diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/TODO b/TODO
index e7f9b56..be8e36a 100644
--- a/TODO
+++ b/TODO
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ Description: use dot namespaces to make the package a little more elegant
 ID: 9
 Type: bugfix
 Title: fix LICENSE reference
-Status: in-progress
+Status: done
 Priority: high
 Created: 2025-06-20
 Description: license specification is no longer a trove classifier in
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index fd23512..5bc3eb4 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ description = "personal utilities and helpers"
 authors = [
     { name = "Tiara Rodney", email = "tiara.rodney@administratrix.de" }
 ]
-license = { file = "LICENSE" }
+license-files = ["LICENSE"]
 readme = "README.md"
 classifiers = [
   "Development Status :: 1 - Planning",