LicenseHound

← All compatibility pages · Articles

Is BSD 2-Clause License compatible with GNU Affero GPL v3.0?

Yes — but the combined work must be released under the more restrictive license.

BSD 2-Clause License code can be combined with GNU Affero GPL v3.0 code without conflict. The combined work, when distributed, must be licensed under GNU Affero GPL v3.0. The original BSD 2-Clause License files keep their notice, but the project as a whole is governed by the stronger copyleft.

About these licenses

LicenseFamilyPatent grant
BSD 2-Clause License (BSD-2-Clause) permissive No (implicit at most)
GNU Affero GPL v3.0 (AGPL-3.0) network-copyleft Yes

BSD 2-Clause License: Two-clause BSD: very similar to MIT, no patent grant.

GNU Affero GPL v3.0: GPLv3 plus § 13: providing software over a network triggers the source-disclosure obligation.

What to do next

If you found this page because you're trying to figure out whether shipping a particular dependency is safe, the answer above is a starting point — not a substitute for reading the actual licenses or talking to a lawyer when stakes are high.

LicenseHound walks every transitive dependency in your repo, maps each to its SPDX license, and flags pairs like this one in PR comments. The CLI is free; the team dashboard is paid.

Notify me when v0.1 ships:

Related