MIT in BSD wording. Use it in a closed product, and keep the copyright line, the conditions and the disclaimer with every copy you distribute.
On this page
What it does
BSD 2-Clause, also called the Simplified or FreeBSD license, is BSD 3-Clause without the non-endorsement clause. Two conditions remain. Keep the copyright notice, the list of conditions and the warranty disclaimer in source distributions. Reproduce them in the documentation or materials that ship with a binary. In practice it works like MIT with different wording. You will find it on FreeBSD userland code, on Ruby as the alternative arm of its license, and across many small Python and npm utilities.
Details
There is nothing to negotiate here, and that is the point. The license never reaches your own code, has no network trigger and no linking rules. What it does have is a notice that has to survive your build. The place teams lose it is the packaging step, where a bundler strips comments and the release pipeline never collects a licenses file. A buyer reading your attestation page is checking for exactly that list. A missing BSD notice looks the same to them as a missing GPL one.
Pros
- Easy to drop into a closed, paid product. Procurement has seen this family hundreds of times.
- No copyleft on your own files. You keep your source private.
Cons
- The notice duty is easy to miss in a desktop, mobile, or container build. A web page is not a substitute for notices inside the artifact.
- Buyers who want an express patent grant will ask you to prefer Apache-2.0 over a short MIT-style text.
What it allows and requires
Choose a category to see the full grant in one scannable list. Permissions show what the license allows, limits show what it withholds, and obligations show the conditions your release process must satisfy.
Permissions
Commercial use
You may ship the code inside a paid product. The license does not restrict commercial use.
Modify
You may change the code, including keeping those changes private, unless a later obligation says otherwise.
Distribute
You may give copies to others. Distribution is what usually turns notice and source duties into real work.
Sublicense
You may include the code under your own product terms, so long as you still meet this license's conditions.
Private use
Use inside your company, including internal forks, does not by itself trigger distribution duties.
Limits
Hold liable
The authors disclaim warranty. Recipients cannot hold them liable for damages arising from the software, except where law forbids that disclaimer.
Use trademark
The license is not a trademark license. Names, logos and product marks stay with their owners unless a separate grant says otherwise.
Patent grant
The text does not grant patents. If buyers want an express patent grant, Apache-2.0 is the usual alternative.
Obligations
Include copyright
Keep the copyright line with every copy or substantial portion you distribute.
Include license
Keep the license text with every copy or substantial portion you distribute. A web page is not a substitute for notices inside a shipped artifact.
Binary materials
BSD-2-Clause has the same source and binary notice pair as BSD-3-Clause, without a non-endorsement clause. Source keeps the list of conditions. Binaries keep that text in accompanying materials.
What BSD-2-Clause requires when you ship
When a copy that includes BSD-2-Clause code leaves your company, the grant is broad and the paperwork is easy to miss. Distribution here means an installer, a mobile binary, a container image, or an SDK another team embeds. Work this list against the artifact you actually hand over, not against a README. A hosted service that never gives out a copy still belongs on the record, but the notice duty does not fire until a copy exists.
You are meeting the terms for a hosted service once the component is recorded with its text. BSD-2-Clause has no network trigger and no endorsement clause to police.
You are meeting the terms for a shipped binary when the copyright line, the conditions and the disclaimer appear in the materials that go with it.
You are meeting the terms for redistributed source when the header stays in the files, including files you copied into your own repository by hand.
Your duties do not change when you modify the code, and your own changes may stay closed. There is no source offer, no reciprocal duty, and no third-clause name ban.
The duties named in BSD-2-Clause
The license text itself is short. These are the named conditions. They follow the code, including files you vendor into your own repository and transitive packages in the lockfile.
Include copyright
Keep the copyright line with every copy or substantial portion you distribute.
Include license
Keep the license text with every copy or substantial portion you distribute. A web page is not a substitute for notices inside a shipped artifact.
Binary materials
BSD-2-Clause has the same source and binary notice pair as BSD-3-Clause, without a non-endorsement clause. Source keeps the list of conditions. Binaries keep that text in accompanying materials.
Things to be aware of
- Recording it as BSD-3-Clause in an SBOM and then making an endorsement claim the third clause would forbid. Keep the two identifiers apart.
- Assuming a minified bundle carries the notice. Bundlers strip comments by default, so the notices have to be collected separately at build time.
- Shipping a mobile app with the notices only on your marketing site. App reviewers and buyers look for them inside the app itself.
What the BSD 2-Clause License does not do
Search results often flatten BSD 2-Clause License into a slogan. These are the usual misreads. BSD-2-Clause is a grant with conditions, not a permission to skip the paperwork below.
- BSD 2-Clause does not require you to publish your own source. Combining it with closed code is the point of the grant.
