ScanCode output formats

Scan results generated by ScanCode are available in different formats, to be specified by the following options.

Quick reference

`--json FILE`

Among the ScanCode Output Formats, json is the most important one, and is recommended over others. ScanCode Workbench and other applications that use ScanCode Result data as input accept only the json format.

Example

The following code performs a scan on the samples directory, and publishes the results in json format

scancode -clpieu --json output.json samples

The entire JSON file is structured in the following manner:

At first some general information on the scan, what options were used, the number of files etc. And then all the files follow.

{
  "headers": [
    {
      "tool_name": "scancode-toolkit",
      "tool_version": "3.1.1",
      "options": {
        "input": [
          "samples/"
        ],
        "--copyright": true,
        "--email": true,
        "--info": true,
        "--json-pp": "output.json",
        "--license": true,
        "--package": true,
        "--url": true
      },
      "notice": "Generated with ScanCode and provided on an \"AS IS\" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES\nOR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. No content created from\nScanCode should be considered or used as legal advice. Consult an Attorney\nfor any legal advice.\nScanCode is a free software code scanning tool from nexB Inc. and others.\nVisit https://github.com/aboutcode-org/scancode-toolkit/ for support and download.",
      "start_timestamp": "2019-10-19T191117.292858",
      "end_timestamp": "2019-10-19T191219.743133",
      "message": null,
      "errors": [],
      "extra_data": {
        "files_count": 36
      }
    }
  ],
  "files": [
    {
      "path": "samples",
      "type": "directory",
      ...
      "scan_errors": []
    },
    {
      "path": "samples/README",
      "type": "file",
      "name": "README",
      "base_name": "README",
      "extension": "",
      "size": 236,
      "date": "2019-02-12",
      "sha1": "2e07e32c52d607204fad196052d70e3d18fb8636",
      "md5": "effc6856ef85a9250fb1a470792b3f38",
      "mime_type": "text/plain",
      "file_type": "ASCII text",
      "programming_language": null,
      "is_binary": false,
      "is_text": true,
      "is_archive": false,
      "is_media": false,
      "is_source": false,
      "is_script": false,
      "license_detections": [],
      "detected_license_expression": None,
      "detected_license_expression_spdx": None,
      "copyrights": [],
      "holders": [],
      "authors": [],
      "package_data": [],
      "for_packages": [],
      "emails": [],
      "urls": [],
      "files_count": 0,
      "dirs_count": 0,
      "size_count": 0,
      "scan_errors": []
    },
    {...},
    ...
  ]
}

`--json-pp FILE`

json-pp stands for JSON Pretty-Print format. In the previous format, i.e. Simple json, the whole output is printed in one line, which isn't well suited for getting information if you're looking at the file itself (or printing at stdout). So this option formats the output results in json but in a properly spaced and indented manner, and is easy to look at.

The following code performs a scan on the samples directory, and publishes the results in json-pp format

scancode -clpieu --json-pp output.json samples

Example

{
  "path": "samples/zlib/iostream2/zstream.h",
  "type": "file",
  "name": "zstream.h",
  "base_name": "zstream",
  "extension": ".h",
  "size": 9283,
  "date": "2019-02-12",
  "sha1": "fca4540d490fff36bb90fd801cf9cd8fc695bb17",
  "md5": "a980b61c1e8be68d5cdb1236ba6b43e7",
  "sha1_git": "d9a10c0d8e868ebf8da0b3dc95bb0be634c34bfe",
  "mime_type": "text/x-c++",
  "file_type": "C++ source, ASCII text",
  "programming_language": "C++",
  "is_binary": false,
  "is_text": true,
  "is_archive": false,
  "is_media": false,
  "is_source": true,
  "is_script": false,
  "license_detections": [
    "license-expression": "mit-old-style",
    "matches": [
      {
        "license_expression": "mit-old-style",
        "score": 100.0,
        "rule_identifier": "mit-old-style_cmr-no_1.RULE",
        "matcher": "2-aho",
        "rule_length": 71,
        "matched_length": 71,
        "match_coverage": 100.0,
        "rule_relevance": 100
      }
    ]
    "identifier": "mit-old-style-ec759ae0-1234-f138-793e-356789e080c0"
  ],
  "detected_license_expressions": "mit-old-style",
  "detected_license_expressions_spdx": "LicenseRef-scancode-mit-old-style",
  "copyrights": [
    {
      "value": "Copyright (c) 1997 Christian Michelsen Research AS Advanced Computing",
      "start_line": 3,
      "end_line": 5
    }
  ],
  "holders": [
    {
      "value": "Christian Michelsen Research AS Advanced Computing",
      "start_line": 3,
      "end_line": 5
    }
  ],
  "authors": [],
  "package_data": [],
  "emails": [],
  "urls": [
    {
      "url": "http://www.cmr.no/",
      "start_line": 7,
      "end_line": 7
    }
  ],
  "files_count": 0,
  "dirs_count": 0,
  "size_count": 0,
  "scan_errors": []
},

This is the recommended output option for ScanCode-Toolkit.

