License activation

Before you start#

• No reinstall required. You do not need a different build or a different image. The version you have activates with a key — though upgrading gets you the newest Pro and Enterprise features.
• Sign in with an administrator account.
• Have the key ready: it is in your purchase email, or in the Semaphore UI Portal.

Activate from the web UI#

Best for a single instance you administer by hand.

Activate from configuration#

For Docker, Kubernetes, systemd or anything else built from code, put the key in the server configuration instead. The options live under subscription.*.

{
  "subscription": {
    "key": "YOUR_LICENSE_KEY"
  }
}

Or as an environment variable:

export SEMAPHORE_SUBSCRIPTION_KEY=YOUR_LICENSE_KEY

Better still, keep it out of the environment entirely and read it from a file — which is what Docker secrets and Kubernetes secrets give you:

{
  "subscription": {
    "key_file": "/run/secrets/semaphore-license-key"
  }
}

export SEMAPHORE_SUBSCRIPTION_KEY_FILE=/run/secrets/semaphore-license-key

When the key comes from configuration, Semaphore disables the activation and editing controls in the Subscription & Billing dialog — for both key and key_file, since the file is read into the runtime key at startup. This is deliberate: configuration is the source of truth, and nobody can drift from it through the UI.

Manage or replace a key#

Open the Admin menu and select Subscription & Billing.

For a UI-managed key, the action menu inside the dialog lets you reload, upload or reset it.

For a configuration-managed key:

1. Replace the value of subscription.key, or the contents of the file referenced by subscription.key_file.
2. Restart Semaphore so the server reloads it.
3. Confirm the expected Pro or Enterprise options appear.

What each plan unlocks#

See Plans and pricing for the full comparison, or semaphoreui.com/pricing.