# Fix a failing check `licenseal check` gives the reason for a failure under the table, in the **Details** and **Analysis gaps** sections, and on stderr. Find the symptom below, or let the [Claude Code skill]() walk you through the findings. If the check began to fail when licenseal itself was upgraded from 0.4.x, start with [Migrate to 1.0.0](). ## A violation (✗) The dependency's license is incompatible with the project license. **Details** gives the reason. - Look at the `Project license:` line above the table first. `Proprietary (assumed: …)` means licenseal found no license for your project: see [Project license](). - Remove or replace the dependency. A transitive is indented under the direct dependency that pulls it in, which is the one to replace or upgrade. - If the detected license is wrong, or you have a reason to accept it, record a [review](). `--no-strict` does not let a violation pass. ## A warning (⚠) The combination may be acceptable, but licenseal cannot tell. Most often it is a weak-copyleft dependency in a permissive project. Read the reason, decide, and record the decision as a [review](). `--no-strict` lets every warning pass, together with unknown licenses and analysis gaps. ## An unknown license (`?`) licenseal could not read or classify the license. **Details** says which of these it is: | Cause | What to do | | --- | --- | | The registry gives no license for the package, or a value that is not a recognised license | Read the package's license yourself and record it as a [review]() | | A source-available or use-restricted license (BUSL, SSPL, Elastic, …), which has no [risk level]() | Read its terms and record a review | | An [off-registry dependency](): a git repository, a URL, or a path | [Review it by its source]() | | A version that did not resolve: a typo, or a range no release satisfies | Correct the declaration: see [Which version is reported]() | | A license list that can be read as a choice or as all applying | Confirm which holds and record it: see [License lists]() | | A registry lookup that failed or was rate limited | Run the scan again | ## An analysis gap The scan could not read something, so dependencies may be missing from the report. Each gap is listed under **Analysis gaps** with its file and the reason. A gap cannot be reviewed. - **A manifest without a lockfile.** Commit an up-to-date lockfile, or pass `--no-require-lockfile` to accept versions estimated from the registry. - **A file that cannot be read or parsed.** Fix the file. If it is not part of your project (a sample, test data), [exclude its directory](). - Every kind of gap is listed under [Analysis gaps](). ## A review entry that no longer matches `Reviewed licenses did not match any resolved package versions` means that an entry of `licenseal.review.toml` matches no row of this scan, usually because an upgrade moved the dependency to another version. No report is written until the entry is corrected: see [After an upgrade](). ## The scan could not run `Could not resolve any of the … dependencies` means that every registry request failed: no network, a proxy or firewall that blocks the registries, or a registry outage. The job needs outbound HTTPS to the hosts listed under [Network egress](). Behind a proxy, set `HTTPS_PROXY`: see [Proxies](). ## An error instead of a report Exit code `1` with an `Error:` line on stderr and no report is an error, not a failed check: an invalid review file, say, or unreachable registries. Exit code `2` is a usage error: an unknown command or option, a value an option does not accept, or a combination the command rejects. ## A slow scan A scan is slow when it has to ask a registry about each package in turn: a manifest without a lockfile, above all a Rust project without a `Cargo.lock`, and a project with more than 100 Hex packages. Commit the lockfiles. The limits are under [Failed lookups and rate limits]().