---
id: pip-licenses-cli
version: "4.1.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# pip-licenses-cli — Dump the software license list of Python packages installed with pip.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 113.7K/mo

## What it is and what it does

pip-licenses-cli is a command-line utility that inspects your Python environment and generates a report of all installed packages and their associated software licenses. It was created as a maintained fork of the original pip-licenses project, providing a drop-in replacement for versions up to 5.0.0. The tool outputs license information in a formatted table, making it easy to audit your project's dependencies for compliance or documentation purposes.

The package depends on pip-licenses-lib for core license-detection logic, prettytable for formatted output, and tomli for configuration parsing on Python versions below 3.11. It is designed with minimal external dependencies and supports optional SPDX expression parsing when installed with the [spdx] extra. The tool is actively maintained and classified as production-stable.

Use it for:

- Generate a license report for all dependencies in a Python project for compliance documentation
- Audit installed packages to identify which ones use restrictive licenses before shipping code
- Create an automated license inventory as part of a CI/CD pipeline for dependency management
- Check license compatibility when adding new packages to an existing project

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

A command-line tool that scans installed Python packages and reports their software licenses in a formatted table.

Yes. This is a straightforward, actively maintained utility with low install friction, no known vulnerabilities, and a permissive MIT license. Install it if you need to audit or document the licenses of your Python dependencies—it solves a real compliance and documentation problem with minimal overhead.

## Install

pip install pip-licenses-cli
uv add pip-licenses-cli
poetry add pip-licenses-cli

## Installing pip-licenses-cli

Before you install: Low friction install with minimal dependencies. Actively maintained as of 2026-08-14 with recent releases. Designed to minimize external package dependencies.

License in practice: MIT license (permissive) means you can use, modify, and distribute this tool freely with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install pip-licenses-cli
pip-licenses

Requires Python 3.10 or later. For SPDX expression parsing, install with the [spdx] extra: pip install 'pip-licenses-cli[spdx]'.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the tool accurately reports all license types across the full range of PyPI packages
- Performance characteristics when scanning environments with hundreds or thousands of installed packages
- Compatibility with non-standard or custom license declarations beyond SPDX

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 113.7K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

check python package licenses, pip license audit, list installed package licenses, software license compliance tool, python dependency license report, pip-licenses alternative, license inventory cli, license-audit, compliance, dependency-management

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/pip-licenses-cli) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/pip-licenses-cli/)