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fix(licenses): isolate generated licenses per platform (os/arch)#12774

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babakks/isolate-generated-licenses
Mar 3, 2026
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fix(licenses): isolate generated licenses per platform (os/arch)#12774
babakks merged 4 commits intotrunkfrom
babakks/isolate-generated-licenses

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@babakks babakks commented Feb 24, 2026

This PR fixes these issues regarding licenses generation/embedding at release time:

  1. We've observed transient failures like this caused by GoReleaser pre-build hooks running in parallel and therefore stepping on each other. To fix this we're now isolating generated licenses per platform (os/arch), under internal/licenses/embed/$GOOS-$GOARCH. This also means, we should have per-platform //go:embeds to make sure we take the right licenses. The per-platform files are named as embed_$GOOS_$GOARCH.go. Go compiler automatically picks the right file (without the need for explicit //go:build $GOOS && GOARCH build constraints).

  2. Currently, if we run govulncheck on a released binary we get:

    $ govulncheck -show verbose -mode binary $(command -v gh)
    ...
    Govulncheck scanned the following 162 modules and the go1.25.7 standard library:
      github.com/cli/cli/[email protected]+dirty
    ...
    No vulnerabilities found.

    Note the +dirty suffix. This is due to the generated files making the working directory dirty. The fix is to git-ignore the generated files. However, since we cannot check-in empty directories, we need to check in (empty) PLACEHOLDER files, but ignore the rest.

  3. The embed_default.go file works as a fallback for Go compiler, in case it's building against a not-supported platform. Without this file, users on unsupported platforms will fail to build gh from source. To verify this works, you can, for example, build for linux/mips and it shouldn't fail:

    GOOS=linux GOARCH=mips go build ./cmd/gh

Further verification

You should now be able to run, e.g. ./script/licenses linux amd64 or ./script/licenses darwin arm64, and then run go run ./cmd/gh licenses and see the right licenses being reported. Also, git status should not show any uncommitted changes.

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Pull request overview

This PR aims to prevent transient CI/release failures during license generation by writing and embedding third-party license data in per-platform (GOOS/GOARCH) directories instead of a shared location.

Changes:

  • Update script/licenses to generate license output into internal/licenses/embed/<goos>-<goarch>.
  • Switch internal/licenses embedding to platform-specific rootDir/report/thirdParty definitions.
  • Add placeholder embedded files per platform and a small Content() wrapper test.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 28 out of 30 changed files in this pull request and generated 11 comments.

Show a summary per file
File Description
script/licenses Writes generated license artifacts to an OS/arch-scoped embed directory.
internal/licenses/licenses.go Uses platform-selected embedded variables (rootDir/report/thirdParty).
internal/licenses/licenses_test.go Adds an assertion for the default Content() output.
internal/licenses/embed_darwin_amd64.go Adds darwin/amd64 embed definitions pointing at per-platform directories.
internal/licenses/embed_darwin_arm64.go Adds darwin/arm64 embed definitions pointing at per-platform directories.
internal/licenses/embed_linux_386.go Adds linux/386 embed definitions pointing at per-platform directories.
internal/licenses/embed_linux_amd64.go Adds linux/amd64 embed definitions pointing at per-platform directories.
internal/licenses/embed_linux_arm.go Adds linux/arm embed definitions pointing at per-platform directories.
internal/licenses/embed_linux_arm64.go Adds linux/arm64 embed definitions pointing at per-platform directories.
internal/licenses/embed_windows_386.go Adds windows/386 embed definitions pointing at per-platform directories.
internal/licenses/embed_windows_amd64.go Adds windows/amd64 embed definitions pointing at per-platform directories.
internal/licenses/embed_windows_arm64.go Adds windows/arm64 embed definitions pointing at per-platform directories.
internal/licenses/embed/darwin-amd64/report.txt Placeholder report file for non-release builds.
internal/licenses/embed/darwin-amd64/third-party/PLACEHOLDER Ensures third-party embed glob always matches at least one file.
internal/licenses/embed/darwin-arm64/report.txt Placeholder report file for non-release builds.
internal/licenses/embed/darwin-arm64/third-party/PLACEHOLDER Ensures third-party embed glob always matches at least one file.
internal/licenses/embed/linux-386/report.txt Placeholder report file for non-release builds.
internal/licenses/embed/linux-386/third-party/PLACEHOLDER Ensures third-party embed glob always matches at least one file.
internal/licenses/embed/linux-amd64/report.txt Placeholder report file for non-release builds.
internal/licenses/embed/linux-amd64/third-party/PLACEHOLDER Ensures third-party embed glob always matches at least one file.
internal/licenses/embed/linux-arm/report.txt Placeholder report file for non-release builds.
internal/licenses/embed/linux-arm/third-party/PLACEHOLDER Ensures third-party embed glob always matches at least one file.
internal/licenses/embed/linux-arm64/report.txt Placeholder report file for non-release builds.
internal/licenses/embed/linux-arm64/third-party/PLACEHOLDER Ensures third-party embed glob always matches at least one file.
internal/licenses/embed/windows-386/report.txt Placeholder report file for non-release builds.
internal/licenses/embed/windows-386/third-party/PLACEHOLDER Ensures third-party embed glob always matches at least one file.
internal/licenses/embed/windows-amd64/report.txt Placeholder report file for non-release builds.
internal/licenses/embed/windows-amd64/third-party/PLACEHOLDER Ensures third-party embed glob always matches at least one file.
internal/licenses/embed/windows-arm64/report.txt Placeholder report file for non-release builds.
internal/licenses/embed/windows-arm64/third-party/PLACEHOLDER Ensures third-party embed glob always matches at least one file.

