I am looking at different types of linux to run a small web server on, however I have a question as I am a bit confused about how the GPL works. If I have PHP scripts that I created myself, etc…running on the linux server, do those automatically become part of the GPL, or are those still mine to do with as I please? How about if I need to make a copy of the system, as is, by making a disk image, to install it on another computer of mine? Does that mean that all my work would become part of the GPL?
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First of all it is very likely that your Linux system will run Apache, which is not licensed under terms of GPL, but Apache license. Apache itself does not run PHP scripts. In fact lots of functionality is provided by third-party modules and this applies to PHP too, which is handled by mod_php. Those modules are allowed to be distributed under their own licenses. And PHP utilizes this being distributed under terms of PHP license. PHP license is not permissive (or not copyleft), which means that you may distribute your scripts under any license you wish, with very little restrictions like including in your product a statement:
So basically no, your software will not become a part of GPL in any way.