IDK-WTF License

I Don't Know — With These Footnotes — Version 0.0.1, February 2026

SPDX: LicenseRef-IDK-WTF-0.0.1 Tracks Dependencies Includes IDK License Not Attorney-Reviewed
Download LICENSE-IDK-WTF

About This License

The IDK-WTF License ("With These Footnotes") extends the IDK License for projects that include third-party code (libraries, frameworks, vendored files, etc.).

Your Original Work

Covered by the IDK License — maximally permissive, public domain dedication + 15 fallback licenses + patent non-assertion. All to the extent the author legally can.

Third-Party Code

Keeps its own license. The IDK License does NOT apply to third-party code. Each dependency's license governs that dependency independently.

How It Works

The IDK-WTF License has seven parts:

  1. Part I: Incorporates the full IDK License (applies to your original work only)
  2. Part II: Scope limitation — defines "Original Work" vs "Third-Party Work"
  3. Part III: Dependency Schedule — a table listing every third-party component, its license, and its location
  4. Part IV: File naming convention for generated IDK-WTF files
  5. Part V: Reconciliation — how copyleft, attribution, and patent provisions interact
  6. Part VI: Supplemental severability
  7. Part VII: License to the document itself
Important: This license was drafted with AI assistance. It has not been reviewed by a licensed attorney. There is no warranty that it works as intended. This is not legal advice.

Quick Start

Option 1: Use the Scanning Agent

An AI agent prompt is included that can scan your project, identify all third-party dependencies and their licenses, populate the dependency schedule, rename the output file, and handle all the formatting — automatically.

  1. Download both license files to your project root: 
    curl -o LICENSE-IDK https://idklaw.net/license/0.0.1/LICENSE-IDK
curl -o LICENSE-IDK-WTF https://idklaw.net/license-wtf/0.0.1/LICENSE-IDK-WTF
  2. Give the scanning agent prompt to your AI coding assistant (Claude, Cursor, Copilot, etc.). Copy it below, paste it into your tool, and let it do the work.

The scanning agent generates a new IDK-WTF file from scratch. The update agent incrementally updates an existing one when dependencies change.

View full scanning agent prompt (590 lines)
View full update agent prompt (303 lines)

Option 2: Manual Setup

If you prefer to populate the dependency schedule by hand:

  1. Populate the Dependency Schedule in LICENSE-IDK-WTF (Part III) with your project's third-party components.
  2. Rename the file according to the naming convention in Part IV (e.g., IDK-WTF--Apache-2.0-OR-MIT+BSD-3-Clause.md).
  3. Add SPDX identifiers to your source files: 
    // SPDX-License-Identifier: LicenseRef-IDK-WTF-0.0.1
  4. Mention it in your README: 
    ## License
Original work in this project is released under the
[IDK License](https://idklaw.net/license/0.0.1), Version 0.0.1.
Third-party dependencies retain their own licenses — see
LICENSE-IDK-WTF for the full dependency schedule.

Full License Text

This is the complete text of the IDK-WTF License v0.0.1 template. The authoritative copy is the plain-text file.