elastic/elasticsearch · error · IllegalStateException

Unknown license for license file: {}

Error message

Unknown license for license file: {}

What it means

Thrown by LicenseAnalyzer.licenseType(File) when no LicenseMatcher pattern in the hardcoded matchers array matches the given license file's content. The analyzer recognises a fixed set (Apache-2.0, BSD-2/3-Clause, CDDL-1.0/1.1, ICU, MIT, MIT-0, MPL-1.1/2.0, XZ, EPL-2.0, EDL-1.0, LGPL-2.1/3.0, GeoLite, GeoIp-Database-Service). Any dependency whose LICENSE file does not match one of these patterns is rejected so an untracked license cannot slip into the distribution.

Source

Thrown at build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/precommit/LicenseAnalyzer.java:155

            "GeoIp-Database-Service",
            false,
            false,
            Pattern.compile(
                ("By using the GeoIP Database Service, you agree to the Elastic GeoIP Database Service Agreement,\n"
                    + "available at www.elastic.co/elastic-geoip-database-service-terms.").replaceAll("\\s+", "\\\\s*"),
                Pattern.DOTALL
            )
        ) };

    public static LicenseInfo licenseType(File licenseFile) {
        for (LicenseMatcher matcher : matchers) {
            boolean matches = matcher.matches(licenseFile);
            if (matches) {
                return new LicenseInfo(matcher.identifier(), matcher.spdxLicense, matcher.sourceRedistributionRequired);
            }
        }

        throw new IllegalStateException("Unknown license for license file: " + licenseFile);
    }

    public record LicenseInfo(String identifier, boolean spdxLicense, boolean sourceRedistributionRequired) {}

    private record LicenseMatcher(String identifier, boolean spdxLicense, boolean sourceRedistributionRequired, Pattern pattern) {

        public boolean matches(File licenseFile) {
            try {
                String content = Files.readString(licenseFile.toPath()).replaceAll("\\*", " ");
                return pattern.matcher(content).find();
            } catch (IOException e) {
                throw new UncheckedIOException(e);
            }
        }
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to db6a809a66)

Solutions

1. Open the offending LICENSE file and compare its text against the closest matcher pattern in LicenseAnalyzer.
2. If the license is acceptable and missing, add a new LicenseMatcher entry with a regex that matches this file's boilerplate.
3. If the license is not acceptable for the distribution, remove the dependency.
4. Re-run dependencyLicenses to confirm the file now resolves.

Example fix

// before: new dep with ISC license -> IllegalStateException
// after: add a matcher
new LicenseMatcher("ISC", true, false,
    Pattern.compile("Permission to use, copy, modify, and.*ISC License.*", Pattern.DOTALL))

// Pre-check: try matching before throwing, and report which license file is unmatched
for (File lf : licenseFiles) {
    boolean matched = Arrays.stream(LicenseAnalyzer.matchers).anyMatch(m -> m.matches(lf));
    if (!matched) System.err.println("Unmatched LICENSE: " + lf);
}

try {
    LicenseAnalyzer.licenseType(licenseFile);
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
    // add a new LicenseMatcher regex or remove the dependency, then re-run dependencyLicenses
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: A dependency's LICENSE file whose text does not match any of the compiled regex patterns — either it is a genuinely new license, a dual-license variant the patterns miss, or a heavily reformatted boilerplate.

Common situations: Adding a new third-party dependency with an unusual license; a license file with reformatted boilerplate (line wrapping, case changes) that breaks the regex; a license not yet in the allowed set (e.g. ISC, Unlicense, BSL); a dependency whose LICENSE file is actually a NOTICE or a custom EULA.

Related errors

• Unsupported classpath element: {}
• Cannot read ${f} to check for duplicate license headers
• Cannot generate license header report for ${path}
• Error parsing xml report ${xmlReportFileAbsolutePath}
• Failed to patch archive

AI-assisted analysis of elastic/elasticsearch@db6a809a66 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/54e60cb9233a9540. Report an issue: GitHub.