License Lookup in Google Sheets & Excel

What this pulls

Look up open source license terms by the row. Returns OSI approval and compatibility — Sheets or Excel.

It's one of 250+ live sources you reach with a single =VERVE() function — served from APIVerve's production data engine, billed at 1 credit per resolved cell, and refreshed on whatever cadence you set. No API keys to wrangle, no scripts, no exports.

See it in a cell

A real example — the input you type, and the values you can pull from it. Click any cell to see the formula behind it.

openlicenses.xlsxsample data

B2fx=VERVE("openlicenses", A2, "field", "domain_content")

Name

Domain content

Domain data

Domain software

License

MIT

FALSE

FALSE

TRUE

MIT

click any cell to see its formula1 credit / cell

Ways to use it

Turn IDs into detail

Fill =VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "domain_content") down a column of identifiers and expand each into full, structured detail — no manual lookups.

Enrich a table in place

Add License Lookup beside your existing rows to append the fields you were missing, right where the data lives.

Keep it current

Let auto-refresh re-resolve the column on a schedule so the enriched data never goes stale.

Use it in your sheet

The same function works in both apps — install once, sign in with your key, and type it into any cell.

Google SheetsAdd-on

Install from the Workspace Marketplace, then drop the formula into a cell. Autocomplete suggests the source and its fields.

=VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "domain_content")

Microsoft ExcelAdd-in

Same source, same arguments, same key — in Excel on desktop, the web, or mobile. Excel namespaces it as VERVE.CALL. Drag to fill a whole column.

=VERVE.CALL("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "domain_content")

Fields you can pull

Add a field name as the last argument to land just that value in the cell.

Is Osi Approved
=VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "isOsiApproved")
Compatible DomainsPremium
=VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "compatibleDomains")
License
=VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "license")
License url
=VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "license_url")
License status
=VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "license_status")
Domain content
=VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "domain_content")
Domain data
=VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "domain_data")
Domain software
=VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "domain_software")
Legacy ids
=VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "legacy_ids")
Name
=VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "name")

Premium marks data included on paid plans. On the Free plan a marked field is withheld and a marked input is ignored — either way the cell reads #PREMIUM(name) instead of a value, so a gated answer can never be mistaken for a real one. Everything unmarked works on every plan. Compare plans

License Lookup, answered

Everything you need to wire it into a sheet.

How do I pull License Lookup into Google Sheets?

Install the VerveSheets add-on, sign in once with your key, and type =VERVE("openlicenses", "MIT", "field", "isOsiApproved") into any cell. The "field" argument names the value you want back, so the cell resolves to a single number or string you can chart, sort, or feed into another formula.

What data can I pull from License Lookup?

License Lookup returns isOsiApproved, license, license_url, license_status and domain_content, plus 4 more — name any one of them as the "field" argument and that value lands in the cell. Leave the field out and the whole record spills into a two-column table instead.

Which License Lookup fields need a paid plan?

compatibleDomains is included from the Starter plan up. On the Free plan the cell returns #PREMIUM(field) rather than a wrong or empty value, so it's always obvious which one to upgrade for. Every other field works on Free.

Can I fill a whole column of License Lookup at once?

Yes. Put your name values down a column and point the formula at the range — A2:A50 instead of A2 — and one call returns a value for every row. Dragging the formula down works too, but the range form is a single billed call per column rather than one per cell.

How many credits does each License Lookup cell cost?

Each resolved cell costs 1 credit. A cell only re-bills when it actually refreshes, so a sheet you aren't touching doesn't keep charging.

Does License Lookup work in Excel as well as Google Sheets?

Yes — same arguments, same key, same fields. Excel namespaces custom functions, so the call is =VERVE.CALL() there and =VERVE() in Google Sheets; nothing else about it changes.

License Lookup

Turn IDs into detail

Enrich a table in place

Keep it current

License Lookup, answered

Put License Lookup in your next spreadsheet. Add the extension, paste the formula, and the cell keeps itself current.

Scaling up?