Notepad++ redistribution is governed by GNU General Public License version 3. That licence separates what a licensee does with copies it keeps from what it does when it conveys copies to others.[1] To “convey” means any propagation that enables other parties to make or receive copies. Mere interaction with a user over a network, with no copy transferred, is not conveying.[1] The Notepad++ source tree also contains libraries under other licences, which a redistributor has to honour as well. This page lists the conditions and the component licences found in the official repository. The overview is in Notepad++ licensing.
When obligations apply
| Activity | Conveying? | Obligations |
|---|---|---|
| Installing on the organization’s own computers, any number | No | None |
| Modifying and using the modified build internally | No | None |
| Contractors running it exclusively on the organization’s behalf | No, if on the licensee’s terms under section 2 | Contractors must not copy outside the relationship |
| Giving copies to off-site contractors, customers or partners | Yes | Sections 4 to 6 |
| Pre-installing on devices or images supplied to third parties | Yes | Sections 4 to 6 |
| Publishing a fork or modified build | Yes | Sections 4 to 6, plus section 5 marking; trademark position |
Section 2 permits making, running and propagating covered works that are not conveyed “without conditions”.[1] Works may also be conveyed to others solely so that they make modifications for the licensee or run facilities for it. Those parties must act exclusively on the licensee’s behalf, under its direction and control, and on terms that prohibit copies outside the relationship.[1] The FSF treats copies within one organization as not being distribution, but says that providing copies to contractors for off-site use is distribution.[2] Catalog proof: Internal copies and deployment are not conveying and carry no conditions; Modified versions may be used internally without release.
Conveying unmodified copies
Section 4 allows verbatim copies of the source to be conveyed in any medium under four conditions. Each copy must carry an appropriate copyright notice. All notices stating that the licence applies must be kept intact, and so must the notices of the absence of warranty. Every recipient must be given a copy of the licence.[1] Notepad++ ships its licence as license.txt in the program directory, as the portable upgrade instructions show.[17] Keeping that file with every copy meets the licence-copy condition for unmodified packages. Catalog proof: Verbatim redistribution must keep notices and include the licence.
Section 6 governs object code, which covers the installer, the portable packages and the MSI. Object code may be conveyed only if the machine-readable Corresponding Source is also conveyed by one of five methods.[1]
- Source on a durable physical medium accompanying a physical product (6(a)).
- A written offer, valid for at least three years and for as long as spare parts or support are offered, to provide the source (6(b)).
- Passing on a received written offer. This is allowed only occasionally and non-commercially (6(c)).
- Equivalent access to the source from the same place as the binaries, at no further charge (6(d)). The source may be on a different server if clear directions are kept next to the object code, and the conveyor remains obliged to keep it available.
- Peer-to-peer transmission, with the other peers told where the source is offered (6(e)).
The project’s own download page links the source code of each release next to the binaries.[3] A redistributor still has to make sure one of the section 6 methods is met for the copies it conveys.[1] Catalog proof: Binaries must be conveyed with Corresponding Source (GPL-3.0 section 6).
Modified versions and copyleft scope
Section 5 sets four conditions for conveying a work based on Notepad++.[1]
- It must carry prominent notices that it was modified, with a relevant date.
- It must carry notices that it is released under the GPL.
- It must be licensed, as a whole, under the GPL to anyone who comes into possession of a copy.
- Interactive interfaces must display Appropriate Legal Notices.
This is the copyleft scope. Code linked or compiled into the same program must be distributable under GPL-compatible terms.[1][2] Separate programs that are only shipped on the same medium form an “aggregate”, and the GPL does not extend to them.[1] The FSF says an aggregate may include nonfree or GPL-incompatible programs.[2] Catalog proof: Modified versions must be marked and licensed as a whole under the GPL; Shipping alongside independent programs does not extend the GPL to them.
Until 27 August 2020 the Notepad++ LICENSE added an interpretation of its own. It treated an application that integrates, includes or aggregates Notepad++ into a proprietary executable installer, such as those produced by InstallShield, as a derivative work. A commit that day titled “Remove notepad++ statement to prohibit rewrapping practice from License” deleted that paragraph.[16] Current releases therefore carry only the standard GPL aggregate rule.[1]
Fees, restrictions and termination
A redistributor may charge any price or no price for each copy, and may offer support or warranty protection for a fee.[1] The FSF confirms that selling copies is permitted.[2] A redistributor may not impose “a license fee, royalty, or other charge for exercise of rights granted under this License”, and may not add further restrictions. Each recipient receives its licence directly from the original licensors, and sublicensing is not allowed.[1] A bundler’s end-user licence agreement therefore cannot restrict copying or modifying the Notepad++ part of a bundle. Catalog proof: Fees for copies and support allowed; no royalty for licence rights; No further restrictions or sublicensing on redistribution.
