Configure Offline Qt License Server

After you install the Qt License Server package, configure the instance and start it as a system service.

Configure the server

To configure Offline Qt License Server:

1. Copy the Qt License Server package to the folder where you want to run it. Place all the files in the same folder.
2. In the configuration file (Linux: qt-license-server.service, Windows: qt-service.xml), change the environment variables of Qt License Server.

   Example:

   Linux Windows

   Environment="QLS_PORT=8080"
   Environment="QLS_ENABLE_SSL=yes"
   Environment="QLS_LOG_LEVEL=info"

   <env name="QLS_PORT" value="8080" />
   <env name="QLS_ENABLE_SSL" value="yes" />
   <env name="QLS_LOG_LEVEL" value="info" />

   For more information about enabling HTTPS, see Set up SSL certificates.

3. Warning: The following configuration determines the type of your Qt License Server. For more information, see Overview.

   In the same configuration file, set the operation mode to offline:

   Linux Windows

   Environment="QLS_OPERATION_MODE=offline"

   <env name="QLS_OPERATION_MODE" value="offline" />

4. Add the node-locked offline license file, entitlement.json, to the Qt License Server root folder.
   To obtain a node-locked offline license file, follow these steps.

   1. Ensure you have defined the port number of the running Offline Qt License Server instance in the configuration file (Linux: qt-license-server.service, Windows: qt-service.xml). For example:
      Linux Windows

      Environment="QLS_PORT=8080"

      <env name="QLS_PORT" value="8080" />

      Note: Provide the port number you plan to use in production.

   2. Generate the hardware fingerprint on the Offline Qt License Server host computer with qt-license-server:
      Linux Windows

      ./qt-license-server generate-server-fingerprint

      .\qt-license-server.exe generate-server-fingerprint

      Note: Run this command on the machine you intend to use in production.

   3. Go to Qt Customer Portal > My Licenses (1), and select the license number of the license (2).

      

   4. In License Details, enter:
      • Hardware Fingerprint (3).
      • Port Number (4).

      

   5. Select Activate (5).
   6. Select Download entitlement.json (6) in Downloads to download the entitlement.json file.

      

   7. Copy the entitlement.json file to the folder where Qt License Server runs. If you already have a license file in the folder, replace it with the new one.
   8. Restart Offline Qt License Server to apply the new license file:
      Linux Windows

      systemctl daemon-reload
      systemctl restart qt-license-server.service

      qt-service.exe stop
      qt-service.exe start

   9. Verify that the correct licenses are loaded by Offline Qt License Server:
      Linux Windows

      ./qt-license-server status --url <URL>

      .\qt-license-server.exe status --url <URL>

      In case the licenses are not imported correctly, check the logs. Contact Qt Support if needed.

   For more information about entitlement.json and node-locking, see Manage license node-locking and Compose entitlement.json from multiple licenses.

5. Manage access control lists as described in Manage ACLs.

If you don't change the environment variables, Qt License Server uses the default configuration. For more configuration options, see Qt License Server configuration.

Set up SSL certificates

To enable a secure connection (HTTPS) between the end-user machines that are running Qt License Service and Qt License Server, obtain an SSL certificate from a trusted public Certificate Authority.

To set up SSL:

1. Obtain the SSL certificate from a trusted public Certificate Authority.
2. Enable SSL on Qt License Server:
   
   Linux Windows

   Open the qt-license-server.service file and enable the following attribute:

   Environment="QLS_ENABLE_SSL=yes"

   Open the qt-service.xml file and enable the following attribute:

   <env name="QLS_ENABLE_SSL" value="yes" />

3. Place the following files in the root folder of Qt License Server:
   • cert.pem
   • key.pem
4. Restart Qt License Server.

Start the server

To install Qt License Server as a system service (systemd):

systemctl is-active qt-license-server.service

Once the Qt License Server is running in the background, the Qt License Server database is initialized and stored in the same directory as the executable file.

Read logs

Once Qt License Server is installed and running, it collects logs you can use to investigate possible errors. The location of the Qt License Server logs depends on your operating system.

journalctl -u qt-license-server.service

journalctl -u qt-license-server.service -n 100

For more information, see Check the logs.

Reconfigure

If you forgot to configure or need to update something, do the following:

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart qt-license-server.service

qt-service.exe stop
qt-service.exe start

Next steps

After your Offline Qt License Server instance is installed and running, see the following topics to set up and manage it:

• Manage license node-locking
• Compose entitlement.json from multiple licenses
• Manage ACLs
• Install client-side tools on client machines, configure the server address, and test the connection