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ClearlyDefined

Free#22 of 28 in Open Source License Compliance Software

ClearlyDefined: A focused open source service for curating component license metadata. Ranked #22 of 28 in Open Source License Compliance Software by our editors (6.9/10); pricing: Open source; best for curating component license metadata.

6.9/10Editor score

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At a glance

Editor score
6.9 / 10
Pricing
Open source
Best for
Curating component license metadata
Paid from
Free
Facts checked
20 Sep 2026

Where it wins
- File-level license and copyright curation
- REST APIs for querying component definitions
- Harvesting across major package providers and GitHub
Where it doesn't
- Primarily a metadata and curation service
- Does not provide obligation tracking
- Not a complete policy-enforcement workflow

Our verdict on ClearlyDefined

ClearlyDefined is an open source project managed by the Open Source Initiative for gathering, curating, and upstreaming licensing and related security data for free and open source projects. It suits users who need detailed component definitions, license expressions, copyright records, attribution data, release metadata, and project facets in a shared service. Definitions can be browsed on the web, queried through REST APIs, or handled through self-hosted deployments.

Its ecosystem coverage is a central strength. ClearlyDefined can harvest data from GitHub, Maven Central, npmjs, NuGet, PyPI, RubyGems, and CrateIO. The published capabilities also include recording revisions, project metadata, attribution parties, and unknown attribution counts. Users can queue harvests and submit or review corrections through GitHub workflows, giving the service a path for collaborative curation rather than limiting updates to a fixed catalog. The API makes the resulting definitions available for applications that need license and copyright metadata.

ClearlyDefined is best suited to projects that need file-level curation, declared-versus-discovered license expressions, attribution details, and reusable metadata access. Its focus is narrower than a complete license-compliance system: obligation tracking is not part of the listed category capabilities, and the product is described as a metadata and curation service rather than a policy-enforcement engine. Choose it for open source component data and community-oriented correction workflows; choose an alternative when the primary requirement is end-to-end compliance management or enforcement.

Your product? Our editors can test ClearlyDefined in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →

ClearlyDefined pricing

Plans Open sourceFree Free to use — no paid tier required for the core job.

See plans on clearlydefined.io

ClearlyDefined fact sheet

Free plan	Not verified
Paid from	Free
Policy enforcement	Not verified
Obligation tracking	No
Attribution reports	Not verified
SBOM import formats	Not verified
Deployment options	Both
Source scan methods	Multiple
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web
Support	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate)
Integrations	7 integrations: GitHub, Maven Central, npmjs, NuGet, PyPI, RubyGems … See all →
Pricing	Open source
Website	clearlydefined.io
Facts checked	20 Sep 2026

ClearlyDefined integrations

ClearlyDefined lists 7 integrations on its own site.

GitHub
Maven Central
npmjs
NuGet
PyPI
RubyGems
CrateIO

See all ClearlyDefined integrations →

Alternatives to ClearlyDefined

See all ClearlyDefined alternatives →

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Featured on iTechGuides

ClearlyDefined is listed in our Open Source License Compliance Software directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.

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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

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Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update