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"sort"
"strings"
)

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licenses.go no longer defines report, thirdParty, and rootDir for non-release GOOS/GOARCH combinations. On unsupported targets (e.g. linux/riscv64 or freebsd/amd64), this package will fail to compile due to missing symbols. Add a fallback embed file (with appropriate //go:build constraints) that provides placeholder report/thirdParty/rootDir for all other platforms/architectures.

Suggested change
// emptyFS is a fallback implementation of fs.ReadFileFS used on platforms
// where embedded license data is not available. It exposes an empty
// filesystem, causing no third-party licenses to be listed.
type emptyFS struct{}
func (emptyFS) Open(name string) (fs.File, error) {
return nil, fs.ErrNotExist
}
func (emptyFS) ReadFile(name string) ([]byte, error) {
return nil, fs.ErrNotExist
}
// Fallback placeholders for report content, embedded third-party licenses,
// and the root directory within the embedded filesystem. These ensure that
// the package compiles even on unsupported GOOS/GOARCH combinations.
var (
report string = ""
thirdParty fs.ReadFileFS = emptyFS{}
rootDir string = "."
)

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That's a very good point, and it's now resolved by introducing embed_default.go with a complementary //go:build tag which applies to unsupported os/arch combinations.

)

func TestContent(t *testing.T) {
require.Equal(t, "License information is only available in official release builds.\n", Content())
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This test asserts the exact placeholder output from Content(), but make licenses (or goreleaser pre-build hooks) will overwrite the embedded report/third-party directory for the current platform, making Content() return real license data and causing the test to fail locally. Consider asserting more stable behavior (e.g., non-empty output and that it ends with a newline), or remove this wrapper-level test and rely on the content(...) unit tests.

Suggested change
require.Equal(t, "License information is only available in official release builds.\n", Content())
content := Content()
require.NotEmpty(t, content, "expected Content() to return non-empty license information")
require.True(t, strings.HasSuffix(content, "\n"), "expected Content() output to end with a newline")

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We need the test to make sure we never commit actual licenses, as we cannot git-ignore them as well. Added a comment to explain this.

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Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 31 out of 33 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.


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@babakks babakks force-pushed the babakks/isolate-generated-licenses branch from 244545e to c9543e7 Compare February 25, 2026 15:01
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LGTM, reviewed and tested locally.