Propagating or modifying Notepad++ outside the licence terminates the licensee’s rights automatically. Rights are reinstated provisionally once the violation stops. They become permanent if the copyright holder does not give notice within 60 days, or if the notice is the first from that holder and the violation is cured within 30 days.[1] Catalog proof: Automatic termination on violation, with reinstatement and 30-day cure.
Trademark and rebranded builds
A fork may use the code under the GPL, but not the Notepad++ name. The project has stated that ports and forks are welcome but “cannot be endorsed”, and it treats unauthorized use of the name as trademark infringement.[15] GPL section 7(e) allows licensors to decline rights under trademark law.[1] Catalog proof: Notepad++ name not licensed to forks and ports.
Bundled third-party components
The official repository contains the following components under their own licences.
| Component | Role | Licence (as stated in the repository) | Main redistribution condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scintilla, Lexilla | Editing component and lexers | Permissive notice (“License for Lexilla, Scintilla, and SciTE”) | Copyright and permission notice in all copies and supporting documentation[5] |
| Boost.Regex | Regular-expression search | Boost Software License 1.0[7] | Notices in all copies, except copies solely in machine-executable object code[8] |
| pugixml | XML parsing | MIT[9] | Copyright and permission notice in all copies or substantial portions |
| JSON for Modern C++ 3.12.0 | JSON parsing | MIT (SPDX header)[10] | As MIT |
| uchardet | Character-encoding detection (from Mozilla universalchardet) | MPL 1.1, or GPL 2.0 or later, or LGPL 2.1 or later[11] | Terms of the licence chosen |
| WinGUp (gup.exe) | Auto-updater and Plugins Admin download component | GNU LGPL version 3[12] | LGPL-3.0 conditions for the updater program |
The Scintilla and Lexilla notice grants permission to use, copy, modify and distribute “for any purpose and without fee”. The condition is that the copyright notice and the permission notice appear in all copies.[5] Its wording follows the Historical Permission Notice and Disclaimer template that SPDX lists as HPND. The Scintilla file carries no SPDX identifier, so that classification is an interpretation.[6] The OSI publishes both the MIT licence (SPDX identifier MIT) and the Boost Software License 1.0 in its licence list, and records approving the Boost licence on 9 January 2008.[13][14] The uchardet licence block lets a recipient use the files under any one of MPL 1.1, GPL 2.0 or LGPL 2.1, unless a distributor has deleted the alternatives.[11] The WinGUp licence incorporates GPL version 3 plus the LGPL’s additional permissions.[12] Catalog proof: Scintilla and Lexilla copyright and permission notice must appear in all copies; Boost.Regex under Boost Software License 1.0; pugixml and JSON for Modern C++ under the MIT licence; uchardet under MPL 1.1, GPL 2.0 or LGPL 2.1; WinGUp updater is an LGPL-3.0 component that can be omitted.
The component list above comes from the top-level and PowerEditor/src directories of the repository as retrieved. Smaller files, such as hashing routines under PowerEditor/src/MISC, were not reviewed one by one. A redistributor producing a full notice file should scan the source tree of the exact release it ships.
Compliance checklist for redistributors
- Keep
license.txtand all copyright notices with every copy.[1][17] - Choose and record a section 6 source method for each channel: download, device image or physical media.[1]
- For modified builds, add dated modification notices, license the whole program under the GPL and publish the changed source with the binaries.[1]
- Do not present a modified or repackaged build as official Notepad++.[15]
- Carry the component notices for Scintilla and Lexilla, pugixml, JSON for Modern C++ and uchardet. Carry the Boost notice in source distributions.[5][8][9][11]
Out of scope
- Plugins, which are covered in Notepad++ plugins and enterprise deployment.
- GPL version 2 obligations for releases before 7.9.3.
- Legal questions that the licence texts leave to courts, such as where exactly the line falls between one combined program and two separate ones.[2]