Welcome to Apache Creadur

About Apache Creadur

This project started as just Rat, a release auditing tool good with licenses, coded in Java with plugins for Ant and Maven. After adding some new tricks, it became clear that creating one uber-tool in one language is less useful than collecting a suite:

• Apache Rat™ audits license headers — the boilerplate text needed in most source files. Coded in Java, it runs from the command line with plugins for Maven and Ant. Download the latest release or read the release notes.
• Apache Tentacles™ helps to audit in bulk components uploaded to a staging repository. Coded in Java, it runs from the command line.
• Apache Whisker™ assists assembled applications maintain correct legal documentation. Coded in Java, it runs from the command line or as a plugin for Maven.

Version history

• 2024-11 — The upcoming release of Apache Rat 0.17 will bring exciting new functionality - feel free to take a look and give feedback!
• 2024-01-28 — Apache Rat 0.16.1 released - (release notes)
• 2024-01-11 — Note: Apache Rat 0.16 introduced a new way to define custom licenses - please follow discussions at RAT-343 how to circumvent problems, as the PMC prepares a new 0.16.1-release.
• 2024-01-08 — Apache Rat 0.16 released - (release notes)
• 2022-10-20 — Apache Tentacles 0.1 released
• 2022-09-17 — Apache Rat 0.15 released - (release notes)
• 2022-05-28 — Apache Rat 0.14 released - (release notes)
• 2018-10-13 — Apache Rat 0.13 released (release notes)
• 2016-06-10 — Apache Rat 0.12 released (release notes)
• 2014-08-25 — Apache Rat 0.11 released (release notes)
• 2013-09-05 — Apache Rat 0.10 released (release notes)

News

• CommunityOverCode ‐ formerly known as ApacheCon‐ is held in various locations around the globe
• Summer 2013 — welcome to Manuel Suárez Sánchez, our 2013 Google Summer of Code student

Learn More About Licensing

Some recommended resources

• Open Source Licensing by Lawrence Rosen
• Software Freedom Law Center publications
• JOLTS. The Journal of Open Law, Technology & Society
• The International Free and Open Source Software Law Book

The Apache Creadur Project

Apache Creadur is a top level project of the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), a non-profit corporation dedicated to the creation of open source software and distributed to the public at no cost. Apache develops software with a collaborative, consensus based process based on self-organising community-focused projects.

What does Creadur mean?

The name Creadur comes from Welsh and means: living thing, creature or one who owes his fortune and living to another. This fits quite well as Creadur is there to help you and your project.

License

Apache (in general) and Creadur (in particular) licenses its software to the public under the open source Apache License, Version 2.0. Not every (third party) artifact included in an Apache distribution is covered by this license but policy allows only compatible licenses that are well reported. A system of contributor license agreements and software grants ties everything together from the legal perspective.

Start here to learn more about licensing, or browse Apache Legal Affairs.

Reports

Each ASF project reports regularly to the board, focusing on the health of the community. For Creadur, quarterly reports are due in February, May, August and November.

We maintain this page using the Gitpub infrastructure.
Some tools in the suite use sub-sites, generated using Maven, then checked in.