Extract text from Software license files (LICENSE)
To convert LICENSE Licenses to another format, you need Various Applications or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Software License File" file type, you need software like Various Applications or a similar tool.
A .license file is an authorization document or data package used by software to verify purchases, unlock premium features, or establish usage rights. These files are used across wildly different ecosystems, from audio production software like PreSonus Studio One and 3D plugins like Video Copilot Element 3D, to enterprise print management systems like PaperCut MF.
The main disadvantage of the .license format is its extreme fragmentation. Because it is a generic extension, a .license file has no standardized internal structure. It might be a plain text document outlining open-source terms (like MIT or GNU licenses), an XML file containing machine-readable entitlements, a compressed ZIP archive, or a heavily AES-encrypted binary blob. If you do not know which application generated it, opening it natively is impossible. Furthermore, editing these files manually usually breaks their cryptographic signature, rendering them useless.
You typically need to convert or analyze a .license file to read its contents or extract its data. If the file contains plain text or XML, converting it to TXT or PDF makes it easy to archive, print, or share with your legal team. If it is a compressed archive, you must extract its internal files.
Convert.Guru analyzes your LICENSE file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted LIC, TXT, LICENCE, LSN, PDF, PAK, JPEG, G3D, JPG, ZIP, DUT, VERSION and ANON files.
If you want to convert LICENSE file to WA, NZ, TXT, RTF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, PAGES, TEX, LATEX, MD or MARKDOWN, you can use Various Applications or similar software from the "Software Authorization and Validation" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert PDF, DOC, ASC, TODO, NFO, MEMO, README, DOCX, JPG, TXT, NOTE or RTF files to LICENSE, try Various Applications or another comparable tool in the "Software Authorization and Validation" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our LICENSE converter.