Really Simply Licensing (RSL)

An open standard for machine-readable content licensing

What is RSL?

RSL (Really Simply Licensing) is an open content licensing standard for the AI-first web. It makes digital content usage rights clear and easy for crawlers and AI agents to respect.

RSL provides:

• Machine-readable licenses: Portable license files that can be attached to any digital asset (web pages, APIs, files, datasets)
• Standardized discovery: Automated agents can find licenses via robots.txt and understand rights without prior knowledge of RSL
• Token-based enforcement: License servers issue short-lived tokens to authorized clients

For the full specification, see the RSL Reference.

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Why Use RSL?

For Content Owners

• Clarity: Express usage terms, attribution, and restrictions in a consistent, machine-readable way
• Monetization: Define pricing tiers for automated access — per-request, subscription, or custom
• Compliance: Automated enforcement reduces ambiguity and misuse
• Transparency: Public terms reduce back-channel negotiations

For Bot Operators

• Legal access: Clear, public terms you can programmatically accept
• Predictability: Stable discovery and token flows minimize integration time
• Faster onboarding: Get licenses without advance agreements
• Trust: Access content while respecting owner terms

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How Supertab Connect Implements RSL

Supertab Connect provides full RSL lifecycle support:

Capability	What We Do
Authoring	RSL Editor to define licensing terms, changes to the RSL specification are automatically applied
Deployment	Publish license files through your CDN or application
License Server	Issue short-lived tokens to authorized clients
Verification	Edge SDK validates tokens at CDN level
Billing	Record usage events and handle customer billing

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RSL License Structure

A license defines:

<content url="https://example.com/articles/*">
  <license>
    <permits type="usage">ai-use,search</permits>
    <permits type="user">commercial,non-commercial</permits>
    <prohibits type="usage">train-ai</prohibits>
    <payment type="crawl">
      <amount currency="USD">0.01</amount>
    </payment>
  </license>
</content>

Element	Purpose
content	URL pattern defining what’s licensed
permits	Allowed uses and user types
prohibits	Explicitly denied uses
payment	Pricing model (free, per-request, subscription)

For detailed RSL structure, see Understanding RSL.

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Discovery

Bots discover RSL licenses via robots.txt:

User-agent: *
License: https://example.com/license.xml

The License directive points to the RSL file. Bots can then:

1. Fetch and parse the license
2. Request a token from the license server
3. Access content with the token

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Resources

• RSL Standard — Official specification
• License Servers Guide — How token issuance works
• Understanding RSL — Detailed element reference

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Next Steps

Get Started (Merchants)

Set up your account and create your first RSL license

Get Started (Customers)

Register your bots and access licensed content