`--json-lines FILE`

ScanCode also has a --json-lines format option, where each report of a file scanned is formatted in one line.

Example

The following code performs a scan on the samples directory, and publishes the results in json-lines format

scancode -clpieu --json-lines output.json samples

Here is a sample line from a report generated by the jsonlines format

{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/ada",licenses":[],"copyrights":[],"packages":[]}]}

The header information is also formatted in one line (i.e. The First Line of the file).

The whole Output file looks like

{"headers":[{"tool_name":"scancode-toolkit","tool_version":"3.1.1","options":{"input":["samples/"],"--copyright":true,"--email":true,"--info":true,"--json-lines":"output.json","--license":true,"--package":true,"--url":true},"notice":"Generated with ScanCode and provided on an \"AS IS\" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES\nOR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. No content created from\nScanCode should be considered or used as legal advice. Consult an Attorney\nfor any legal advice.\nScanCode is a free software code scanning tool from nexB Inc. and others.\nVisit https://github.com/aboutcode-org/scancode-toolkit/ for support and download.","start_timestamp":"2019-10-19T210920.143831","end_timestamp":"2019-10-19T211052.048182","message":null,"errors":[],"extra_data":{"files_count":36}}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples" ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/README", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/screenshot.png", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/arch", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/arch/zlib.tar.gz", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/arch/zlib.tar.gz-extract", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/arch/zlib.tar.gz-extract/zlib-1.2.8", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/arch/zlib.tar.gz-extract/zlib-1.2.8/adler32.c", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/arch/zlib.tar.gz-extract/zlib-1.2.8/zlib.h", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/arch/zlib.tar.gz-extract/zlib-1.2.8/zutil.h", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/EULA", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/LICENSE", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/licenses", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/licenses/apache-1.1.txt", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/licenses/apache-2.0.txt", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/licenses/bouncycastle.txt", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/licenses/cpl-1.0.txt", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/licenses/lgpl.txt", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/src", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/src/FixedMembershipToken.java", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/src/GuardedBy.java", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/src/ImmutableReference.java", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/src/RATE_LIMITER.java", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/src/RouterStub.java", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/src/RouterStubManager.java", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/JGroups/src/S3_PING.java", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/adler32.c", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/deflate.c", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/deflate.h", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/zlib.h", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/zutil.c", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/zutil.h", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/ada", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/ada/zlib.ads", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/dotzlib", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/dotzlib/AssemblyInfo.cs", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/dotzlib/ChecksumImpl.cs", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/dotzlib/LICENSE_1_0.txt", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/dotzlib/readme.txt", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/gcc_gvmat64" ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/gcc_gvmat64/gvmat64.S" ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/infback9", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/infback9/infback9.c", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/infback9/infback9.h", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/iostream2", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/iostream2/zstream.h", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}
{"files":[{"path":"samples/zlib/iostream2/zstream_test.cpp", ... "scan_errors":[]}]}

Comparing different `json` output formats

Default --json Output:

--json-pp Output:

--json-lines Output:

`--spdx-json FILE`

SPDX JSON output writes a Software Bill of Materials in the SPDX JSON format using the same scan data model as other SPDX outputs.

Example

The following code performs a scan on the samples directory, and publishes the results in spdx-json format
scancode -clpieu --spdx-json output.spdx.json samples

`--spdx-rdf FILE`

SPDX stands for "Software Package and Data Exchange" and is an open standard for communicating software bill of material information (including components, licenses, copyrights, and security references).

Example

The following code performs a scan on the samples directory, and publishes the results in spdx-rdf format
scancode -clpieu --spdx-rdf output.spdx samples
Learn more about SPDX specifications here and in this GitHub repository.

Here the file is structured as a dictionary of named properties and classes using W3C's RDF Technology.

`--spdx-tv FILE`

This format is another SPDX variant, with the output file being structured in the following manner:

The following code performs a scan on the samples directory, and publishes the results in spdx-tv format
scancode -clpieu --spdx-tv output.spdx samples
A SPDX-TV file starts with
# Document Information

SPDXVersion: SPDX-2.1
DataLicense: CC0-1.0
DocumentComment: <text>Generated with ScanCode and provided on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES
OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. No content created from
ScanCode should be considered or used as legal advice. Consult an Attorney
for any legal advice.
ScanCode is a free software code scanning tool from nexB Inc. and others.
Visit https://github.com/aboutcode-org/scancode-toolkit/ for support and download.</text>


# Creation Info

Creator: Tool: ScanCode 2.2.1
Created: 2019-09-22T21:55:04Z
After a section titled #Packages, a list follows.

