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Clarify that the License-Expression field applies to the containing distribution file, not the project itself #1900

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Clarify that the License-Expression field applies to the containing distribution file, not the project itself #1900

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d22b3b9
Clarify that the ``License-Expression`` field applies to the containi…
brettcannon Aug 26, 2025
acdb79c
Try to clarify where `license-expression` applies
brettcannon Sep 10, 2025
f1f28ac
Merge branch 'main' into license-expression-distribution
brettcannon Oct 3, 2025
5a822ab
[pre-commit.ci] auto fixes from pre-commit.com hooks
pre-commit-ci[bot] Oct 3, 2025
465a5bf
Try to clarify what a "distribution archive" is
brettcannon Oct 7, 2025
85b31ff
Fix glossary link
brettcannon Oct 7, 2025
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9 changes: 9 additions & 0 deletions source/specifications/core-metadata.rst
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Expand Up @@ -483,6 +483,12 @@ Text string that is a valid SPDX
:term:`license expression <License Expression>`,
as specified in :doc:`/specifications/license-expression`.

Note that the expression in this field only applies to the
:term:`Distribution Archive` containing the metadata with this field (e.g.,
:term:`Source Distribution <Source Distribution (or "sdist")>` or :term:`Wheel`),
not the project overall or other files related to the project (including other
distribution archives).

Examples::

License-Expression: MIT
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -933,6 +939,9 @@ Example::
History
=======

- October 2025: Clarified that ``License-Expression`` applies to the containing
distribution file and not the project itself.

- August 2025: Clarified that ``Dynamic`` only affects how fields
must be treated when building a wheel from a sdist, not when modifying
a wheel.
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