are skipped. The tracker saves after each repo scan, so interrupted runs resume from where they left off.

Step 2: Display the report

The --report flag generates the markdown report automatically. Read and display it to the user. If --report was not used, format the JSON output into a similar report manually.

Step 3: Handle long-running scans

Org-wide scans can take 30+ minutes for large orgs. The scanner:

• Saves the tracker after each repo scan (crash-safe resume)
• Reports progress to stderr
• Can be interrupted and resumed with the same command

If interrupted, re-running with the same args picks up where it left off.

Exit codes

• 0 — No restrictive license violations
• 1 — Script error (missing lockfile, clone failure, etc.)
• 2 — HIGH severity violations found (restrictive licenses in dependencies)

License tiers (source of truth)

Permissive (OK)

MIT, Apache-2.0, BSD-2-Clause, BSD-3-Clause, ISC, Unlicense, CC0-1.0, 0BSD, BlueOak-1.0.0, Zlib, Artistic-2.0, WTFPL, MIT-0, PSF-2.0, CC-BY-4.0, CC-BY-3.0, BSL-1.0, Unicode-3.0, Unicode-DFS-2016

Restrictive (HIGH)

GPL-2.0/3.0 variants, AGPL-3.0 variants, SSPL-1.0, EUPL, OSL-3.0

Weak Copyleft (MEDIUM)

LGPL-2.1/3.0 variants, MPL-2.0, EPL-1.0/2.0, CDDL-1.0/1.1

Dev dependency reduction

Dev dependencies get severity reduced one level (HIGH→MEDIUM, MEDIUM→LOW).