Copilot had some comments:

Verified locally:

  • Tests pass
  • Unsupported platform build (GOOS=linux GOARCH=mips go build ./cmd/gh) succeeds via the default fallback
  • All 9 platform embed files + default present
  • .gitignore correctly ignores generated content but keeps PLACEHOLDERs

Minor nits (non-blocking):

  1. PLACEHOLDER files are empty (0 bytes) — the old embed/third-party/PLACEHOLDER had content. Cosmetic.
  2. content() signature refactored (removed report param, now reads from FS internally) — cleaner, but meant tests were rewritten rather than extended.
  3. //go:embed all:embed/linux-amd64 uses all: which includes dotfiles — slightly more permissive than needed, but go-licenses output won't have dotfiles so this is fine.

No significant concerns.

Mildly, no. 3 above seems like it might be worth thinking about.

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Blocking because I saw an issue with releasing that I need to validate.

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All good, was an issue on my end with a stale branch from pr checkout.

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babakks commented Mar 3, 2026

Mildly, no. 3 above seems like it might be worth thinking about.

Yeah, I get it, but thinking about it I'd rather keep the embed_{IS}_{ARCH}.go files with the way they are, because I'm not really sure how go-licenses output would be.

@babakks babakks merged commit 7a59033 into trunk Mar 3, 2026
25 checks passed
@babakks babakks deleted the babakks/isolate-generated-licenses branch March 3, 2026 12:12
tmeijn pushed a commit to tmeijn/dotfiles that referenced this pull request Mar 24, 2026
This MR contains the following updates:

| Package | Update | Change |
|---|---|---|
| [cli/cli](https://github.com/cli/cli) | minor | `v2.87.3` → `v2.88.1` |

MR created with the help of [el-capitano/tools/renovate-bot](https://gitlab.com/el-capitano/tools/renovate-bot).

**Proposed changes to behavior should be submitted there as MRs.**

---

### Release Notes

<details>
<summary>cli/cli (cli/cli)</summary>

### [`v2.88.1`](https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.88.1): GitHub CLI 2.88.1

[Compare Source](cli/cli@v2.88.0...v2.88.1)

#### Fix `pr` commands failing with `read:project` scope error

v2.88.0 introduced a regression where `pr` commands would fail with the error:

```
error: your authentication token is missing required scopes [read:project]
To request it, run:  gh auth refresh -s read:project
```

Previously, missing read:project scope was gracefully handled, and project data was silently skipped. A change inadvertently broke the error matching that enabled this graceful degradation. v2.88.1 reverts these changes so that `pr` commands work correctly without requiring the `read:project` scope.

#### What's Changed

- Migrate Windows code signing from client secret to OIDC by [@&#8203;BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#&#8203;12911](cli/cli#12911)
- Revert "refactor: deduplicate scope error handling between api/client.go and project queries" by [@&#8203;williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#&#8203;12914](cli/cli#12914)
- Revert "fix: clarify scope error while creating issues for projects" by [@&#8203;williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#&#8203;12915](cli/cli#12915)

**Full Changelog**: <cli/cli@v2.88.0...v2.88.1>

### [`v2.88.0`](https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.88.0): GitHub CLI 2.88.0

[Compare Source](cli/cli@v2.87.3...v2.88.0)

#### :copilot: Request Copilot Code Review from `gh`

<img width="80%" height="80%" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c9b86700-5934-44b6-9210-227495a18d8e" />

`gh pr create` and `gh pr edit` now support [Copilot Code Review](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/using-github-copilot/code-review/using-copilot-code-review) as a reviewer. Request a review with `--add-reviewer @&#8203;copilot`, or select Copilot interactively from the searchable reviewer prompt.

Create a pull request and request review from Copilot:

```
gh pr create --reviewer @&#8203;copilot
```

Edit a pull request and request review from Copilot:

```
gh pr edit --add-reviewer @&#8203;copilot
```

#### Close issues as duplicates with `gh issue close --duplicate-of`

You can now close issues as duplicates and link to a duplicate issue directly from the CLI. The new `--duplicate-of` flag accepts an issue number or URL and marks the closed issue as a duplicate of the referenced one. You can also use `--reason duplicate` to set the close reason without linking a specific issue.

```

# Close as duplicate, linking to the original issue
gh issue close 123 --duplicate-of 456

# Close with duplicate reason only
gh issue close 123 --reason duplicate
```

