Sync the top-level project licence file

Problem and when to use it

Use cd-sync-project-licence when a project has one exact SPDX licence identifier in FILE_LICENCE_IDENTIFIER and you want CDS to create or refresh the repository's top-level licence file from canonical public licence text.

This is useful when bootstrapping a project, standardising an existing LICENSE file, or correcting drift before a release or compliance check.

The command only covers projects configured with one exact SPDX identifier. It does not cover compound expressions such as MIT OR Apache-2.0.

Inputs and example

Configure:

• FILE_LICENCE_IDENTIFIER
• LICENCE_FILE_PATH (defaults to LICENSE)

Then run:

cd-sync-project-licence

CDS fetches canonical text in this order when needed:

1. ScanCode LicenseDB
2. SPDX.org
3. GitHub licences API
4. choosealicense.com

Output

If the file is missing, CDS creates it. If the file exists but differs from the canonical text, CDS shows a diff in verbose mode and rewrites it. If the file already matches, the command reports success without changing it.

For a proprietary project, CDS cannot fetch canonical text and instead requires the author to provide the licence file manually.

Related commands:

• cd-check-licence-compliance for strict project and dependency licence checks
• cd-describe-licence-obligations for a summary of obligations