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REUSE Tool
What it is
REUSE Tool helps software projects organize licensing information for Free Software and make it machine-readable. Its command-line tools can download license texts, add copyright and license details to file headers, and lint projects for problems. It can also generate a software bill of materials, while the REUSE API can display compliance status and provide a badge and JSON output. Checks can run in CI/CD workflows, including GitHub Actions, Forgejo Actions, Drone, Woodpecker CI, or Docker-based processes. A pre-commit hook can run linting on each Git commit and block a commit if an error is found. Installation options include Debian and Fedora packages, pipx, pip, and source installation; Python 3.10 or newer is required. REUSE Tool is free, needs no registration, and can be used offline. Its scope does not include checking whether a project follows the licenses of its dependencies, which requires other tools and processes.
For and against
For
- Free to use offline without registration.
- Generates a software bill of materials.
- Can run in CI/CD and pre-commit workflows.
- Offers several installation methods.
Against
- Requires Python 3.10 or newer.
- Does not check licenses of project dependencies.
The verdict
REUSE Tool combines license information management with linting and workflow integration. Its stated scope stops short of checking dependency licenses.
Who it suits
It suits Free Software developers who want licensing details organized and checked as part of their project workflow. Teams that need dependency-license checks will need other tools and processes.
Plans and prices
REUSE Tool
no registration required · can be used offline
Read 1 Oct 2026 · reuse.software
On the record
- API
- The REUSE API continuously checks and displays compliance status and can provide a badge and generated JSON output.reuse.software · read 1 Oct 2026
- CI/CD
- REUSE can be integrated into CI/CD processes, including Drone, Woodpecker CI, Forgejo Actions, GitHub Actions, and Docker-based workflows.reuse.software · read 1 Oct 2026
- Commands
- The CLI includes annotate, download, lint, lint-file, spdx, supported-licenses, and convert-dep5 commands.reuse.readthedocs.io · read 1 Oct 2026
- Compliance assistance
- The REUSE tool downloads full license texts, adds copyright and license information to file headers, and contains a linter to identify problems.reuse.software · read 1 Oct 2026
- Docker
- An fsfe/reuse Docker image is available for running compliance checks in CI/CD.reuse.readthedocs.io · read 1 Oct 2026
- Installation
- The documentation lists Debian and Fedora packages, pipx, pip, and source installation methods.reuse.readthedocs.io · read 1 Oct 2026
- Licensing
- The original source code of the tool is licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later, documentation under CC-BY-SA-4.0, and some configuration and data files under CC0-1.0.reuse.readthedocs.io · read 1 Oct 2026
- Pre-commit
- A pre-commit hook can run reuse lint on every Git commit and prevent the commit from proceeding when there is an error.reuse.software · read 1 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- FSFE says it strictly limits personal-data processing and will not sell user data to third parties.fsfe.org · read 1 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- REUSE provides recommendations and tools to make Free Software licensing easy, comprehensive, unambiguous, and machine-readable.reuse.software · read 1 Oct 2026
- Runtime requirement
- The tool requires Python 3.10 or newer; Git, Mercurial, Pijul, and Jujutsu are optional version-control dependencies.reuse.readthedocs.io · read 1 Oct 2026
- SBOM generation
- The tool can generate a software bill of materials with a simple command.reuse.software · read 1 Oct 2026
- Scope limit
- REUSE does not check whether a project respects the licenses of its dependencies; that requires different tools and processes.reuse.software · read 1 Oct 2026
- Support
- Users can report issues and feature requests on GitHub, and the [email protected] mailing list is available for discussion and support.reuse.readthedocs.io · read 1 Oct 2026
