Add License info to Repository meta data

gistfile1.txt

The symfony project is currently exploring ways to ensure that code contributors are aware that any pull request they send implies that their code is contributed under the MIT license. We are currently not yet convinced that we need a full blown CLA, especially since we are concerned about adding needless hurdles for contributions that git just so nicely reduced. Likely other projects have similar concerns.

So the idea is the following:
- In a git repository the admin can configure the location of the license file (either inside the repo or in theory also out side of the repo)
- In order to make life easier for users, github could provide template files so that they can easily add them to their repository
- Using those template files also makes it possible for github to determine the name of the license (aka when symfony uses the github MIT license template, then guthub can easily determine automatically that symfony uses the MIT license)
- The license information then becomes searchable.
- Maybe users can even set in their profile if they want to be warned if they are forking a project with a license they do not like (like AGPL can be tricky but some people overlook to check the license when they find some tasty code)
- Now repo owners can check that before any user is allowed to send a pull request back, they need to acknowledge that any contribution is made under the given license. The user only needs to acknowledge once (but would be asked again if the license file changes)

The last item is obviously what would solve our dilemma. But I think the other points in themselves would also be great additions to github.

Nice. Where do we vote?

Unfortunately you can't, since "feature requests" on github support are always private. But fear not, I also created a ticket to make it possible to have public feature request threads :)

+1