Permissions, conditions and limitations at a glance
Conditions
- License and copyright noticeA copy of the license and the copyright notice must be included when distributing.
Limitations
- LiabilityExpressly states that there is no liability for damages.
- WarrantyExpressly states that no warranty is provided.
Permissions, conditions and limitations are classified using data from choosealicense.com (GitHub, MIT License).
What kind of license is it?
BSD 2-Clause is BSD 3-Clause with the "no use of names" clause removed as well. It is known as "Simplified BSD", or the "FreeBSD License" because the FreeBSD project adopted it. Most of FreeBSD's code and Homebrew use this license.
The two conditions
- When redistributing source code, retain the copyright notice, list of conditions and disclaimer.
- When redistributing in binary form, reproduce the same in the documentation or other materials provided with the distribution.
Everything else is free: modification, inclusion in closed commercial products and relicensing are all allowed.
Relationship to MIT and ISC
Its practical effect is nearly the same as MIT and ISC. BSD 2-Clause differs in splitting source and binary distribution into separate clauses and stating slightly more specifically where the notice goes. None of the three has an express patent clause. A variant that adds an express patent grant is BSD-2-Clause-Patent (OSI-approved).
Common misconceptions
- "2-Clause is less safe than 3-Clause" — Clause 3 prevents using names for promotion; it does not give extra legal protection. Many also take the view that the license never granted permission to use names in the first place.
- "Binaries don't need a notice" — Clause 2 requires the notice in documentation or similar materials when distributing binaries. The permissive license that does not require a notice for binaries is BSL-1.0.
How to apply it
Put the text in LICENSE and fill in [year] and [fullname]. The SPDX identifier is BSD-2-Clause.
When it fits
It suits projects exchanging code with the BSD ecosystem, such as operating systems and system tools, and organizations that want MIT-level freedom but are familiar with BSD wording.
Can BSD-2-Clause code go into another project?
General verdicts for taking code released under this license and distributing it combined into a project under each license below. See other combinations in the compatibility checker →
| Target project | Verdict | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Proprietary (closed-source) software | Allowed | You must include the original copyright notice and license text. |
| MIT | Allowed | You must include the original copyright notice and license text. |
| Apache-2.0 | Allowed | You must include the original copyright notice and license text. |
| MPL-2.0 | Allowed | You must include the original copyright notice and license text. |
| LGPL-2.1 | Allowed | You must include the original copyright notice and license text. |
| LGPL-3.0 | Allowed | You must include the original copyright notice and license text. |
| GPL-2.0 | Allowed | You must include the original copyright notice and license text. |
| GPL-3.0 | Allowed | You must include the original copyright notice and license text. |
| AGPL-3.0 | Allowed | You must include the original copyright notice and license text. |
The content on this site is general information, not legal advice. For actual distribution, contracts or disputes, consult a lawyer or other qualified professional.