License clarification: packaging GitHub Copilot CLI in Linux distro repos

Hey GitHub team, Hey @RyanHecht

I'm reaching out from Arch Linux about possibly packaging the GitHub Copilot CLI in our Linux distro repos. We are none commercial, do not sell services to users and are open source.

While reviewing the license, Section 2 confused us a bit, especially the parts saying the software can't be distributed "on a standalone basis or as a primary product," and that it has to be part of an application or service with extra functionality. Arch packages are usually just the software itself, so it's not totally clear if that fits what you allow.

We'd like to stay fully compliant, so could you clarify:

Is redistribution via the official Arch Linux distro repo okay under the current license?

If not, would GitHub be open to giving an explicit exception/permission so we can ship it as a normal distro package, with license and notices intact?

Also worth mentioning: Arch packages everything as vanilla and untouched as possible, yet depending on the perspective it may include small distro-related adjustments like putting the software into specific paths etc. So we're unsure how strict the "unmodified form" wording is intended to be, we'd take the npm package as you distribute via npm and put them into the linux filesystem hierarchy.

Thanks for any clarification, just trying to do this the right way 🙂

Start by reviewing the license language in Section 2 and the issue’s description of Arch Linux packaging and npm distribution. Done means GitHub provides a clear determination about redistribution and any required exception or permission; no source file or test is identified.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.