#### JSON support for `gh agent-task`

`gh agent-task list` and `gh agent-task view` now support `--json`, `--jq`, and `--template` flags, consistent with other `gh` commands.

```
gh agent-task list --json id,name,state
gh agent-task view <id> --json state --jq '.state'
```

#### What's Changed

##### ✨ Features

- `gh pr create`: login-based reviewer requests and search-based interactive selection by [@&#8203;BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#&#8203;12627](cli/cli#12627)
- `gh pr view` and `gh issue view`: show friendly display names for all actors by [@&#8203;BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#&#8203;12854](cli/cli#12854)
- `gh issue close`: add `--duplicate-of` flag and duplicate reason by [@&#8203;tksohishi](https://github.com/tksohishi) in [#&#8203;12811](cli/cli#12811)
- `gh pr diff`: add `--exclude` flag to filter files from diff output by [@&#8203;yuvrajangadsingh](https://github.com/yuvrajangadsingh) in [#&#8203;12655](cli/cli#12655)
- `gh pr view/list`: add `changeType` field to files JSON output by [@&#8203;yuvrajangadsingh](https://github.com/yuvrajangadsingh) in [#&#8203;12657](cli/cli#12657)
- `gh repo clone`: add `--no-upstream` flag by [@&#8203;4RH1T3CT0R7](https://github.com/4RH1T3CT0R7) in [#&#8203;12686](cli/cli#12686)
- `gh repo edit`: add `--squash-merge-commit-message` flag by [@&#8203;yuvrajangadsingh](https://github.com/yuvrajangadsingh) in [#&#8203;12846](cli/cli#12846)
- `gh browse`: add `--blame` flag by [@&#8203;masonmcelvain](https://github.com/masonmcelvain) in [#&#8203;11486](cli/cli#11486)
- `gh agent-task list`: add `--json` support by [@&#8203;maxbeizer](https://github.com/maxbeizer) in [#&#8203;12806](cli/cli#12806)
- `gh agent-task view`: add `--json` support by [@&#8203;maxbeizer](https://github.com/maxbeizer) in [#&#8203;12807](cli/cli#12807)
- `gh copilot`: set `COPILOT_GH` env var when launching Copilot CLI by [@&#8203;devm33](https://github.com/devm33) in [#&#8203;12821](cli/cli#12821)

##### 🐛 Fixes

- Fix `gh project item-edit` error when editing Draft Issue with only one (`--title`/`--body`) flag by [@&#8203;ManManavadaria](https://github.com/ManManavadaria) in [#&#8203;12787](cli/cli#12787)
- Fix extension install error message showing raw struct instead of `owner/repo` by [@&#8203;Copilot](https://github.com/Copilot) in [#&#8203;12836](cli/cli#12836)
- Fix incorrect integer conversion from int to uint16 in port forwarder by [@&#8203;BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#&#8203;12831](cli/cli#12831)
- Fix invalid ANSI SGR escape code in JSON and diff colorization by [@&#8203;BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#&#8203;12720](cli/cli#12720)
- Fix assignees `databaseId` always being `0` in `--json` output by [@&#8203;srt32](https://github.com/srt32) in [#&#8203;12783](cli/cli#12783)
- Fix error when `--remote` flag used with repo argument by [@&#8203;majiayu000](https://github.com/majiayu000) in [#&#8203;12375](cli/cli#12375)
- Fix redundant API call in `gh issue view --comments` by [@&#8203;VishnuVV27](https://github.com/VishnuVV27) in [#&#8203;12652](cli/cli#12652)
- Clarify scope error while creating issues for projects by [@&#8203;elijahthis](https://github.com/elijahthis) in [#&#8203;12596](cli/cli#12596)
- Reject pull request-only search qualifiers in `gh issue list` by [@&#8203;LouisLau-art](https://github.com/LouisLau-art) in [#&#8203;12623](cli/cli#12623)
- Prevent `.git/config` corruption on repeated `issue develop --name` invocation by [@&#8203;gunadhya](https://github.com/gunadhya) in [#&#8203;12651](cli/cli#12651)
- Use pre-compiled regexp for matching Content-Type by [@&#8203;itchyny](https://github.com/itchyny) in [#&#8203;12781](cli/cli#12781)
- Isolate generated licenses per platform (os/arch) by [@&#8203;babakks](https://github.com/babakks) in [#&#8203;12774](cli/cli#12774)

