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FOSSology

fossology.org

Free plan Open source WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAPISelf-hosted
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Spec score 8.8 #2 of 28 in Open Source License Compliance Software

What it is

FOSSology is an open-source system for examining software for license, copyright, and export-control information. Upload individual files or packages, then unpack and scan them with selected agents. Nomos looks for license indicators through phrases, regular expressions, and heuristics; Monk checks text against stored license texts or phrases supplied by users. Its web interface supports review of findings, license-text management, bulk recognition, aggregated file views, and reusing reviews for files with matching hashes. It can identify copyright statements and presents keyword-based findings that users can review for possible export-control relevance. Reports include SPDX 2.0 exports, Debian copyright files, hierarchical file lists with license identifiers, and Readme files with identified license and copyright details. A REST API supports CI/CD use, uploads, and scan triggers from other applications; the command line can retrieve SPDX files. Deployment options include Docker, Vagrant with VirtualBox, or source installation. It is free, with on-premise deployment options. One stated limit: it cannot determine which libraries produced a binary; binary analysis tools are needed for that task.

Spec sheet

What it does
FOSSology combines command-line scanners with a database and web interface for license, copyright and export-control compliance workflows.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Purpose
FOSSology is an open-source license-compliance system and toolkit for scanning software for license, copyright, and export-control information.Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
Intended users
The project says its community includes companies, individuals, and groups using the toolkit or system to improve their ability to comply with open-source licenses.Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
Deployment
The project describes installation using Docker, Vagrant with VirtualBox, or source installation.Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
Support
The project provides voluntary community support through its mailing list and invites users to report bugs through GitHub issues.Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
License
The main source is GPL-2.0; libfossdb and libfossrepo are exceptions licensed LGPL-2.1.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Aggregated views
Uploads can be reviewed through aggregated license-occurrence or folder-hierarchy views.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
API authentication
API access keys can be read-only or read-write and can be invalidated or deleted if compromised.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
API documentation
An OpenAPI description is included in the source tree and can be loaded into Swagger Editor.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Automation and API
The REST API supports CI/CD integration, package uploads and scan triggering from other applications, and command-line retrieval of SPDX files.Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
Buckets
Users can define bucket rules that classify files according to license-related conditions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Bulk recognition
A phrase-based bulk operation can apply a license decision or correction across thousands of matching files.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Copyright and export-control scans
FOSSology can find copyright statements and let users review keyword-based findings that may relate to export-control codes.Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
Copyright scanning
The copyright agent searches copyright markers and authorship phrases, then presents findings for review and correction.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Current stewardship
The Linux Foundation began hosting FOSSology in 2015.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linuxfoundation.org
Deduplication
Hash-based reuse lets later scans reuse results and review decisions for unchanged files.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Documentation depth
Documentation spans user workflow pages, a GitHub wiki, generated developer documentation, REST API material, installation guidance and testing information.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Export-control checks
A keyword agent supports custom regular expressions, including searches for export-control and customs statements.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Independent praise
A SourceForge reviewer called FOSSology important for starting an open-source governance program and described its community as helpful.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Independent project description
