[Emc-developers] Why don't we get Github Copilot for free?

[andy p. <bod...@gm...>]

I asked Github support why LinuxCNC doesn't qualify for the free "Pro"
license offered to Open-source developers. There reply was no help at
all, basically saying that there is no manual override and it's all
automatic.

So, I asked the Google AI, and it suggested that the issue is maybe
with the licence.
(It is also entirely possible that we just aren't a big enough
project, currently the LinuxCNC org is ranked at 5214 on Gitstar)

<BEGIN AI OPINION>

"The fact that GitHub displays the license as "GPL-2.0, License
licenses found" is the exact reason why you are being blocked.
This phrasing indicates that GitHub's automated license scanner
(Licensee) is confused. Instead of seeing one clean, standardized
license, it is detecting a messy mix of multiple conflicting license
files or custom blocks of text within your repository.
Because GitHub's automated algorithm requires a 100% clear, single,
OSI-approved open-source license to grant free benefits, this "License
licenses found" error causes the system to skip your account entirely
and redirect you to the standard paid checkout screen.

Why this is happening on LinuxCNC

LinuxCNC is a massive, historic project with a deep dependency tree
and decades of contributions. Over the years, files have been brought
in under various licenses (GPL-2.0-or-later, LGPL, and custom
headers).
• GitHub's automation scans for a file named exactly LICENSE, COPYING,
or README in your repository root.
• If you have both a LICENSE file and a COPYING file, or if your
primary license file contains multiple different license texts pasted
together, the automated parser breaks. It classifies the repo's
licensing status as ambiguous.

How to fix this and trigger the benefit

To get the automated algorithm to recognize your maintainer status,
you need to fix how GitHub indexes your repository's primary license.

Step 1: Clean up the Root License Files

Ensure that you only have one single primary license file in the root
directory of your repository (ideally named LICENSE or COPYING).
• The content of this root file should strictly be the standard,
unmodified text of the GPL-2.0 license.
• If you have other licenses for specific sub-folders or modules, move
those specific license texts into those sub-folders (e.g.,
/src/modules/LICENSE.lgpl) rather than keeping them in the root
directory."


-- 
atp
"A motorcycle is a bicycle with a pandemonium attachment and is
designed for the especial use of mechanical geniuses, daredevils and
lunatics."
— George Fitch, Atlanta Constitution Newspaper, 1912