License Server Help

Frequently Asked Questions

If you don't find a relevant answer in this FAQ, feel free to contact the JetBrains Support team.

License Server Administration

Can FLS work offline?

No, it requires an internet connection to the JetBrains Account. For offline licensing options, activate your products using the JetBrains Account directly or using an activation code. For more information about managing licenses offline, see these video tutorials.

How often does the FLS connect to the JetBrains Account?

The FLS connects to the JetBrains Account every hour to obtain license information. The server can continue issuing licenses without connecting to the JetBrains Account for up to 3 days from the last successful connection. Ensure that the FLS connects to the JetBrains Account at least once every two days. For more detailed information, see Communication with JetBrains Account.

What IP addresses should be added to the firewall to allow the FLS to connect to the JetBrains Account?

The IP addresses are dynamic, there is no fixed list.

Does the FLS support multi-nodes scheme for failover?

No, currently the FLS does not support failover. Only one host instance can process a specific pool of licenses at a time. However, you can host different servers for different license pools.

Can I run more than one FLS on the same host?

Yes, if they are launched by different system users. Otherwise, servers will rewrite the license information and usage statistics.

How can I limit access to the FLS?

After you register the FLS with your JetBrains Account, only users with access to this account will be able to connect to the FLS. Additionally, you can filter the IP address and port number of the FLS in your network using a firewall.

How can I limit license allocation?

A FLS administrator can create whitelists, blacklists, and priority lists to impose restrictions on license allocation. For more information, see User restrictions.

Where can I find the UID of my server?

In the top right corner of the FLS web page.

Where can I find information about FLS releases?

In this documentation on Release notes page. Also, API endpoint /check-version. For more information, see Version.

What kind of information does the FLS report back to JetBrains?

FLS sends usage statistic: products, versions, and allocated licenses stats. Also, it sends server's IP and its hostname. FLS administrator can see usage graphs in JetBrains Account: Teams | License Server. FLS doesn’t send end users information, such as IP, hostname, username, and other properties.

Where does JetBrains store usage reports?

All servers or services that contain personal data are located within the EU. See, JetBrains Privacy Policy.

Floating Licenses

How does the License Server issue and revoke licenses?

The FLS eliminates the need to manually distribute individual license keys. Once you install the FLS and connect it to your JetBrains account, it can issue and revoke license tickets for client applications (JetBrains IDEs and other tools) in your network. Each license provides one ticket, which can be used on a single computer at a time.

When you start an IDE, it requests for a license from the FLS. After verification, the server issues a ticket for the IDE, if there is a license available. While the product is running, it asks for license prolongation every 10 minutes. When you stop the IDE, its ticket is released back to the pool and becomes available for other clients. This model makes a product available for as many users at a time as the number of available licenses you have purchased for your team.

What happens to a license if the computer to which it was issued goes into sleep mode?

The license remains in use even if the machine is hibernating. To release the license, close the IDE.

Is it possible to continue using an IDE with an obtained license if there is no connection to FLS?

Yes, if a product received a license ticket from the server and then lost connection to it, you can use the product with that ticket for up to two days. 48 hours after the last connection to FLS that ticket becomes invalid, and you will not be able to use the product until it connects to FLS. This parameter is not configurable.

If you restart the IDE within these 48 hours, the ticket becomes invalid immediately. In this case, you will also not be able to use the product until it connects to the FLS.

If an IDE with an obtained license can't connect to the FLS, is this license available for others?

Yes, the FLS returns it to the pool of available licenses if the IDE does not request prolongation for more than 20 minutes. If the IDE then connects to the FLS within 48 hours, one of the following will happen:

  • The issued license will be prolonged, if it is still available.

  • A new license will be issued to the IDE, if the returned license was taken by another client.

  • The IDE will stop working immediately, if there are no available licenses left in the pool.

How can I move a license to the FLS?

Open your JetBrains Account, select one or more licenses, click Manage, and then click Transfer to another team. For more information, see Managing licenses.

How can I remove a license server team?

Firstly, log in to JetBrains Account with the global admin or team admin permissions. Open your organization dashboard and go to Teams. Then click the server team you want to remove and go to Administration page.

You can remove only empty server teams, so make sure you transferred licenses from this server team to another one. Finally, click the Remove button.

Which license is used if there are both product-specific licenses and All Products Pack licenses?

For one IDE instance, a product-specific license is issued. If the same user launches another IDE and there are no more product-specific licenses available for it on the FLS, but there are All Products Pack licenses available, then an All Products Pack license is issued for both IDEs. The product-specific license in this case is revoked so that someone else could use it.

What happens if there is only one suitable license left on the server and two clients connect?

The FLS processes requests according to a first-in-first-out scheme. If there is only one suitable license, it will be issued to the client that connected and requested it first. The second user will get a warning No suitable licenses.

Outdated License Server

What is an outdated License Server?

Starting from build #16429 (released on March 19, 2018), the License Server is supported only by the latest JetBrains products: later than version 2018.2.1 (later than 2018.3 for .NET tools). When the IDE connects to a version of the License Server that it does not support, you will get the following notification: Outdated license server detected.

For information about upgrading, see this blog post and Upgrading.

Where can I see the version of the License Server?

The build number is displayed at the bottom of the License Server web page.

Does the new License Server support old IDEs

Yes, if you upgrade to the latest License Server, you can use it for all supported versions of JetBrains products. However, if your are running a build earlier than #16429, it will work only with product versions earlier than 2018.2.1 (earlier than 2018.3 for .NET tools).

Last modified: 25 August 2023