Detect Repository Licenses Before Dependency Approval Or Open Source Due Diligence

---
name: "Detect repository licenses before dependency approval or open-source due diligence"
slug: "detect-repository-licenses-before-dependency-approval-or-open-source-due-diligence"
description: "Use Licensee when an agent needs to inspect a repository and determine what license text it actually matches before a dependency is approved or a codebase is redistributed. The skill is about evidence-backed license detection, not legal advice or broader compliance automation."
github_stars: 876
verification: "security_reviewed"
source: "https://github.com/licensee/licensee"
author: "licensee"
publisher_type: "Open Source Project"
category: "Security & Verification"
framework: "Multi-Framework"
tool_ecosystem:
  github_repo: "licensee/licensee"
  github_stars: 876
---

# Detect repository licenses before dependency approval or open-source due diligence

Use Licensee when an agent needs to inspect a repository and determine what license text it actually matches before a dependency is approved or a codebase is redistributed. The skill is about evidence-backed license detection, not legal advice or broader compliance automation.

## Prerequisites

Ruby and RubyGems, or Docker for containerized runs

## Installation

Basic usage or getting-started notes:
- ### Command line usage
- Licensee has an extensive command line interface. See [the command line documentation](command-line-usage.md) for more information.
- client using environment variables, for example:

- Source: https://github.com/licensee/licensee
- Extracted from upstream docs: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/licensee/licensee/HEAD/docs/usage.md

## Documentation

- https://licensee.github.io/licensee/

## Source

- [Agent Skill Exchange](https://agentskillexchange.com/skills/detect-repository-licenses-before-dependency-approval-or-open-source-due-diligence/)