From f621040fc588129f43926644d7c86f9972becc01 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: IEvangelist <7679720+IEvangelist@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2026 01:20:38 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] Clarify Aspire's MIT software license in footer and docs

Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 src/frontend/src/components/FooterLegal.astro |  9 ++++
 .../docs/get-started/what-is-aspire.mdx       |  2 +-
 src/frontend/src/content/i18n/en.json         |  1 +
 src/frontend/tests/e2e/licensing.spec.ts      | 42 +++++++++++++++++++
 .../unit/custom-components.vitest.test.ts     | 22 ++++++++++
 5 files changed, 75 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 src/frontend/tests/e2e/licensing.spec.ts

diff --git a/src/frontend/src/components/FooterLegal.astro b/src/frontend/src/components/FooterLegal.astro
index 4baf411595..272f54a125 100644
--- a/src/frontend/src/components/FooterLegal.astro
+++ b/src/frontend/src/components/FooterLegal.astro
@@ -9,6 +9,15 @@ const t = Astro.locals.t as unknown as (key: string) => string;
     {t('footer.legal') || 'Legal'}
   </p>
   <ul class="footer-links">
+    <li>
+      <a
+        href="https://github.com/microsoft/aspire/blob/main/LICENSE.TXT"
+        target="_blank"
+        rel="noopener noreferrer"
+      >
+        {t('footer.aspireLicense')}
+      </a>
+    </li>
     <li>
       <a
         href="https://aka.ms/yourcaliforniaprivacychoices"
diff --git a/src/frontend/src/content/docs/get-started/what-is-aspire.mdx b/src/frontend/src/content/docs/get-started/what-is-aspire.mdx
index 25037a3d7d..6db4247c55 100644
--- a/src/frontend/src/content/docs/get-started/what-is-aspire.mdx
+++ b/src/frontend/src/content/docs/get-started/what-is-aspire.mdx
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import { Aside, Steps, Tabs, TabItem } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';
 import { Kbd } from 'starlight-kbd/components'
 import LearnMore from '@components/LearnMore.astro';
 
-Aspire is a code-first orchestration and observability layer for distributed applications.
+Aspire is a code-first orchestration and observability layer for distributed applications. It is open-source software licensed under the [MIT License](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire/blob/main/LICENSE.TXT).
 
 Use Aspire to model the services, frontends, databases, queues, caches, containers, and cloud dependencies that make up your app. In production they work together as one system, but during development they often need to be started separately, configured by hand, and debugged across multiple terminals and dashboards. Aspire gives you one place to define that system, one command to run it, and one toolchain to observe it.
 
diff --git a/src/frontend/src/content/i18n/en.json b/src/frontend/src/content/i18n/en.json
index 0feefb3f4b..8ebad0c47e 100644
--- a/src/frontend/src/content/i18n/en.json
+++ b/src/frontend/src/content/i18n/en.json
@@ -439,6 +439,7 @@
     "privacy": "Privacy",
     "resources": "Resources",
     "legal": "Legal",
+    "aspireLicense": "Aspire software: MIT License",
     "privacyChoices": "Your Privacy Choices",
     "consumerHealthPrivacy": "Consumer Health Privacy",
     "contact": "Contact",
diff --git a/src/frontend/tests/e2e/licensing.spec.ts b/src/frontend/tests/e2e/licensing.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ef582fdaad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/frontend/tests/e2e/licensing.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import { expect, test } from '@playwright/test';
+import { dismissCookieConsentIfVisible } from './helpers';
+
+const licenseUrl = 'https://github.com/microsoft/aspire/blob/main/LICENSE.TXT';
+
+for (const path of ['/', '/get-started/what-is-aspire/']) {
+  test(`Aspire's MIT software license is discoverable on ${path}`, async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto(path);
+    await dismissCookieConsentIfVisible(page);
+
+    const legal = page.getByRole('navigation', { name: 'Legal', exact: true });
+    const license = legal.getByRole('link', { name: 'Aspire software: MIT License', exact: true });
+    await expect(license).toHaveAttribute('href', licenseUrl);
+    await license.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded();
+    await expect(license).toBeVisible();
+    await license.focus();
+    await expect(license).toBeFocused();
+    await license.click({ trial: true });
+    const bounds = await license.boundingBox();
+    expect(bounds).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(bounds!.x).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+    expect(bounds!.x + bounds!.width).toBeLessThanOrEqual(page.viewportSize()!.width);
+
+    await expect(legal.getByRole('link', { name: 'Terms of Use', exact: true })).toHaveAttribute(
+      'href',
+      'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=206977'
+    );
+    await expect(legal.getByRole('link', { name: 'Privacy & Cookies', exact: true })).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(legal.getByRole('link', { name: 'Trademarks', exact: true })).toBeVisible();
+
+    if (path !== '/') {
+      const content = page.locator('.sl-markdown-content');
+      await expect(content).toContainText(
+        'It is open-source software licensed under the MIT License.'
+      );
+      await expect(content.getByRole('link', { name: 'MIT License', exact: true })).toHaveAttribute(
+        'href',
+        licenseUrl
+      );
+    }
+  });
+}
diff --git a/src/frontend/tests/unit/custom-components.vitest.test.ts b/src/frontend/tests/unit/custom-components.vitest.test.ts
index 5ecd48b2a4..55d1d37ce4 100644
--- a/src/frontend/tests/unit/custom-components.vitest.test.ts
+++ b/src/frontend/tests/unit/custom-components.vitest.test.ts
@@ -1797,6 +1797,28 @@ describe('custom Astro component render coverage', () => {
     expect(html).not.toContain('data-open-install-modal');
   });
 
+  it('links Aspire software to its MIT license without replacing website legal links', async () => {
+    const html = normalizeHtml(
+      await renderComponent(FooterLegal, {
+        locals: { t: createTestTranslator(enTranslations) },
+      })
+    );
+
+    expect(html).toMatch(
+      /<a[^>]*href="https:\/\/github\.com\/microsoft\/aspire\/blob\/main\/LICENSE\.TXT"[^>]*>\s*Aspire software: MIT License\s*<\/a>/
+    );
+    for (const href of [
+      'https://aka.ms/yourcaliforniaprivacychoices',
+      'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=521839',
+      'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=206977',
+      'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2196228',
+      '/support/',
+    ]) {
+      expect(html).toContain(`href="${href}"`);
+    }
+    expect(html).toContain('Terms of Use');
+  });
+
   it('renders a unique scanner-addressable Manage Cookies action under Legal', async () => {
     const html = normalizeHtml(
       await renderComponent(FooterLegal, {