docs: detail SPDX compatibility for `license` key

Metadata

Project: craft-application
Number: #1022
Type: issue
State: open
Author: medubelko
Labels: Status: Triaged Type: Documentation
Created: 2026-03-09 08:33 PM UTC
Updated: 2026-03-12 04:48 PM UTC
Closed: —

Current evaluation

Documentation improvement for the `license` key to clarify it accepts SPDX expressions, mention AND/OR support, provide richer examples, and link to the full SPDX spec. Partially addressed: docstring now says 'SPDX expression' and links to spec, but AND/OR mention and richer examples are still missing.

Suggested action: keep open

Reason: The issue is triaged (labeled 'Status: Triaged', 'Type: Documentation') and partially addressed by commit c810a9ee which added the 'SPDX expression' wording and spec link to the docstring. However, the remaining requests—explicitly stating AND/OR are supported and providing richer conjunctive examples—are still unaddressed in the current code, so the issue should remain open for completion.

Impact: 35 Quick Win: 29.75 Staleness: 55 Complexity: 15 Confidence: 75 Support Request: 10

Issue body

### What needs to get done ## Situation The `license` key complies with SPDX, but the [field's docs](https://github.com/canonical/craft-application/blob/main/craft_application/models/constraints.py#L225) don't state that the value is a license _expression_, nor the constraints. Users might understand it to be a plain a string. ## Request In the `license` docstring: - Mention that it's a compliant SPDX expression. - Indicate that `AND` and `OR` are supported. - Provide richer examples of the expression syntax. - Link to the [full SPDX spec](https://spdx.github.io/spdx-spec/v2.3/SPDX-license-expressions). ### Why it needs to get done The constraints of the key aren't clear in the existing docs.

Evaluation history

Date	Model	Scores	Action	Summary
2026-09-01 03:37 AM UTC	qwen/qwen3.8-27b	Impact: 35 Quick Win: 29.75 Staleness: 55 Complexity: 15 Confidence: 75 Support Request: 10	keep open	Documentation improvement for the `license` key to clarify it accepts SPDX expressions, mention AND/OR support, provide richer examples, and link to the full SPDX spec. Partially addressed: docstring now says 'SPDX expression' and links to spec, but AND/OR mention and richer examples are still missing.
2026-07-22 12:15 PM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Staleness: 45 Complexity: 15 Confidence: 85 Support Request: 0	keep open	Documentation update needed to clarify that the license field uses SPDX expressions, including syntax examples and spec links. Currently under discussion among maintainers regarding docstring location and downstream consistency.
2026-07-08 08:57 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 45 Complexity: 15 Confidence: 85 Support Request: 0	keep open	Documentation update to clarify the license key uses SPDX expressions, including syntax constraints and examples. Currently under maintainer discussion regarding docstring location and downstream overrides.
2026-06-17 03:53 AM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 45 Complexity: 15 Confidence: 90 Support Request: 0	keep open	Clarify the license field expects an SPDX expression, document AND/OR support, and add examples and spec links. Currently triaged and discussing implementation details and downstream model consistency.

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