Named Exclusion License MCP

A local Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that drafts sober, source-available named-exclusion license text. It is designed for assistants to generate a reviewable draft without modifying files, applying terms to software, or taking any external action.

The included example is The Anyone But Sam Altman License, prompted by Maria's post and modeled on the cleaner structure of Maria's No Theo License.

What the tool does

named_exclusion_license_generate accepts named individuals, optional public aliases, document metadata, and an output format. It returns:

• complete draft text;

• a custom LicenseRef-* identifier;

• a SHA-256 digest of the exact UTF-8 draft;

• a suggested filename;

• explicit source-available/open-source status; and

• legal and scope warnings.

The tool is pure and stateless. Repeating the same call produces the same bytes and digest. A fresh call with different inputs is handled independently.

Related MCP server: mcp-license-header-guardian

What the tool does not do

It does not write a LICENSE file, change a repository, publish, contact anyone, research or enrich an identity, apply terms to software, revoke earlier grants, override statutory exceptions, or relicense third-party material.

Generating a draft is not legal adoption. A rights holder must separately decide whether to use it and should obtain qualified legal review before relying on it.

Status

A license that excludes a person does not meet criterion 5 of the Open Source Definition. Describe generated terms as source-available, not MIT, OSI-approved, SPDX-listed, or open source.

SPDX permits project-defined references such as LicenseRef-Anyone-But-Sam-Altman-1.0. Keep the complete custom text discoverable wherever that reference is used.

Enforceability, compatibility, package-registry acceptance, downstream compliance, and jurisdiction-specific effects remain unproven. The exclusion covers only the individuals named by the caller, not their employers, companies, affiliates, relatives, agents, or other people or organizations.

Requirements

• Node.js 20 or newer

• npm

Build and verify

npm ci
npm run verify

Verification covers TypeScript checks, deterministic generation, invalid-input handling, MCP tool metadata, structured output, repeat-call behavior, fresh-call behavior, and a compiled stdio process round trip.

Run over stdio

npm run build
node dist/index.js

Standard output is reserved for MCP JSON-RPC. Startup and failure logs go to standard error.

Configure a local MCP host

Build the repository, then point the host at the compiled entry point. For Codex configuration, use the host's normal MCP settings with an absolute path:

[mcp_servers.named_exclusion_license]
command = "node"
args = ["C:/path/to/named-exclusion-license-mcp/dist/index.js"]

This repository does not install or activate itself in any host.

Tool input

{
  "excluded_parties": [
    {
      "name": "Sam Altman",
      "aliases": []
    }
  ],
  "license_name": "The Anyone But Sam Altman License",
  "version": "1.0",
  "version_date": "August 2026",
  "copyright_year": "[year]",
  "copyright_holder": "[copyright holder]",
  "spdx_id": "LicenseRef-Anyone-But-Sam-Altman-1.0",
  "response_format": "markdown"
}

The exact resulting draft is stored at examples/ANYONE-BUT-SAM-ALTMAN-LICENSE.txt. Its SHA-256 digest is a12e3c603489dd1f8d93f0704d12b70e7508d98c7682022b2cb371b1c71b99dd. It is an example output; it is not applied to this tool or any other project.

Development

npm run check
npm test
npm run build
npm run test:stdio

The MCP server uses the current split v2 packages, @modelcontextprotocol/server and @modelcontextprotocol/client, and serves locally over stdio.

Repository code license

The MCP implementation is licensed under MIT. Generated named-exclusion drafts are separate documents chosen by the caller; the included Sam Altman draft is not the license of this repository.

See NOTICE.md for lineage, status, and non-affiliation details.