Basic options

Option lists are two-column lists of command-line options and descriptions, documenting a program’s options. For example:

-c, --copyright

Scan <input> for copyrights.

Sub-options:

  • --consolidate

-l, --license

Scan <input> for licenses.

Sub-options:

  • --license-references

  • --license-text

  • --license-text-diagnostics

  • --license-diagnostics

  • --license-url-template TEXT

  • --license-score INT

  • --license-clarity-score

  • --consolidate

  • --unknown-licenses

-p, --package

Scan <input> for packages.

Sub-options:

  • --consolidate

--system-package

Scan <input> for installed system package databases.

--package-in-compiled

Scan compiled executable binaries such as ELF, WinpE and Mach-O files, looking for structured package and dependency metadata. Note that looking for packages in binaries makes package scan slower. Currently supported compiled binaries: Go, Rust.

--package-only

Faster package scan, scanning <input> for system and application packages, only for package metadata. This option is skipping - license and copyright detection for package metadata - package assembly

-e, --email

Scan <input> for emails.

Sub-options:

  • --max-email INT

-u, --url

Scan <input> for urls.

Sub-options:

  • --max-url INT

-i, --info

Scan for and include information such as:

  • Size,

  • Type,

  • Date,

  • Programming language,

  • sha1 and md5 hashes,

  • binary/text/archive/media/source/script flags

  • Additional options through more CLI options

Sub-options:

  • --mark-source

Note

Unlike previous 2.x versions, -c, -l, and -p are not default. If any combination of these options are used, ScanCode performs only that specific task, and not the others. scancode -l scans only for licenses, and doesn’t scan for copyright/packages/general information/emails/urls. The only notable exception: a --package scan also has license information for package manifests and top-level packages, which are derived regardless of --license option being used.

Note

These options, i.e. -c, -l, -p, -e, -u, and -i can be used together. As in, instead of scancode -c -i -p, you can write scancode -cip and it will be the same.

--generated

Classify automatically generated code files with a flag.

--max-email INT

Report only up to INT emails found in a file. Use 0 for no limit.

Default: 50

Sub-option of: --email

--max-url INT

Report only up to INT urls found in a file. Use 0 for no limit.

Default: 50

Sub-option of: --url

--license-score INTEGER

Do not return license matches with scores lower than this score. A number between 0 and 100.

Default: 0 (i.e. we return all license matches by default).

Here, a bigger number means a better match, i.e. Setting a higher license score translates to a higher threshold (with equal or smaller number of matches).

Sub-option of: --license

--license-text

Include the matched text for the detected licenses in the output report.

Sub-option of: --license

Sub-options:

  • --license-text-diagnostics

--license-url-template TEXT

Set the template URL used for the license reference URLs.

In a template URL, curly braces ({}) are replaced by the license key.

Default: https://scancode-licensedb.aboutcode.org/{}

Sub-option of: --license

--license-text-diagnostics

In the matched license text, include diagnostic highlights surrounding with square brackets [] words that are not matched.

Sub-option of: --license and --license-text

--license-diagnostics

In license detections, include diagnostic details to figure out the license detection post processing steps applied.

Sub-option of: --license

--unknown-licenses

[EXPERIMENTAL] Detect unknown licenses.

Sub-option of: --license