Each File information is listed under a #File title, for each of the files.
.. hlist::
    :columns: 3

    - FileName
    - FileChecksum
    - LicenseConcluded
    - LicenseInfoInFile
    - FileCopyrightText
Example

After the files section, there's a section for licenses under a #Licences title, with the following information for each license:
.. hlist::
    :columns: 3

    - LicenseID
    - LicenseComment
    - ExtractedText

`--html FILE`

ScanCode supports formatting the Output result is a simple html format, to open with your favorite browser. This helps quick visualization of the detected license/copyright and other main information in the form of tables.

The following code performs a scan on the samples directory, and publishes the results in HTML format
scancode -clpieu --html output.html samples
The HTML page generated has these following Tables:
.. hlist::
    :columns: 2

    - Copyright and Licenses Information
    - File Information
    - Package Information
    - License References (SPDX ID, Links to spdx/scancode/licensedb/License Homepage)

`--html-app FILE`

ScanCode also supports formatting the output in a HTML visualization tool, which is more helpful than the standard HTML format.

The following code performs a scan on the samples directory, and publishes the results in html-app format

scancode -clpieu --html-app output.html samples

The Files scanned are shown in the left sidebar, and the section on the right contains separate tabs for the following:
.. hlist::
    :columns: 2

    - License Summary
    - Copyright Summary
    - Clues
    - File Details
    - Packages

`--csv <FILE>`

ScanCode can publish results in the useful .csv format.

Note

This option is deprecated and will be replaced by new CSV and tabular output formats in the next ScanCode release. Visit #3043 for details and to provide inputs and feedback.

The following code performs a scan on the samples directory, and publishes the results in csv format
scancode -lpceiu --csv sample.csv samples
The first line of the csv file contains the headings, and they are:
.. hlist::
    :columns: 3

    - Resource,
    - type,
    - name,
    - base_name,
    - extension,
    - date,
    - size,
    - sha1,
    - md5,
    - sha1_git,
    - files_count,
    - mime_type,
    - file_type,
    - programming_language,
    - is_binary,
    - is_text,
    - is_archive,
    - is_media,
    - is_source,
    - is_script,
    - scan_errors,
    - license__key,
    - license__score,
    - license__short_name,
    - license__category,
    - license__owner,
    - license__homepage_url,
    - license__text_url,
    - license__reference_url,
    - license__spdx_license_key,
    - license__spdx_url,
    - matched_rule__identifier,
    - matched_rule__license_choice,
    - matched_rule__licenses,
    - copyright,
    - copyright_holder,
    - author,
    - email,
    - start_line,
    - end_line,
    - url,
    - package__type,
    - package__name,
    - package__version,
    - package__primary_language,
    - package__summary,
    - package__description,
    - package__size,
    - package__release_date,
    - package__homepage_url,
    - package__notes,
    - package__bug_tracking_url,
    - package__vcs_repository,
    - package__copyright_top_level
Each subsequent line represents one element, i.e. can be any of the following:
.. hlist::
    :columns: 5

    - license
    - copyright
    - package
    - email
    - url
So if there's multiple elements in a file, they are each given an entry with the details mentioned earlier.

`--cyclonedx FILE`

ScanCode also supports the CycloneDx output format

Please note that this output format is only useful when scanning with the --package option

This output format is particularly useful if you want to process ScanCode results in downstream tools that can't process ScanCode's native JSON output, but do support CycloneDx BOMs.

To run an example scan on the test resources try

scancode --package --cyclonedx=bom.json tests/formattedcode/data/cyclonedx/simple

If you prefer XML output over JSON, please have a look at the --cyclonedx-xml option instead

`--cyclonedx-xml FILE`

This option allows outputting CycloneDx BOMs in XML format instead of JSON

Example

scancode --package --cyclonedx-xml=bom.xml tests/formattedcode/data/cyclonedx/simple

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

Uh oh!

ScanCode output formats

Quick reference

`--json FILE`

`--json-pp FILE`

`--json-lines FILE`

Comparing different `json` output formats

`--spdx-json FILE`

`--spdx-rdf FILE`

`--spdx-tv FILE`

`--html FILE`

`--html-app FILE`

`--csv <FILE>`

`--cyclonedx FILE`

`--cyclonedx-xml FILE`

Uh oh!

FilesExpand file tree

cli-output-format-options.rst

Latest commit

History

cli-output-format-options.rst

File metadata and controls

ScanCode output formats

Quick reference

--json FILE

--json-pp FILE

--json-lines FILE

Comparing different json output formats

--spdx-json FILE

--spdx-rdf FILE

--spdx-tv FILE

--html FILE

--html-app FILE

--csv <FILE>

--cyclonedx FILE

--cyclonedx-xml FILE

`--json FILE`

`--json-pp FILE`

`--json-lines FILE`

Comparing different `json` output formats

`--spdx-json FILE`

`--spdx-rdf FILE`

`--spdx-tv FILE`

`--html FILE`

`--html-app FILE`

`--csv <FILE>`

`--cyclonedx FILE`

`--cyclonedx-xml FILE`