SourceForge describes FOSSology as modular software for license scanning, copyright and user identification, license classification and metadata extraction.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Independent rating
OpenFoundry lists FOSSology at 5 out of 5 from 2 votes.Read 15 Oct 2026 · web-archive-2025.openfoundry.org
Installation options
Official guidance provides Docker, Vagrant with VirtualBox and source installation paths.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Known limitation
FOSSology cannot determine which libraries were used to create a binary and says binary analysis tools are needed for that task.Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
Legal limitation
Project documentation explicitly says FOSSology does not provide legal advice.Read 15 Oct 2026 · wiki.fossology.org
License review UI
The web interface highlights license text and supports reviewing findings, managing license records and marking global licenses.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
License scanners
Nomos identifies licenses using phrases, regular expressions, and heuristics, while Monk compares text against stored license texts or user-defined phrases.Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
Limit: false positives
The evaluation documented false positives, including a Visual Studio generated file flagged because of trademark-related text.Read 15 Oct 2026 · studylib.net
Limit: manual expertise
The academic review says files without detectable license evidence require manual research and due diligence.Read 15 Oct 2026 · studylib.net
Limit: missed detection
The same evaluation found Monk missed an unaltered GPLv2 file, creating a risk if its output is accepted without review.Read 15 Oct 2026 · studylib.net
Monk scanner
Monk compares uploaded text with stored or user-defined license phrases using weighted Jaccard similarity, but cannot identify unknown licenses.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Nomos scanner
Nomos identifies license text using regular-expression phrases, keywords and heuristics, returning exact or broad classifications.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Package processing
Users upload files or packages, which FOSSology can unpack and process with selected analysis agents.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Praise: scanner accuracy
A 2015 academic evaluation reported Nomos achieved 100% accuracy on its three tested cases and detected deliberately altered GPL/LGPL text.Read 15 Oct 2026 · studylib.net
Project origin
The first FOSSology version was published by Hewlett-Packard in December 2007.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linuxfoundation.org
Python SDK
The fossology-python project wraps the REST API, provides a foss_cli command-line client and documents compatibility with FOSSology 4.7.1/API 1.6.2, while noting incomplete endpoint coverage.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.github.io
Recent release
Version 4.7.2, released September 22, 2026, added work-in-progress tree indicators and fixed a Monk bulk-processing file-drop issue.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Release capability
Version 4.7.0 added SPDX 3.0 API report support, LZIP archives and performance improvements, while dropping outdated Ubuntu Focal and Debian Stretch/Buster images.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Report formats
FOSSology exports README notices, hierarchical license lists, SPDX 2.0 tag-value or RDF/XML, and Debian DEP5 files.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Reports
FOSSology can generate SPDX 2.0 exports, Debian copyright files, hierarchical file lists with license identifiers, and Readme files containing identified license texts and copyright information.Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
REST API
The REST API supports CI/CD integration, package uploads, scan triggering and SPDX report retrieval from scripts or other applications.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Review tools
The web interface supports reviewing license findings, managing license texts, bulk recognition, aggregated file views, and reuse of reviews for files with matching hashes.Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
Scanning workflow
Users can upload individual files or software packages, which FOSSology can unpack and scan using selected agents.Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
Security operation
The REST examples use curl with certificate checks disabled, so secure TLS configuration is left to the deployment operator.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org
Self-hosting
The Docker deployment can run standalone or with an external PostgreSQL database; production use is advised with an external database because the standalone image lacks persistence.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Support model
Support is community-based through mailing lists, GitHub issues, FAQs, release notes and Slack.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
System requirements
The project README lists PHP 7.3 or newer, PostgreSQL and Apache HTTP Server 2.4 or newer as core requirements.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Plans and prices

