chore: relicense from PolyForm Noncommercial to MIT#594
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This project is an independent Rust implementation, not a fork or code-port of GitNexus — GitNexus was used only as a behavioral reference oracle during development (the ref-gitnexus A/B parity harness). No GitNexus source code was copied or ported, so the PolyForm Noncommercial inheritance does not apply. - Replace LICENSE.md (PolyForm NC) with LICENSE (MIT), copyright E-NoR - Drop LICENSES/PolyForm-Noncommercial-1.0.0.txt; keep MPL-2.0.txt (tree-sitter-nim) - Cargo workspace license MIT OR Apache-2.0 -> MIT - Rewrite NOTICES.md primary-license section: MIT + GitNexus courtesy credit - README + 8 i18n READMEs: badge, "inspired by" framing, MIT license section - packaging (pypi/npm x2): "SEE LICENSE IN LICENSE.md" -> MIT - release.yml: bundle LICENSE (not LICENSE.md) - docs/vs-gitnexus.md: "derivative work" -> "independent reimplementation" - Reword all source/test/query comments that said "Ported from / Port of / Verbatim port of upstream gitnexus" to "behavior cross-checked against GitNexus (independent implementation)" — aligns comment wording with the no-code-reuse fact so the MIT relicense is internally consistent
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What
Relicenses the project from PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 to MIT.
Why this is legally sound
The previous PolyForm-NC license was inherited on the premise that this repo
was a derivative work of GitNexus.
That premise is incorrect:
chore: init workspace and gnx-core crate—a from-scratch Rust workspace, not GitNexus's git tree.
oracle (the
ref-gitnexusA/B parity harness underscripts/parity/).Parser logic, algorithms, and queries are independent Rust implementations
cross-checked against GitNexus output — not translations of its source.
PolyForm-NC's copyleft only propagates to derivative works. An independent
reimplementation that reuses no copyrighted expression (behavior/ideas are not
copyrightable — idea–expression dichotomy) is not bound by it.
Internal consistency fix (the load-bearing part)
Several comments previously said
Ported from / Port of / Verbatim port of upstream gitnexus. That wording contradicts the "no code reuse" fact and wouldbe the first thing cited in any license dispute. All such comments are reworded
to
behavior cross-checked against GitNexus (independent implementation), sothe source matches the relicense rationale.
ref-gitnexusparity-oraclecomments (the A/B harness) are left as-is — they describe behavioral comparison,
not code lineage.
Changes
LICENSE.md(PolyForm NC) →LICENSE(MIT, © E-NoR)LICENSES/PolyForm-Noncommercial-1.0.0.txt; keepMPL-2.0.txt(real obligation for vendored
tree-sitter-nim)license:MIT OR Apache-2.0→MITLICENSES/NOTICES.md: primary-license section rewritten to MIT + GitNexuscourtesy acknowledgment (no longer "derivative work / non-negotiable NC")
README.md+ 8 i18n READMEs: badge, "inspired by" framing, MIT sectionpackaging/{pypi,npm×2}:SEE LICENSE IN LICENSE.md→MITrelease.yml: bundleLICENSE(not the now-deletedLICENSE.md)docs/vs-gitnexus.md: "derivative work" → "independent reimplementation"Verification
cargo metadata→ all crates report"license": "MIT", manifest validdeny.tomlalready allowsMIT→cargo deny check licensesunaffectedpolyform/noncommercial/Ported from upstream/derivative work/LICENSE.mdreferencesAuthor note
The "no GitNexus source was copied" claim rests on the author's
representation. If any specific file is in fact a line-by-line translation of
GitNexus code, that file needs a clean-room rewrite rather than a comment
change — flag it before merge.