Removing GPL-licensed code: verification and potential pitfalls

[mrl4an]

Hi everyone,

My goal is to create a custom fork of RobustToolbox that is completely free of any GPL-licensed code, ensuring the entire project and its dependencies can strictly fall under the MIT license. My plan is to systematically locate and either completely remove or rewrite from scratch any files and components governed by the GPL.

Before I dive deep into this process, I wanted to ask the community and core team a couple of questions:

1. Verification: Once I finish rewriting and removing these components, is there a specific method or tooling you recommend to definitively verify that absolutely no GPL code or transitive dependencies remain? Additionally, would anyone from the team be willing to briefly review the fork afterwards to confirm it's clean?
2. Pitfalls: Are there any known "gotchas" regarding licensing in the engine? For example, are there any deeply integrated GPL dependencies, third-party libraries, or core architectural modules that will be particularly painful to strip out or rewrite?

Any advice, pointers, or warnings would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time!