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Tech riderRev. 8 Oct 2026

Apache RAT

Ch 206.8of 28Open Source License Compliance Software
  1. 1Runs onLinux, self-hosted
  2. 2CostsFree plan
  3. 3Policy enforcementboth
  4. 4Deployment optionson-premise
  5. 5Source scan methodsmultiple
5 lines stated Written from the maker's own pages: creadur.apache.org
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The Apache RAT homepage

Overview

Apache RAT is ranked #20 of 28 in open source license compliance software on Specifiction. It runs on Linux, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

Apache RAT plans and pricing

All plans
Apache RAT Free Open-source release audit tool · latest release 0.18 creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026

Compared on open source license compliance software

Free plan
Yescreadur.apache.org
Policy enforcement
bothcreadur.apache.org
Deployment options
on-premisecreadur.apache.org
Source scan methods
multiplecreadur.apache.org

Facts

Purpose
Apache RAT audits software distributions, with a focus on license headers.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
License review
RAT is a release audit tool focused on licenses and is intended to improve the accuracy and efficiency of checking releases for licenses.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Interfaces
RAT 0.18 ships with a command-line client, an Ant task library, and a Maven plugin.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Extensibility
Users can add license definitions through XML, and can extend matchers, definition formats, reports, and user interfaces with the relevant expertise.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Configuration
Command-line options support file inclusion and exclusion, license approval lists, and report output styles including missing-header and unapproved-license reports.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Release
The downloads page lists Apache Creadur RAT 0.18 as the latest release and offers binary and source archives.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Integrity checks
The project recommends verifying downloaded releases with signatures from its main distribution directories; it also provides PGP signatures and SHA-512 checksums.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Security reporting
The Apache Security Team asks that potential vulnerabilities be reported first to a private Apache security mailing list.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Limitations
RAT highlights possible issues, its reports require interpretation, it may need tuning, and its heuristics may miss issues.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Runtime requirements
Building RAT requires Java 17, and the project recommends Apache Maven 3.9.13 or later.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
License
Apache Creadur licenses its software to the public under the Apache License, Version 2.0.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Primary use
RAT is intended to improve the accuracy and efficiency of checking software releases for licenses.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Maven reports
The Maven plugin can write a text report to target/rat.txt or add a report to the generated site.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Header editing
The command-line tool can add Apache-2.0 license headers and copyright notices to files that are not excluded by its configuration.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
File selection
RAT supports including and excluding files with patterns, standard collections, files of patterns, and file-size exclusions.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Output formats
The package includes stylesheets for missing-header reports, unapproved-license reports, plain output, and pretty-printed XML.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Caveat
RAT relies on heuristics that may miss issues, and its reports require interpretation and may need project-specific tuning.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Runtime
RAT requires Java 17; its documentation recommends Java 21 for generating Javadocs due to an existing JDK error.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Download integrity
The project recommends verifying downloaded release files with signatures from its main distribution directories and provides PGP signatures and SHA512 checksums.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026
Support
The project invites users to contribute patches, report bugs, and talk to the community.creadur.apache.org · 8 Oct 2026

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