FOSSology Free Open-source license compliance toolkit and system Read 30 Sep 2026 · fossology.org
FOSSology open-source software Free self-hosted deployment · no paid tiers published Read 15 Oct 2026 · fossology.org

Every FOSSology plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free open-source license-compliance toolkit
  • Scans uploaded files and software packages
  • Generates SPDX 2.0 exports
  • REST API supports CI/CD integration

Limits

  • Cannot identify libraries used to create a binary
  • Community support is voluntary

Who it suits

FOSSology suits companies, individuals, and groups working to improve open-source license compliance. It may also fit teams that need API-based scan triggering or reports in the listed formats.

FOSSology in depth

Read the full write-up

Overview

FOSSology is an open-source compliance toolkit for teams that need to examine software files and packages and turn scan results into reviewable records. Its strongest fit is an organization prepared to run and review its own scans; the main caveat is that it cannot identify the libraries used to build a binary.

Key features

FOSSology combines automated scanning with a review workflow, rather than treating a scan result as a finished compliance answer. Users upload files or packages, unpack packages, and choose agents to scan them. Nomos detects license indications from phrases, regular expressions, and heuristics; Monk compares file text with stored license texts or user-defined phrases. These complementary approaches give reviewers more than one route to surface license evidence, but the findings still feed a human review process.

The web interface supports review and management of license findings and texts, bulk recognition, aggregated file views, and reuse of reviews for files with matching hashes. That reuse can reduce repeated work when identical files recur, while bulk recognition helps with larger review queues.

Separate scans can find copyright statements and flag keyword-based results that may relate to export-control codes. Those results are candidates for review, not a determination that a code applies. FOSSology can produce SPDX 2.0 exports, Debian copyright files, hierarchical file lists with license identifiers, and Readme files containing identified license texts and copyright information.

For automation, the REST API supports CI/CD integration, package uploads, and scan triggering from other applications; the command line can retrieve SPDX files. Deployment is on-premise, with installation paths using Docker, Vagrant with VirtualBox, or source installation. The project licenses its source code under GPL-2.0 or LGPL-2.1. Community support is voluntary through a mailing list, with bug reports invited through GitHub issues.

Pricing

FOSSology: free. The free plan provides the open-source license-compliance toolkit and system, making it a fit for teams willing to deploy and operate the software themselves. Its stated deployment option is on-premise. No paid plan is part of this offering.

Platforms

FOSSology is associated with API, Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and self-hosted use. Its deployment options are on-premise, and installation is described through Docker, Vagrant with VirtualBox, or source installation.

Who it's for

FOSSology suits companies, individuals, and groups that want to improve open-source license compliance through a self-managed scanning and review workflow. It is particularly relevant where teams need scan results they can inspect, reports they can export, or API-based integration with CI/CD and other applications. It is not the right answer for identifying the component libraries inside binaries; that requires binary analysis tools.

Pros and cons

Pros

Review is built into the workflow: Review reuse for matching hashes, bulk recognition, and aggregated views help manage findings beyond the initial scan.

Useful reporting options: SPDX 2.0 exports, Debian copyright files, hierarchical license lists, and Readme output support different compliance handoffs.

Automation without a hosted service requirement: The REST API and command-line SPDX retrieval support integration while deployment remains on-premise.

Free and open source: The toolkit is offered at no cost, with source code licensed under GPL-2.0 or LGPL-2.1.

Cons

No binary component identification: Teams that need to know which libraries created a binary must add binary analysis tools.

Self-management is part of the proposition: On-premise deployment and installation through Docker, Vagrant, or source suit technical teams, but not buyers seeking a managed hosted service.

Support is voluntary: Community support through a mailing list and GitHub issue reporting may not suit teams that require a formal support commitment.

Some scan results need judgment: Keyword findings related to export-control codes are surfaced for review rather than confirmed as applicable codes.

Alternatives

Browse Open Source License Compliance Software for the broader category. Choose FOSSA if its free plan's 5-project and 10-contributing-developer caps fit your needs and you prefer its stated free trial and project-based limits. Choose SBOM Workbench if you want a free tool positioned around SBOM work for Linux, macOS, or Windows. ScanCode Toolkit is another free software code-scanning option. DejaCode is an alternative with a paid Team plan at $500 a month, billed annually, as well as a free plan and free trial. licscan offers a free, open-source standalone CLI priced at $0 per scan. OHRisk is a free open-source CLI under the MIT License. OSSKB is a free service described as best-effort, with transaction frequency potentially limited. REUSE Tool is free, needs no registration, and can be used offline.

Verdict

Choose FOSSology if you need a free, self-hosted system that combines license scanning, review, reporting, and API-based automation. Its key advantage is the connected workflow from uploaded package to reusable review and export; look elsewhere or add a binary analysis tool if component identification inside binaries is essential, or if you need formal support or managed hosting.

Verdict

FOSSology brings scanning, review, and reporting tools together for license-compliance work. Readers evaluating binaries should note that it does not identify the libraries used to create them.

Where Specifiction places it

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