Add license section to README #17
Conversation
Added license information and usage notes to README. Signed-off-by: James Ross <james@flyingrobots.dev>
Summary by CodeRabbit
✏️ Tip: You can customize this high-level summary in your review settings. WalkthroughREADME.md receives a new License section appended after the Phase list, incorporating copyright attribution, dual-license declarations (Apache 2.0 and MIND-UCAL), and clarifying usage terms for theory, papers, and derivative works. Changes
Estimated code review effort🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~3 minutes Poem
Pre-merge checks and finishing touches✅ Passed checks (3 passed)
✨ Finishing touches🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)
Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out. Comment |
![coderabbitai[bot]](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/347564?s=60&v=4){kind=small}
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Actionable comments posted: 1
Fix all issues with AI Agents 🤖
In @README.md:
- Around line 66-70: The README's License section has a broken link and
ambiguous/unsafe licensing references; change the link text `[Apache
License](./LICENSE.md)` to `[Apache License](./LICENSE)`, verify that the
`https://github.com/universalcharter/mind-ucal` URL for "MIND-UCAL" is publicly
accessible (or remove the reference until it is), replace the vague dual-license
phrasing `Version 2.0 OR [MIND-UCAL]` with an explicit statement of when each
license applies (or remove dual-license wording until legal text is provided),
rewrite or remove the sentence `MIND-UCAL applies only to derivative ethical
commitments, not technical use` to be legally precise or omit it, and make the
callout formatting consistent by replacing the plain `NOTE:` line with the
markdown callout `> [!NOTE]`.
📜 Review details
Configuration used: Organization UI
Review profile: ASSERTIVE
Plan: Pro
📒 Files selected for processing (1)
README.md
🧰 Additional context used
📓 Path-based instructions (1)
{README*,**/*API*,**/*.md}
📄 CodeRabbit inference engine (AGENTS.md)
Update READMEs, API documentation, and internal documentation to reflect new code changes
Files:
README.md
| ## License | ||
|
|
||
| Continuum © 2026 by James Ross is a software project referenced by the papers, which is not part of this repository. This separate codebase is licensed under the [Apache License](./LICENSE.md), Version 2.0 OR [MIND-UCAL](https://github.com/universalcharter/mind-ucal). | ||
|
|
||
| NOTE: In short: you may freely use the theory, papers, and documentation without adopting MIND-UCAL; MIND-UCAL applies only to derivative ethical commitments, not technical use. |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
🧩 Analysis chain
🏁 Script executed:
# First, check the actual README.md content at lines 66-70
head -n 70 README.md | tail -n 10Repository: flyingrobots/continuum
Length of output: 787
🏁 Script executed:
# Check if LICENSE.md exists in repo root
ls -la LICENSE.md 2>/dev/null && echo "LICENSE.md exists" || echo "LICENSE.md NOT found"Repository: flyingrobots/continuum
Length of output: 86
🏁 Script executed:
# Check for "James Ross" in the repository
rg "James Ross" --type md --type txtRepository: flyingrobots/continuum
Length of output: 5290
🏁 Script executed:
# Check for markdown callout syntax in README.md to verify consistency claim
rg "\> \[!" README.md -A 1Repository: flyingrobots/continuum
Length of output: 138
🏁 Script executed:
# Check git log for contributor information
git log --oneline --all | head -20Repository: flyingrobots/continuum
Length of output: 1191
🏁 Script executed:
# List all files in repo root to see what's there
git ls-files | head -30Repository: flyingrobots/continuum
Length of output: 828
🏁 Script executed:
# Check for markdown callout syntax - let me search for [!NOTE] without escaping
rg "\[!NOTE\]" README.mdRepository: flyingrobots/continuum
Length of output: 75
🏁 Script executed:
# Check the actual LICENSE file (not .md) in repo root
cat LICENSERepository: flyingrobots/continuum
Length of output: 10267
🏁 Script executed:
# Check for any mention of MIND-UCAL in the repo
rg "MIND-UCAL" --type mdRepository: flyingrobots/continuum
Length of output: 532
🏁 Script executed:
# Check full README.md to see all formatting patterns used
cat -n README.md | head -80Repository: flyingrobots/continuum
Length of output: 5127
🌐 Web query:
MIND-UCAL ethical computing license universal charter
💡 Result:
I searched but could not find any authoritative document or project named "MIND-UCAL ethical computing license universal charter." The closest matches were a university MIND lab page (unrelated) and resources on ethical/“Hippocratic” software licenses. Please confirm whether you mean a specific URL, a different spelling (e.g., MIND‑UCal, MIND UCAL), or provide a link — I can re-search or summarize the charter/license if you share it. Sources found during the search: MIND lab (University of Cincinnati). [1] Ethical licensing (Hippocratic License overview). [2]
Sources:
[1] MIND laboratory — University of Cincinnati. (eecs.ceas.uc.edu)
[2] Advancing Ethical Licensing — Hippocratic License 3.0 (Corporate Accountability Lab). (corpaccountabilitylab.org)
Citations:
- 1: https://eecs.ceas.uc.edu/MIND?utm_source=openai
- 2: https://corpaccountabilitylab.org/calblog/2021/10/21/advancing-ethical-licensing-and-the-launch-of-hippocratic-license-30?utm_source=openai
Broken documentation link and unverified external license create deployment hazards.
This license section contains multiple critical defects:
-
Broken reference to LICENSE.md—critical. The link points to
./LICENSE.md, but the actual file is namedLICENSE(no.mdextension). Users clicking the link hit a 404. Fix: Change[Apache License](./LICENSE.md)to[Apache License](./LICENSE). -
MIND-UCAL cannot be verified. No public record exists for this license project. The GitHub URL
https://github.com/universalcharter/mind-ucalhas not been validated as accessible or stable. Linking to a non-existent external license in a dual-license statement is a serious liability. Before merge, verify this URL is live and the project is maintained. If it's still in development or private, do not reference it until it's publicly available and stable. -
Dual-license phrasing is ambiguous. "Version 2.0 OR [MIND-UCAL]" provides no guidance on which license applies to which use case or how users choose between them. Under what conditions does Apache 2.0 apply versus MIND-UCAL? This must be explicit.
-
Line 70 vague legal language. "MIND-UCAL applies only to derivative ethical commitments, not technical use" is meaningless. Define "derivative ethical commitments," or strike this claim. Also, a derivative work of code is inherently technical use—this phrasing contradicts open-source licensing intent.
-
Markdown inconsistency. The file uses
> [!NOTE]callout syntax (lines 6, 20, 50), but line 70 uses plainNOTE:. Use consistent styling: replace with> [!NOTE].
Do not merge until:
- LICENSE.md link corrected to LICENSE
- MIND-UCAL URL verified as publicly accessible and stable
- Dual-license scope explicitly clarified for users
- Markdown callout formatting made consistent
🤖 Prompt for AI Agents
In @README.md around lines 66-70, The README's License section has a broken link
and ambiguous/unsafe licensing references; change the link text `[Apache
License](./LICENSE.md)` to `[Apache License](./LICENSE)`, verify that the
`https://github.com/universalcharter/mind-ucal` URL for "MIND-UCAL" is publicly
accessible (or remove the reference until it is), replace the vague dual-license
phrasing `Version 2.0 OR [MIND-UCAL]` with an explicit statement of when each
license applies (or remove dual-license wording until legal text is provided),
rewrite or remove the sentence `MIND-UCAL applies only to derivative ethical
commitments, not technical use` to be legally precise or omit it, and make the
callout formatting consistent by replacing the plain `NOTE:` line with the
markdown callout `> [!NOTE]`.
Added license information and usage notes to README.