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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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6 changes: 6 additions & 0 deletions source/specifications/core-metadata.rst
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Expand Up @@ -473,6 +473,9 @@ 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 **distribution** file
containing the metadata, not the project itself or other distribution files.

Examples::

License-Expression: MIT
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -923,6 +926,9 @@ Example::
History
=======

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

- August 2024: Core metadata 2.4 was approved through :pep:`639`.

- Added the ``License-Expression`` field.
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