GET
GET /licenses/{license} — GitHub API
GitHub token (required); https://api.github.com
GitHub APIGet a license
- Base URL
- https://api.github.com
- Auth
- Authorization: Bearer <GITHUB_API_KEY>
- Last verified
- 2026-10-20 · upstream hash matched
Actions Try in browser→
Agents: curl -H "Accept: text/markdown" this URL
→ 155 tokens · Vary: Accept
→ 155 tokens · Vary: Accept
Critical gotchas
GitHub recommends an Accept: application/vnd.github+json header and an explicit X-GitHub-Api-Version header.
Fine-grained tokens only authorize repositories and permissions selected when the token is created.
cURL
curl -X GET 'https://api.github.com/licenses/example-license' \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $GITHUB_TOKEN" \ -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' \ -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2026-03-10'
Parameters
| Name | In | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| license | path | string | Yes | path parameter license. |
Response 200 OK
{
"key": "mit",
"name": "MIT License",
"spdx_id": "MIT",
"url": "https://api.github.com/licenses/mit",
"node_id": "MDc6TGljZW5zZW1pdA==",
"html_url": "http://choosealicense.com/licenses/mit/",
"description": "A permissive license that is short and to the point. It lets people do anything with your code with proper attribution and without warranty.",
"implementation": "Create a text file (typically named LICENSE or LICENSE.txt) in the root of your source code and copy the text of the license into the file. Replace [year] with the current year and [fullname] with the name (or names) of the copyright holders.",
"permissions": [
"commercial-use",
"modifications",
"distribution",
"sublicense",
"private-use"
],
"conditions": [
"include-copyright"
],
"limitations": [
"no-liability"
],
"body": "\n\nThe MIT License (MIT)\n\nCopyright (c) [year] [fullname]\n\nPermission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy\nof this software and associated documentation files (the \"Software\"), to deal\nin the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights\nto use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell\ncopies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is\nfurnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:\n\nThe above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all\ncopies or substantial portions of the Software.\n\nTHE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED \"AS IS\", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR\nIMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,\nFITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE\nAUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER\nLIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,\nOUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE\nSOFTWARE.\n",
"featured": true
} Get a free GitHub API key → sponsored Affiliate link - we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.