# Licensebat CLI
A tool to help you verify that your dependencies comply with your license policies.
Check the [docs](https://docs.rs/licensebat-cli) for more information.
[](https://github.com/licensebat/licensebat/blob/master/LICENSE)
[](https://crates.io/crates/licensebat-cli)
[](https://docs.rs/licensebat-cli)
## What is Licensebat?
`Licensebat` is a **CLI** that you can use for free to verify that the dependencies of your project follow your license policies.
Let's say, for instance, that you are building a commercial application. In that case, you may consider avoiding the use of some software with a restrictive license like `GPL`.
By using `Licensebat`, you can check you don't have any dependency with such a restrictive license. Normally, it will look in all the the dependency tree of your project, so transient dependencies will also be considered.
Feel free to use the `CLI` in your CI/CD pipeline, or in your continuous integration server.
> **Important**: `licensebat-cli` is still in development so you may use it at your own risk.
## Licensebat GitHub App
Aside from the `CLI`, `Licensebat` can be used directly in your GitHub repositories by installing this [GitHub App](https://github.com/marketplace/licensebat).
## Supported languages
[](https://crates.io/crates/licensebat-js)
[](https://crates.io/crates/licensebat-dart)
[](https://crates.io/crates/licensebat-rust)
## How to use it
Just run this:
```bash
licensebat --dependency-file ./Cargo.lock
```
That will set all in motion. Take into account that you'll need to have access to the internet for the cli to work properly.
You can have more information about the `CLI` by running `licensebat --help`.
```txt
USAGE:
licensebat [OPTIONS] --dependency-file <dependency-file>
FLAGS:
-h, --help Prints help information
-V, --version Prints version information
OPTIONS:
-d, --dependency-file <dependency-file> Path to the file containing the dependencies of the project. i.e.
package-lock.json for npm projects, yarn.lock for yarn projects, etc
-l, --licrc-file <licrc-file> Path to the .licrc file [default: .licrc]
```
## The .licrc file
But before running, you have to be sure you have a `.licrc` file available in your project.
You can get a copy from this [gist](https://gist.github.com/robertohuertasm/4770217e40209ad6a65acb1d725c3f87). It's a `TOML` file with configuration about which are the accepted or denied licenses, ignored dependencies or whether to block or not the PR (exit code == 1) in case it finds invalid dependencies.
```toml
[licenses]
# This indicates which are the only licenses that Licensebat will accept.
# The rest will be flagged as not allowed.
accepted = ["MIT", "MSC", "BSD"]
# This will indicate which licenses are not accepted.
# The rest will be accepted, except for the unknown licenses or dependencies without licenses.
# unaccepted = ["LGPL"]
# Note that only one of the previous options can be enabled at once.
# If both of them are informed, only accepted will be considered.
[dependencies]
# This will allow users to flag some dependencies so that Licensebat will not check for their license.
ignored=["ignored_dep1", "ignored_dep2"]
[behavior]
# False by default (always exit code == 0), if true, it will exit with code 1 in case some invalid dependency is found.
do_not_block_pr = false
```
## Logs
`Licensebat` uses [`tracing`](https://docs.rs/tracing). You can get logs while running the `CLI` by setting the `RUST_LOG` environment variable.
```bash
RUST_LOG=licensebat=info cargo run --dependency-file ./Cargo.lock
```