On Fri, 2026-07-17 at 18:34 +0200, Mathieu Dubois-Briand via
lists.openembedded.org wrote:
> On Wed Jul 15, 2026 at 6:44 PM CEST, Joshua Watt via lists.openembedded.org
> wrote:
> > Reworks the way that the LICENSE variable is used so that it uses valid
> > SPDX License Expressions instead of the custom expressions that were
> > used previously (which are based on Python syntax). This includes
> > support for the SPDX "WITH" operator which allows a license exception to
> > be attached to a license identifier.
> >
> > The old licenses expressions are still allowed, and will still be
> > correctly parsed, however a warning will be issued that indicates the
> > new license string that should be used.
> >
> > Most layers should be able to use the newly-revised
> > scripts/contrib/convert-spdx-licenses.py script to do the majority of
> > the conversion work, although some manual work may still be required if
> > conditional or complex LICENSE expressions are encountered.
> >
> > SPDX License Expressions require that all licenses listed are either a
> > known identifier (e.g. "GPL-2.0-or-later") or start with the prefix
> > "LicenseRef-" which indicates a custom license. When converting from old
> > expressions to new one this will need to be followed (the suggested new
> > license in the warning and the conversion script will automatically add
> > this prefix for any unrecognized license identifiers). This will most
> > commonly be the case for NO_GENERIC_LICENSE files; for a good example of
> > what needs to be done here see the changes to the linux-firmware recipe.
> > When adding new LicenseRef- licenses to a recipe, the actual license
> > name should be prefixed with the name of the recipe (e.g.
> > "LicenseRef-myrecipe-mylicense") to prevent conflicts when merging
> > multiple license documents together (e.g. in an image).
> >
> > SPDX also introduces the "WITH" operator to add an exception to a
> > license instead of using a bespoke identifier to combine the two, as was
> > done with the legacy license expressions. Because of this, the logic for
> > dealing with the INCOMPATIBLE_LICENSE family of variables has changed
> > slightly. The main difference is that INCOMPATIBLE_LICENSE will now
> > match the LHS of a "WITH" expression (where as previously this was
> > "ignored" since it was a bespoke license ID). In order to allow a
> > license that would normally be rejected, but can be allowed with an
> > exception, specifically allowed exceptions can be added to the
> > INCOMPATIBLE_LICENSE_EXCEPTIONS variable (keep in mind, EXCEPTIONS here
> > means "exceptions to INCOMPATIBLE_LICENSES", not specifically SPDX
> > License Exceptions). If an SPDX exception is present here, any license
> > that has that exception will be allowed, even if it would normally match
> > INCOMPATIBLE_LICENSE. For example, to disallow all GPLv3 except for
> > those with the GCC exception, use:
> >
> > INCOMPATIBLE_LICENSE = "GPL-3.0* LGPL-3.0*"
> > INCOMPATIBLE_LICENSE_EXCEPTIONS = "GCC-exception-3.1" # This new line
> > is required
> >
> >
> > Additionally, "PD" ("Public Domain") is not allowed as a generic license
> > identifier. Aside from "PD" not being a valid SPDX License Identifier,
> > most "Public Domain" licenses do have some sort of text associated with
> > them (see the HPND family of SPDX Licenses, or use the (SPDX License
> > Match Website)[1] ). In addition, the meaning of "Public Domain" can vary
> > by jurisdiction, so the actual text with a LicenseRef- or a SPDX License
> > Identifier needs to be used instead.
> >
> > Finally, "CLOSED" is also no longer allowed as a license expression
> > (since it is not a valid SPDX License Identifier). Instead use a
> > LicenseRef- to point to a file that contains the actual license text
> > (usually something like "Copyright <name>, all rights reserved")
> >
> > [1]: https://tools.spdx.org/app/check_license/
> >
> > V2: Fix errors found while testing
> >
> > Joshua Watt (25):
> > scripts/pull-spdx-licenses.py: Add exceptions
> > Add SPDX License Exceptions
> > Add SPDX license library
> > Parse LICENSE as SPDX Expression
> > linux-firmware: Convert to SPDX license strings
> > meta-selftest: Add NO_GENERIC_LICENSE
> > convert-spdx-licenses: Convert to valid SPDX expressions
> > gcc-common.inc: Remove LICENSE
> > gcc: Update license
> > xz: Replace deprecated SPDX identifier
> > autoconf-archive: Replace deprecated SPDX identifier
> > gnu-config: Replace deprecated SPDX identifier
> > libglvnd: Replace deprecated SPDX identifier
> > flac: Replace deprecated SPDX identifier
> > libgit2: Replace deprecated SPDX identifier
> > Fix up licenses
> > lib: oe: license: Rework package licenses matching
> > classes/go-mod-update-modules: Switch to SPDX license
> > license: Remove tidy_licenses()
> > meta-selftest: Change license on test recipes
> > Convert licenses to SPDX expressions
> > meta-selftest: libxpm: Fix license
> > lib: oe: sbom30: Handle None in Relationship
> > oeqa: selftest: bbtest: Fix license exception
> > scripts/contrib: Add reuse-get-license.py
> >
>
> Hi Joshua,
>
> Thanks for the v2. It looks like now we have
> layerappend.LayerAppendTests.test_layer_appends failing:
>
> 2026-07-17 13:41:58,606 - oe-selftest - INFO -
> layerappend.LayerAppendTests.test_layer_appends (subunit.RemotedTestCase)
> 2026-07-17 13:41:58,613 - oe-selftest - INFO - ... FAIL
> ...
> ERROR: layerappendtest-1.0-r0 do_package_qa: Error executing a python
> function in exec_func_python() autogenerated:
I have a patch in master-next for this issue which I'll send out.
Cheers,
Richard
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#241283):
https://lists.openembedded.org/g/openembedded-core/message/241283
Mute This Topic: https://lists.openembedded.org/mt/120285146/21656
Group Owner: [email protected]
Unsubscribe: https://lists.openembedded.org/g/openembedded-core/unsub
[[email protected]]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
