Extract text from LICENSES files
To convert your LICENSES file to another format, you need Visual Studio or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Build Artifact" file type, you need software like Visual Studio or a similar tool.
The .LICENSES file is a binary resource generated by the Microsoft .NET License Compiler (lc.exe). These files are created during the build process of a .NET application when third-party licensed components (like those from Telerik or DevExpress) are detected in the project.
The primary frustration with .LICENSES files is their opacity. Because they contain serialized binary data rather than plain text, you cannot open them in a standard text editor like Notepad++ to verify which keys or components are included. This binary nature often leads to confusion when debugging "LC.exe exited with code -1" build errors or when trying to audit software compliance. They are strictly machine-readable and tied to the specific assembly versions they were compiled against.
To inspect or debug the contents, the best approach is to convert the binary stream into a readable format. Converting to Text (.TXT) or a Hex Dump allows developers to verify the header information and identifying strings of the licensed components. For documentation purposes, since these files are build artifacts, there is rarely a need to convert them to archival formats like PDF; instead, focus on locating the source LICX file, which is the editable text version you likely intended to modify.
Convert.Guru analyzes your LICENSES file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted CCH, LICX and SLF files.
If you want to convert LICENSES file to JS, TS, PY, JAVA, CPP, C, CS, PHP, RB, GO, RS or SWIFT, you can use Visual Studio or similar software from the "Compiled License Resource" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SH, PY, KT, PS1, SWIFT, LUA, PL, JAVA, SCALA, JS, VBS or TS files to LICENSES, try Visual Studio or another comparable tool in the "Compiled License Resource" 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 LICENSES converter.