##### 📚 Docs & Chores

- Add examples to `gh issue close` help text by [@&#8203;BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#&#8203;12830](cli/cli#12830)
- Customizable install `prefix` in Makefile by [@&#8203;scarf005](https://github.com/scarf005) in [#&#8203;11714](cli/cli#11714)
- Deduplicate scope error handling between `api/client.go` and project queries by [@&#8203;yuvrajangadsingh](https://github.com/yuvrajangadsingh) in [#&#8203;12845](cli/cli#12845)
- Remove unnecessary `StateReason` and `StateReasonDuplicate` feature detection by [@&#8203;BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#&#8203;12838](cli/cli#12838)
- Update Go version requirement to 1.26+ by [@&#8203;BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#&#8203;12864](cli/cli#12864)
- Add monthly pitch surfacing workflow by [@&#8203;tidy-dev](https://github.com/tidy-dev) in [#&#8203;12894](cli/cli#12894)

##### :dependabot: Dependencies

- Bump Go from 1.25.7 to 1.26.1 by [@&#8203;BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#&#8203;12860](cli/cli#12860)
- chore(deps): bump golang.org/x/sync from 0.19.0 to 0.20.0 by [@&#8203;dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#&#8203;12886](cli/cli#12886)
- chore(deps): bump google.golang.org/grpc from 1.79.1 to 1.79.2 by [@&#8203;dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#&#8203;12851](cli/cli#12851)
- chore(deps): bump github.com/docker/cli from 29.0.3+incompatible to 29.2.0+incompatible by [@&#8203;dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#&#8203;12842](cli/cli#12842)
- chore(deps): bump google.golang.org/grpc from 1.78.0 to 1.79.1 by [@&#8203;dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#&#8203;12759](cli/cli#12759)
- chore(deps): bump goreleaser/goreleaser-action from 6.4.0 to 7.0.0 by [@&#8203;dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#&#8203;12760](cli/cli#12760)
- chore(deps): bump actions/upload-artifact from 6 to 7 by [@&#8203;dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#&#8203;12797](cli/cli#12797)
- chore(deps): bump actions/download-artifact from 7 to 8 by [@&#8203;dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#&#8203;12796](cli/cli#12796)
- chore(deps): bump actions/attest-build-provenance from 3.2.0 to 4.1.0 by [@&#8203;dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#&#8203;12795](cli/cli#12795)
- chore(deps): bump github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype from 1.4.11 to 1.4.13 by [@&#8203;dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#&#8203;12615](cli/cli#12615)

#### New Contributors

- [@&#8203;srt32](https://github.com/srt32) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;12783](cli/cli#12783)
- [@&#8203;itchyny](https://github.com/itchyny) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;12781](cli/cli#12781)
- [@&#8203;VishnuVV27](https://github.com/VishnuVV27) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;12652](cli/cli#12652)
- [@&#8203;elijahthis](https://github.com/elijahthis) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;12596](cli/cli#12596)
- [@&#8203;ManManavadaria](https://github.com/ManManavadaria) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;12787](cli/cli#12787)
- [@&#8203;maxbeizer](https://github.com/maxbeizer) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;12806](cli/cli#12806)
- [@&#8203;LouisLau-art](https://github.com/LouisLau-art) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;12623](cli/cli#12623)
- [@&#8203;4RH1T3CT0R7](https://github.com/4RH1T3CT0R7) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;12686](cli/cli#12686)
- [@&#8203;yuvrajangadsingh](https://github.com/yuvrajangadsingh) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;12657](cli/cli#12657)
- [@&#8203;masonmcelvain](https://github.com/masonmcelvain) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;11486](cli/cli#11486)
- [@&#8203;scarf005](https://github.com/scarf005) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;11714](cli/cli#11714)
- [@&#8203;tksohishi](https://github.com/tksohishi) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;12811](cli/cli#12811)
- [@&#8203;tidy-dev](https://github.com/tidy-dev) made their first contribution in [#&#8203;12894](cli/cli#12894)

**Full Changelog**: <cli/cli@v2.87.3...v2.88.0>

</details>

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