Is GPL-2.0-only compatible with GPL-2.0-or-later?
It depends — here's on what:
Same GPL version family is fine; GPLv2-only vs GPLv3 is incompatible. See overrides.
Result license is the more restrictive of the inputs. You must satisfy every input license's notice and source-offer terms. Verify pairwise compatibility first.
Resulting work's license: GPL-2.0-only
General guidance, not legal advice.
Obligations when redistributing as open source
- GPL-2.0-only: retain the copyright notice and license text.
- GPL-2.0-only: state significant changes made to the code.
- GPL-2.0-only: provide complete corresponding source of the combined work.
- GPL-2.0-only: the combined distributed work must be licensed under GPL-2.0-only.
- GPL-2.0-or-later: retain the copyright notice and license text.
- GPL-2.0-or-later: state significant changes made to the code.
- GPL-2.0-or-later: provide complete corresponding source of the combined work.
Other distribution models
These licenses sit the same way against each other under every distribution model, but the model decides whether you can ship the result. Not possible under:
- Proprietary software you distribute as a binary — GPL-2.0-only requires the entire distributed work to be licensed GPL-2.0-only with complete corresponding source, so a proprietary binary is not possible. Distribute the whole work under GPL-2.0-only, or replace the GPL-2.0-only component. GPL-2.0-or-later requires the entire distributed work to be licensed GPL-2.0-or-later with complete corresponding source, so a proprietary binary is not possible. Distribute the whole work under GPL-2.0-or-later, or replace the GPL-2.0-or-later component.
Check this pair in the tool to switch models.