Drop SEC("license") explanation from README license section - #2
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The License section now reads "GPL-2.0." with no further detail.
The removed sentence described the BPF program's ELF license section as
prose. It was a source of confusion: it reads like display text, but
char LICENSE[] SEC("license") = "GPL" is what the kernel checks at load
time to gate GPL-only helpers. The declaration itself is unchanged.
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The License section now reads simply
GPL-2.0.What changed
One sentence removed from
README.md. Nothing else in the repo is touched.Why
The removed sentence explained the BPF program's ELF license declaration as README prose. Presented that way it reads like display text, which invited the reading that it could be reworded or deleted. It cannot:
char LICENSE[] SEC("license") = "GPL"inagent/src/bpf/httptop.bpf.cis the token the kernel reads at program load to gate GPL-only helpers (bpf_probe_read_kernel,bpf_perf_event_output, and others httpwatch uses). Change or remove it and the program fails verification and httpwatch stops working.The declaration itself is unchanged. This PR only removes the prose describing it.
Still open
There is no repo-level
LICENSEfile, soGPL-2.0in the README remains a stated license that has not been verified for the vendored code underagent/. Removing the parenthetical does not close that gap, it just stops surfacing it on the page. The real fix is to trace the upstream provenance of the vendored program and add a realLICENSEfile, or aNOTICErecording the source and that the license is unverified. Worth tracking separately.Also note
agent/README.md:253still carries similar wording. Left untouched, since the request named the top-level README.