chore: resolve the conflicting license declarations (Apache-2.0 source / GPL-3.0 packages)

.augment-guidelines

@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ OpenConverter/
 
 ### File Headers
 
-All source files (doesn't inlcude FFmpeg code) should include Apache 2.0 license header:
+All source files should include the Apache 2.0 license header:
 ```cpp
 /*
  * Copyright 2025 Jack Lau
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ All source files (doesn't inlcude FFmpeg code) should include Apache 2.0 license
  */
 ```
 
-**Note**: `src/transcoder/` (use FFmpeg code) should include LGPL 2.1 license (check existing files for header format)
+**Note**: Using the FFmpeg API does not make a file a derivative work of FFmpeg, so no file needs an LGPL header — every file uses the Apache 2.0 header above. The *pre-built binaries* are distributed under GPL-3.0 (see [README.md](README.md)), because they link against a GPL-enabled FFmpeg build (libx264/libx265) and the LGPLv3 build of Qt.
 
 ### Qt-Specific Guidelines
 
@@ -683,7 +683,7 @@ All transcoders implement the same interface, allowing runtime switching.
 
 - Author: Jack Lau
 - Email: jacklau1222gm@gmail.com
-- License: Apache 2.0 (most files), LGPL 2.1 (transcoder directory)
+- License: Apache 2.0 (source code); pre-built binaries are distributed under GPL-3.0
 
 ---
 

.github/pre-commit/check_license_header.py

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+# Copyright 2026 Jack Lau
+# Email: jacklau1222gm@gmail.com
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+"""Fail when a source file is missing the project's Apache-2.0 license header.
+
+Used as a pre-commit hook (see .github/pre-commit/config.yaml). Only source
+files are checked; documentation and third-party files are out of scope.
+"""
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+# a file passes when the first lines contain both markers
+MARKERS = (
+    "Copyright 20",
+    "Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0",
+)
+HEAD_LINES = 25
+
+
+def has_header(path: Path) -> bool:
+    try:
+        lines = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="ignore").splitlines()
+    except OSError:
+        return False
+    head = "\n".join(lines[:HEAD_LINES])
+    return all(marker in head for marker in MARKERS)
+
+
+def main(argv):
+    missing = [f for f in argv if Path(f).is_file() and not has_header(Path(f))]
+    if missing:
+        print("Missing Apache-2.0 license header (see .augment-guidelines):")
+        for f in missing:
+            print(f"  {f}")
+        print("\nAdd the header documented in .augment-guidelines to each file above.")
+        return 1
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main(sys.argv[1:]))

.github/pre-commit/config.yaml

@@ -23,3 +23,10 @@ repos:
         - --ignore-words=.github/pre-commit/ignored-words.txt
         - --ignore-multiline-regex=codespell:off.*?(codespell:on|\Z)
       exclude: ^tools/(patcheck|clean-diff)$
+- repo: local
+  hooks:
+    - id: check-license-header
+      name: check Apache-2.0 license header
+      entry: python3 .github/pre-commit/check_license_header.py
+      language: system
+      files: \.(cpp|h|py|sh)$

.github/workflows/build.yaml

@@ -106,6 +106,11 @@ jobs:
         echo export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="~/.local/share/OpenConverter/Python.framework/lib:./lib" >> src/build/run.sh
         echo ./OpenConverter >> src/build/run.sh
         cp src/resources/requirements.txt src/build/requirements.txt
+        # License files: the source is Apache-2.0, the packages are GPL-3.0
+        # (see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md)
+        cp LICENSE THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md src/build/
+        rm -rf src/build/licenses
+        cp -r licenses src/build/licenses
         cp -r $BMF_ROOT_PATH src/build/
         (mkdir -p src/build/modules/weights &&
         cd src/build/modules/weights &&
@@ -219,6 +224,16 @@ jobs:
         # Copy icon file
         cp src/resources/openconverter-256.png ll-builder/template_app/icons/hicolor/256x256/apps/
 
+        # License files: the source is Apache-2.0, the packages are GPL-3.0
+        # (see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md). ll-builder copies template_app/* into
+        # ${PREFIX}/share, so this ends up in share/licenses/.
+        mkdir -p ll-builder/template_app/licenses
+        cp LICENSE THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md licenses/GPL-3.0.txt ll-builder/template_app/licenses/
+
+        # Drop the copy that arrived with the binary artifact so the layer does
+        # not carry a second set under ${PREFIX}/bin
+        rm -rf ll-builder/binary/LICENSE ll-builder/binary/THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md ll-builder/binary/licenses
+
     - name: Build Linglong package
       run: |
         cd ll-builder
@@ -471,6 +486,11 @@ jobs:
             }
           }
 
+          # 7) Bundle license files: the source code is Apache-2.0, the packages
+          #    are distributed as a whole under GPL-3.0 (see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md)
+          Copy-Item -Path "LICENSE", "THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md" -Destination "OpenConverter_win64"
+          Copy-Item -Path "licenses" -Destination "OpenConverter_win64" -Recurse
+
       # Upload the build artifacts (upload-artifact will automatically zip the folder)
       - name: Upload build artifacts
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4

CLAUDE.md

@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ Root-level files:
 - **FFmpeg error style**: Combine assignment and check: `if ((ret = avcodec_open2(...)) < 0)`
 - **FFmpeg cleanup**: Use `goto end` pattern for error-path cleanup
 - **Threading**: Long operations in `QThread::create()`; UI updates via `QMetaObject::invokeMethod(Qt::QueuedConnection)`
-- **License headers**: Apache 2.0 for most files; LGPL 2.1 for `src/transcoder/`
+- **License headers**: Apache 2.0 for all source files, including `src/transcoder/` (using the FFmpeg API does not make a file a derivative work of FFmpeg). Pre-built binaries are distributed under GPL-3.0 due to the GPL-enabled FFmpeg and LGPLv3 Qt linkage
 - **File endings**: No trailing whitespace, single newline at EOF (enforced by pre-commit)
 
 ## Key Patterns