MIT License for GitHub repository

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The MIT License is a permissive open-source license, widely used in software projects, including those on GitHub. It allows developers to freely use, modify, distribute, and sublicense the software, with minimal restrictions. It’s popular because it offers simplicity and flexibility.

Key Features of the MIT License:

1. Permission to Use: The license allows anyone to use the software for any purpose, including personal, commercial, and academic.
2. Modification and Distribution: Users can modify the software and distribute the modified versions.
3. Sublicensing: Developers can sublicense the software to others.
4. Limited Liability: The software is provided “as-is” without any warranties. The developers are not liable for any issues arising from using the software.
5. Preservation of License: The same license and conditions must apply whenever the software is redistributed.

Steps to Add the MIT License to Your GitHub Repository:

Create or Select a Repository:

Navigate to the repository you want to license on GitHub.

If you don’t have a repository yet, you can create one by clicking on the “New” button on your GitHub dashboard.

Add a License File:

Once inside your repository, click on the “Add file” dropdown and select “Create new file.”

Name the file LICENSE or LICENSE.txt.

Choose the MIT License Template:

GitHub provides an option to add a license template. Click on “Choose a license template” at the top right.

Select MIT License from the list of available options.

Customize (Optional):

The MIT license template contains placeholders for the author name and year. You can replace these with your name or organization and the current year.

Commit the License:

After filling out the details, click “Commit new file” to add the license to your repository.

Now, your repository will be licensed under the MIT License, and users who clone, fork, or contribute to your project will be aware of the licensing terms.

Full Text of the MIT License:

MIT License

Copyright (c) [YEAR] [COPYRIGHT HOLDER]

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

By using the MIT License, you give others freedom while keeping the liability minimal for yourself.