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I have written two Java desktop programs that I would like to license under GPLv3 and distribute as executable JARs on Gitlab. The programs use Maven for dependencies and pull in GPLv3 and LGPL libraries.

I have never licensed or distributed software and am worried about meeting the licensing requirements of the libraries. I have read many answers here and about the web but I'm afraid I still don't feel like I have a good handle on the complexity involved.

If my parent programs are licensed under GPLv3 and their source code available on Gitlab alongside the JARs, does that meet the requirements of the GPLv3/LGPL libraries I am using?

Thank you!

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If my parent programs are licensed under GPLv3 and their source code available on Gitlab alongside the JARs, does that meet the requirements of the GPLv3/LGPL libraries I am using?

If the GitLab repository is also the location where your users would go to download the binaries, then that is indeed enough to meet the GPL requirements.

If your users download from another location, you need to inform them about the GitLab repository.

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  • Thank you: I appreciate your help!
    – SprocketTheSpaceDuck
    Commented Jul 26, 2021 at 22:39
  • Hello again friends! I just thought of something and wanted to clarify. I plan on hosting a compiled binary of the project on my Gitlab along with the source for my app. Because of the way Maven works, the actual source for the libraries will not be on my Gitlab though: only references to the Maven packages. I will have links to the repos for all the libraries on my README and on the About page of the binary, though. Does this change the answer? Thank you!
    – SprocketTheSpaceDuck
    Commented Aug 9, 2021 at 14:24
  • @SprocketTheSpaceDuck, the source code of the dependencies you pull in though Maven needs to be available, but it does not have to be in the same repository. A reasonably competent developer has to be able to figure out where to get the source code of those dependencies though.
    – Bart van Ingen Schenau
    Commented Aug 9, 2021 at 14:53
  • Fantastic, thanks again!
    – SprocketTheSpaceDuck
    Commented Aug 9, 2021 at 16:45

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