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CI Integration Guide

How to integrate lops into your CI/CD pipelines.

Exit Codes​

CodeMeaningWhen
0SuccessAll files compliant (check) or all fixed (fix)
1Non-compliantFiles found with missing/incorrect headers
2ErrorBad config, IO error, invalid license
3Partial failureSome files errored and some are non-compliant

GitHub Actions​

Basic Check​

name: License Headers
on: [pull_request]

jobs:
  license-check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install lops
        run: |
          curl -sSL https://github.com/licenseops/licenseops/releases/latest/download/licenser_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz | tar xz
          sudo mv lops /usr/local/bin/

      - name: Check license headers
        run: lops check

With Go Install​

- uses: actions/setup-go@v5
  with:
    go-version: '1.26'

- name: Install lops
  run: go install github.com/licenseops/licenseops/cmd/lops@latest

- name: Check license headers
  run: lops check

With Docker​

- name: Check license headers
  run: |
    docker run --rm \
      -v "${{ github.workspace }}":/src \
      -w /src \
      ghcr.io/licenseops/licenseops check

Auto-Fix on PR (Commit Changes)​

name: License Headers Fix
on: [pull_request]

permissions:
  contents: write

jobs:
  license-fix:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          ref: ${{ github.head_ref }}

      - name: Install lops
        run: |
          curl -sSL https://github.com/licenseops/licenseops/releases/latest/download/licenser_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz | tar xz
          sudo mv lops /usr/local/bin/

      - name: Fix license headers
        run: lops fix

      - name: Commit changes
        uses: stefanzweifel/git-auto-commit-action@v5
        with:
          commit_message: 'chore: fix license headers'

Combined with Other Checks​

name: CI
on: [pull_request]

jobs:
  checks:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
        with:
          go-version-file: go.mod

      - name: Install lops
        run: go install github.com/licenseops/licenseops/cmd/lops@latest

      - name: License headers
        run: lops check

      - name: Lint
        uses: golangci/golangci-lint-action@v6

      - name: Test
        run: go test ./... -race

GitLab CI​

license-check:
  image: golang:1.26-alpine
  stage: lint
  script:
    - go install github.com/licenseops/licenseops/cmd/lops@latest
    - lops check
  rules:
    - if: $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_ID

Pre-commit​

Setup​

Add to .pre-commit-config.yaml:

repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/licenseops/licenseops
    rev: v0.1.0
    hooks:
      - id: lops-check
        name: Check license headers
        entry: lops check
        language: golang
        additional_dependencies:
          ['github.com/licenseops/licenseops/cmd/lops@v0.1.0']
        always_run: true
        pass_filenames: false

Auto-fix Mode​

repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/licenseops/licenseops
    rev: v0.1.0
    hooks:
      - id: lops-fix
        name: Fix license headers
        entry: lops fix
        language: golang
        additional_dependencies:
          ['github.com/licenseops/licenseops/cmd/lops@v0.1.0']
        always_run: true
        pass_filenames: false

Makefile Integration​

Add these targets to your project's Makefile:

.PHONY: license-check license-fix

license-check: ## Check license headers
	lops check

license-fix: ## Fix license headers
	lops fix

Then use in CI:

- name: License check
  run: make license-check

Docker Usage​

Check a Local Project​

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/src -w /src ghcr.io/licenseops/licenseops check

Fix a Local Project​

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/src -w /src ghcr.io/licenseops/licenseops fix

With Custom Config​

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/src -w /src ghcr.io/licenseops/licenseops check -c my-config.yaml

Override All Settings via Flags​

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/src -w /src ghcr.io/licenseops/licenseops check \
  -l "Apache-2.0" \
  -o "My Org" \
  -f spdx

Tips​

  • Fail fast: Put the license check early in your pipeline — it's fast and catches common issues.
  • Config in repo: Commit .licenseops.yaml so CI and local dev use the same settings.
  • Dry run first: Use lops fix --dry-run in CI to report what would change without modifying files.
  • Verbose in CI: Use -v to see every file in CI logs for debugging.

See Also​