diff mbox series

[v2] recipe-style-guide: Clarify when License-Update tag is needed

Message ID 20260607-license-update-v2-1-877d92a588e0@pbarker.dev
State New
Headers show
Series [v2] recipe-style-guide: Clarify when License-Update tag is needed | expand

Commit Message

Paul Barker June 7, 2026, 11:43 a.m. UTC
As discussed in a patch review call, we don't need License-Update tags
in commits where the upstream license has not changed, and we are
instead changing the LICENSE variable to fix incorrect data.

Signed-off-by: Paul Barker <paul@pbarker.dev>
---
Changes in v2:
- Link to an example commit as requested by Antonin.
---
 documentation/contributor-guide/recipe-style-guide.rst | 8 ++++++--
 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)


---
base-commit: d7376cca64a0784e59d4fd60b9baefb4da2ce289
change-id: 20260604-license-update-1ef504f8f2a5

Best regards,
--  
Paul Barker

Comments

Alexander Kanavin June 7, 2026, 11:59 a.m. UTC | #1
On Sun, 7 Jun 2026 at 13:44, Paul Barker via lists.yoctoproject.org
<paul=pbarker.dev@lists.yoctoproject.org> wrote:
>  When you change the :term:`LICENSE` or :term:`LIC_FILES_CHKSUM` in the recipe
> -you need to briefly explain the reason for the change via a ``License-Update:``
> -tag.  Often it's quite trivial, such as::
> +due to an upstream license change, you need to briefly explain the reason for
> +the change via a ``License-Update:`` tag. Often it's quite trivial, such as::

'due to an upstream license change' reads like upstream has actually
switched to an entirely different license. A better phrasing would be
'due to upstream making modifications to the license files'.

Alex
diff mbox series

Patch

diff --git a/documentation/contributor-guide/recipe-style-guide.rst b/documentation/contributor-guide/recipe-style-guide.rst
index 79bf7c79b67b..487b5e2404b2 100644
--- a/documentation/contributor-guide/recipe-style-guide.rst
+++ b/documentation/contributor-guide/recipe-style-guide.rst
@@ -268,14 +268,18 @@  License Updates
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 When you change the :term:`LICENSE` or :term:`LIC_FILES_CHKSUM` in the recipe
-you need to briefly explain the reason for the change via a ``License-Update:``
-tag.  Often it's quite trivial, such as::
+due to an upstream license change, you need to briefly explain the reason for
+the change via a ``License-Update:`` tag. Often it's quite trivial, such as::
 
     License-Update: copyright years refreshed
 
 Less often, the actual licensing terms themselves will have changed.  If so, do
 try to link to upstream making/justifying that decision.
 
+The ``License-Update:`` tag is not needed for commits which fix incorrect
+license data in our metadata (for an example see OE-Core commit
+:oecore_rev:`6c8b76d240d2457578a58787121bc5873d724ee2`).
+
 Tips and Guidelines for Writing Recipes
 ---------------------------------------