- It does not include BSD-3-Clause's non-endorsement clause. Using names to promote a product is not a condition of this text, though trademarks still sit outside it.
- It does not grant patents, and it does not drop the binary notice. Redistribution in binary form still has to reproduce the copyright, conditions, and disclaimer in accompanying materials.
How BSD-2-Clause differs from nearby licenses
These licenses are often confused with BSD-2-Clause, but their release duties differ. Each row summarizes what the license requires when you ship. Open the linked page for the full checklist.
- BSD-2-Clause
- MIT in BSD wording. Use it in a closed product, and keep the copyright line, the conditions and the disclaimer with every copy you distribute.
- BSD-3-Clause
- Permissive like MIT, with one extra rule: you may not use the authors' names to promote your product. Notices travel with source and binaries.
- ISC
- The default license of a large slice of npm. Short and permissive: it asks only that the copyright and permission notice stay in the copies.
Common questions about BSD 2-Clause License
Answers to common questions about what BSD 2-Clause License requires, when its duties apply, and what evidence belongs with a release.
What is the BSD 2-Clause License?
BSD 2-Clause, also called the Simplified or FreeBSD license, is BSD 3-Clause without the non-endorsement clause. Two conditions remain. Keep the copyright notice, the list of conditions and the warranty disclaimer in source distributions. Reproduce them in the documentation or materials that ship with a binary. In practice it works like MIT with different wording. You will find it on FreeBSD userland code, on Ruby as the alternative arm of its license, and across many small Python and npm utilities.
What does BSD-2-Clause require when you ship a product?
You are meeting the terms for a hosted service once the component is recorded with its text. BSD-2-Clause has no network trigger and no endorsement clause to police. You are meeting the terms for a shipped binary when the copyright line, the conditions and the disclaimer appear in the materials that go with it. You are meeting the terms for redistributed source when the header stays in the files, including files you copied into your own repository by hand. Your duties do not change when you modify the code, and your own changes may stay closed. There is no source offer, no reciprocal duty, and no third-clause name ban.
Does BSD-2-Clause require me to open my own source?
It does not grant patents, and it does not drop the binary notice. Redistribution in binary form still has to reproduce the copyright, conditions, and disclaimer in accompanying materials.
How do I attribute BSD-2-Clause in a product I ship?
Attribution for BSD-2-Clause means the copyright line and the license text travel with every copy a recipient actually gets. That can be an about screen, a licenses file inside the installer, or a notice in the container image. A public page helps a buyer audit the inventory. It does not replace notices inside the artifact. If you copied files into your own repository, the header on those files still has to stay.
Is a website notice enough for BSD-2-Clause?
No. BSD-2-Clause talks about copies. A public attestation page is the honest list for procurement. The condition is met when the notices sit in the material you hand over. Put them in the installer, the about screen, or a licenses file inside the binary, then keep the same texts on the page.
Do transitive BSD-2-Clause dependencies count?
Yes. The condition follows the code, not the package you chose by name. If the lockfile pulled in BSD-2-Clause transitively and you distribute that tree, those notices travel too. Listing only direct dependencies is how teams miss the duty.
How is BSD-2-Clause different from BSD 3-Clause License?
BSD-2-Clause asks this: MIT in BSD wording. Use it in a closed product, and keep the copyright line, the conditions and the disclaimer with every copy you distribute. BSD 3-Clause License asks this: Permissive like MIT, with one extra rule: you may not use the authors' names to promote your product. Notices travel with source and binaries. Open the BSD 3-Clause License page for what that license requires when you ship. Do not treat the SPDX ids as interchangeable because the short names look similar.
Where do I record BSD-2-Clause for a buyer?
BSD 2-Clause is a notice license in the catalog, so the component needs license text before it counts as live on your published page. SourceTrust usually fetches that text from the published artifact and fills it in when it matches the declared id. Anything else waits for you to accept it. From the published snapshot you can then generate the file a release actually needs, including an iOS Acknowledgements plist for an app bundle.
Where do I record BSD-2-Clause for a buyer?
BSD 2-Clause is a notice license in the catalog, so the component needs license text before it counts as live on your published page. SourceTrust usually fetches that text from the published artifact and fills it in when it matches the declared id.
Anything else waits for you to accept it. From the published snapshot you can then generate the file a release actually needs, including an iOS Acknowledgements plist for an app bundle.
Read /docs/mobile-app-licenses for the in-app screen.
See also
The hub is the pillar for this cluster. Sibling licenses are the other spokes. Product FAQ links explain how SourceTrust records the duty, not the license text itself.
Practical guidance for procurement review, not legal advice. Confirm high-stakes use with counsel.