Introduction
This article aims to quickly guide users to answers from frequently asked questions related to licenses. This FAQ is only for Vault Enterprise version 1.8+; which uses License Autoloading.
Important links/documentation:
Install a HashiCorp Enterprise License
Installation Questions:
Q: How do I enable a new license I just received?
A: Please follow Enable enterprise license tutorial. If you are already using License Autoloading here's another license upgrade steps from the License FAQ.
Q: Where do I enable the license?
A: On every node with a Vault Enterprise binary running.
Q: Will updating a license be service affecting/disrupting?
A: For VAULT_LICENSE environment variable: Yes
- Please read Adding environment variables to a Vault Process
For VAULT_LICENSE_PATH environment variable: No, If you use license file reload or SIGHUP.
For license_path parameter in the Vault Configuration file: No, If you use license file reload or SIGHUP.
- changes to the actual file path or file name are not updated with reload or SIGHUP. If you need to change the file path and/or file name please restart the Vault process to pick up the changes.
- Please note for Disaster Replication nodes, the
/sys/config/reload/licenseendpoint will not be available, you will need to useSIGHUPto enable the license. - Licenses are also enabled every time the Vault process starts.
Q: Where do I get a new License?
A: Please reach out to your Account or Customer Success team
Q: How do I install / update Licenses in kubernetes (k8s)?
A: Please see Vault Enterprise License Management via Helm for k8s
Validation Questions:
Q: How do I check my current license?
A: There are several commands to check your license, including: vault license
get; vault read -format=json sys/license/status. Please also refer to the Validating the server section of the installation tutorial.
Q: How can I check/inspect a license?
A: Use license inspect. Does not require Vault to be running.
Further Reading:
What happens when a Vault Enterprise License expires