🟠 Add a root LICENSE file (GitHub can't detect any license) and resolve custom-pcb license (TBD)

[drewferg11-hermes-bot]

Goal

Add a top-level LICENSE file so GitHub can detect the project's license and show it in the repo sidebar. Currently the repo has only LICENSE-HARDWARE.md, which GitHub doesn't recognize as a software license, so the repo page shows no license badge and the API license field is null. Also track the still-TBD custom PCB license.

Issues found

1. 🟠 No root LICENSE file — GitHub can't detect or display a license

File: (missing) LICENSE at repo root

The repo has LICENSE-HARDWARE.md (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for 3D model files) but no LICENSE file. GitHub's license detection only recognizes specific filenames (LICENSE, LICENSE.md, LICENSE.txt, COPYING) and known license templates. LICENSE-HARDWARE.md is not recognized, so:

• The repo sidebar shows no "License" entry
• The GitHub API license field returns null
• No license badge is available for shields.io or the README

The README and CONTRIBUTING.md document the licensing situation: firmware code has no explicit license yet (inheriting from upstream, intent to move to MIT), 3D models are CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, and the custom PCB license is TBD.

Fix (recommended): Create a root LICENSE file that states the firmware code's current status. Two options:

1. If ready to adopt MIT now: Add a standard MIT LICENSE file for the firmware source code (src/, build scripts, web assets), and add a note in the README License section pointing to LICENSE-HARDWARE.md for 3D models. This is the README's stated intent.
2. If not ready: Create a LICENSE file with a custom notice (not a recognized SPDX template) explaining the current state — e.g. "Firmware source code: no explicit license yet (see CONTRIBUTING.md). 3D model files: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (see LICENSE-HARDWARE.md)." GitHub won't show a license badge, but the file will be discoverable from the repo root.

2. 🟡 Custom PCB license is still TBD

File: README.md (License section), LICENSE-HARDWARE.md (Scope section)

The README says:

Custom PCB design (custom-pcb/): license TBD.

And LICENSE-HARDWARE.md explicitly excludes custom-pcb/ from its scope. The custom-pcb/ directory has no license coverage at all. This should be resolved once a decision is made (likely MIT or CC BY-SA to match the hardware/firmware split).

Fix: Decide on a license for custom-pcb/ and document it. If MIT (matching firmware), add it to the root LICENSE file's scope. If CC BY-SA (matching hardware), extend LICENSE-HARDWARE.md or create a separate LICENSE-PCB.md.

Acceptance criteria

• A LICENSE file exists at the repo root
• GitHub repo page shows a license entry (if an SPDX-recognized template is used) OR the README clearly explains why no badge is shown
• custom-pcb/ license status is resolved (no longer "TBD")
• README License section is updated to match whatever file is created
• CONTRIBUTING.md licensing note is updated if the situation changes

Files / areas involved

• LICENSE (new file)
• README.md (License section)
• CONTRIBUTING.md ("A note on licensing" section)
• LICENSE-HARDWARE.md (Scope section, if PCB license is added there)

Constraints

• Don't change the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license on 3D model files — only Morgan Manly can relicense those
• The firmware license decision should match the README's stated intent (MIT) unless the maintainer decides otherwise
• This issue is partly a decision item, not purely a code change — the maintainer should weigh in on MIT vs. custom notice before implementation