WTFPL

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Permissive free software license

title: "WTFPL" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["free-and-open-source-software-licenses", "free-content-licenses", "permissive-software-licenses", "public-copyright-licenses"] description: "Permissive free software license" topic_path: "general/free-and-open-source-software-licenses" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTFPL" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Permissive free software license ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox software license"]

FieldValue
nameDo What the Fuck You Want To Public License
image[[File:WTFPL logo.svg
captionThe WTFPL logo
authorBanlu Kemiyatorn, Sam Hocevar
version2
copyrightSam Hocevar
date2004
<!--Debian approved
GPL compatibleYes
copyleftNo
linkingYes
website
FSF approvedYes
::

| name = Do What the Fuck You Want To Public License | image = [[File:WTFPL logo.svg|140px]] | caption = The WTFPL logo | author = Banlu Kemiyatorn, Sam Hocevar | version = 2 | copyright = Sam Hocevar | date = 2004 | OSI approved = No | GPL compatible = Yes | copyleft = No | linking = Yes | website = | FSF approved = Yes

The WTFPL is a permissive free software license. As a public domain like license, the WTFPL is essentially the same as dedication to the public domain. It allows redistribution and modification of the work under any terms. The name is an abbreviation of Do What The Fuck You Want To Public License.

The first version of the WTFPL, released in March 2000, was written by Banlu Kemiyatorn for his own software project. Sam Hocevar, Debian's former project leader, wrote version 2.

Characteristics

The WTFPL intends to be a permissive, public-domain-like license (not a copyleft

The WTFPL does not include a no-warranty disclaimer, unlike other permissive licenses, such as the MIT License. Though the WTFPL is untested in court, the official website offers a disclaimer to be used in software source code.

Terms

Version 2

The text of Version 2, the most current version of the license, written by Sam Hocevar:

::code[lang=text] DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, December 2004

Copyright (C) 2004 Sam Hocevar sam@hocevar.net

Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim or modified copies of this license document, and changing it is allowed as long as the name is changed.

       DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO PUBLIC LICENSE

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION

  1. You just DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO. ::

Version 1

::code[lang=text] do What The Fuck you want to Public License

Version 1.0, March 2000 Copyright (C) 2000 Banlu Kemiyatorn (]d). 136 Nives 7 Jangwattana 14 Laksi Bangkok Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.

Ok, the purpose of this license is simple and you just

DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO. ::

Reception

Usage

The WTFPL is not in wide use among open-source software projects; according to a 2016 review by Black Duck Software, the WTFPL was used by less than one percent of open-source projects. Examples include the OpenStreetMap Potlatch online editor, the video game Liero (version 1.36), yalu102 and MediaWiki extensions. More than 12,000 Wikimedia Commons files and more than 34,000 Projects on GitHub were published under the terms of the WTFPL.

Discussion

The license was confirmed as a GPL-compatible free software license by the Free Software Foundation, but its use is "not recommended". In 2009, the Open Source Initiative chose not to approve the license as an open-source license due to redundancy with the Fair License.{{cite web | url = http://www.opensource.org/minutes20090304 | title = OSI Board Meeting Minutes, Wednesday, March 4, 2009 | publisher = Open Source Initiative | date = 2009-03-04 | access-date = 2013-04-03 | quote = [...] the following licenses to be discussed and approved/disapproved by the Board. [...] WTFPL Submission: [...] Comments: It's no different from dedication to the public domain. Author has submitted license approval request -- author is free to make public domain dedication. Although he agrees with the recommendation, Mr. Michlmayr notes that public domain doesn't exist in Europe. Recommend: Reject. [...] Mr. Michlmayr did not agree with the reasons cited for possible rejection of the WFTPL license since public domain doesn't exist in Europe. [...] Mr. Michlmayr moved that we reject the WFTPL as redundant to the Fair License. | archive-date = 2016-03-16 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160316070255/https://opensource.org/minutes20090304 | url-status = dead

The WTFPL version 2 is an accepted Copyfree license. It is also accepted by Fedora as a free license and GPL-compatible.

Some software authors have said that the license is not very serious; forks have tried to address wording ambiguity and liability concerns. OSI founding president Eric S. Raymond interpreted the license as written satire against the restrictions of the GPL and other software licenses; WTFPL version 2 author Sam Hocevar later confirmed that the WTFPL is a parody of the GPL. Free-culture activist Nina Paley said she considered the WTFPL a free license for cultural works.

Google does not allow its employees to contribute to projects under public domain equivalent licenses like the WTFPL (including Unlicense and CC0), while allowing contributions to 0BSD licensed and US government PD projects.

References

References

  1. "Various Licenses and Comments about Them". Free Software Foundation.
  2. Sam Hocevar. (2012-12-26). "WTFPL version 2".
  3. Kreutzer, Till. "Validity of the Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication and its usability for bibliographic metadata from the perspective of German Copyright Law". Büro für informationsrechtliche Expertise.
  4. "The MIT License".
  5. Sam Hocevar. (2012-12-27). "Frequently Asked Questions". WTFPL – Do What the Fuck You Want to Public License.
  6. "Top Open Source Licenses". Black Duck Software.
  7. (December 2004). "LICENCE.txt". GitHub.
  8. (2013-09-03). "license.txt".
  9. (2017-02-02). "incomplete iOS 10.2 jailbreak for 64 bit devices by qwertyoruiopz and marcograssi".
  10. (2025). "Category:WTFPL". Wikimedia Commons.
  11. "Build software better, together".
  12. "Copyfree Licenses". The Copyfree Initiative.
  13. Callaway, Tom. (2016-05-17). "Licensing:Main".
  14. Suder, Kuba. (2011-01-15). "On Open Source licensing".
  15. theiostream. (2012-03-24). "Introducing WTFPL v3". [[tumblr]].
  16. Ben McGinnes. (2013-10-01). "Do What The Fuck You Want To But It's Not My Fault Public License v1 (WTFNMFPL-1.0)".
  17. Eric S. Raymond. (2010-05-19). "Software licenses as conversation". esr.iblio.org.
  18. Sam Hocevar. (2015-09-21). "Should I change the name of the WTFPL?".
  19. Nina Paley. (2011-06-24). "How To Free Your Work".
  20. "Open Source Patching".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

free-and-open-source-software-licensesfree-content-licensespermissive-software-licensespublic-copyright-licenses