---
title: Copyright Header Guidelines
description: Standards for copyright and license headers in source files to meet OpenSSF Best Practices badge criteria
sidebar_position: 7
author: Microsoft
ms.date: 2026-01-31
ms.topic: reference
keywords:
  - copyright
  - license
  - SPDX
  - headers
  - OpenSSF
estimated_reading_time: 2
---

This document defines the copyright and license header format required for source files in the hve-core repository. Following these guidelines ensures compliance with [OpenSSF Best Practices](https://www.bestpractices.dev/en/criteria/2) Gold badge criteria for `copyright_per_file` and `license_per_file`.

## Overview

All source files in this repository must include a copyright and license header. We use the [SPDX License Identifier](https://spdx.org/licenses/) standard to provide machine-readable license information.

## Header Format

### PowerShell Files

```text
# Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
```

Applies to: `.ps1` files

### Python Files

```text
# Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
```

Applies to: `.py` files

## Placement Rules

The header placement depends on any required directives in the file:

### With #Requires Statements

Place the header **after** any `#Requires` statements:

```powershell
#Requires -Version 7.0
#Requires -Modules @{ ModuleName="Pester"; ModuleVersion="5.0" }
# Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

# Script content starts here
```

### Without #Requires Statements

If no `#Requires` statements exist, place the header at the first line:

```powershell
# Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

param(
    [string]$Path
)
```

### Python Files

Place the header **after** any shebang line and **before** PEP 723 inline metadata or the module docstring:

```python
#!/usr/bin/env python3
# Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
```

If no shebang exists, place the header at the first line.

## References

* [Microsoft Open Source](https://opensource.microsoft.com/) - Microsoft's open source program and governance
* [SPDX License List](https://spdx.org/licenses/) - Standard license identifiers
* [SPDX License Identifier Specification](https://spdx.github.io/spdx-spec/v2.3/using-SPDX-short-identifiers-in-source-files/) - How to use SPDX identifiers in source files
* [OpenSSF Best Practices Badge Criteria](https://www.bestpractices.dev/en/criteria/2) - Gold level requirements
* [PowerShell/PowerShell header example](https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/blob/master/tools/Sign-Package.ps1) - Reference implementation

---

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