Licensing

RAMP requires a valid license to operate. Licenses are X.509 certificates issued by the kenaro licensing service and bound to a specific machine. Without a valid license, users cannot log in.

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License Overview

Each RAMP license includes:

Property	Description
Edition	Determines the maximum number of templates (Starter, Team, Business, Professional, Enterprise)
Customer	Your organization name
License Type	Subscription or Perpetual
Expiry Date	When the license expires
Machine Binding	License is tied to a specific machine via an activation code

Editions

Edition	Max Templates
Starter	5
Team	10
Business	25
Professional	50
Enterprise	Unlimited

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License Status

You can check the current license status at any time:

• API endpoint: GET _api/license/status (no authentication required)
• CLI: ramp-cli license status

The status response includes the edition, template limit, current template count, and expiry date.

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Activation Code

Every RAMP installation has a unique activation code derived from the serial number and machine identity (hostname + machine ID). This code binds the license to a specific server.

To view the activation code:

CLI

ramp-cli license activation-code --serial YOUR-SERIAL-CODE

API

Requires Administrator role:

GET _api/license/activation-code

The serial must be configured in appsettings.json under License:Serial first.

Note

The activation code changes if the machine’s hostname or machine ID changes. Keep these stable to avoid needing to re-activate.

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Online Activation

If your RAMP server has internet access, use online activation for the simplest setup.

1. Obtain a serial code from your license provider.

2. Run the activation command:

   ramp-cli license activate --serial YOUR-SERIAL-CODE --email your@email.com

3. Verify the license:

   ramp-cli license status

The CLI contacts the license server, activates the license, and writes the certificate to appsettings.json automatically. RAMP hot-reloads the license — no restart required.

Configuration

The license is stored in appsettings.json:

{
  "License": {
    "Serial": "XXXX-YYYY-ZZZZ-...",
    "Certificate": "MIIBxz..."
  }
}

You can also provide these values via environment variables:

License__Serial=XXXX-YYYY-ZZZZ-...
License__Certificate=MIIBxz...

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Offline Activation

If your RAMP server has no internet access, use offline activation with a .lic file.

1. Get the activation code from the server:

   ramp-cli license activation-code --serial YOUR-SERIAL-CODE

   Note down the activation code displayed.

2. Request a license file from your vendor. Provide:

   • Your serial code
   • Your activation code
   • Your email address

   The vendor will generate a .lic file (PFX certificate) for your machine.

   Alternatively, if you have access to the licensing portal, you can download the .lic file yourself by entering the serial, email, and activation code.

3. Transfer the .lic file to your RAMP server (via USB drive, SCP, file share, etc.).

4. Activate using the file:

   ramp-cli license activate --serial YOUR-SERIAL-CODE --file /path/to/license.lic

5. Verify:

   ramp-cli license status

Tip

Offline activation is ideal for air-gapped environments or servers behind strict firewalls. The .lic file contains the same certificate that online activation would download — the result is identical.

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Deactivation

Deactivating a license frees the activation slot, allowing you to activate on a different machine.

Online Deactivation

ramp-cli license deactivate --serial YOUR-SERIAL-CODE --email your@email.com

This contacts the license server, releases the activation, and removes the certificate from appsettings.json.

Offline Deactivation

If the server has no internet access:

1. Remove the license from appsettings.json by clearing the License:Certificate value (or removing the License section entirely).

2. Contact your vendor to release the activation slot on the license server. Provide your serial code and activation code.

Caution

Each serial has a limited number of activations. Always deactivate before decommissioning a server to free the slot for reuse.

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Docker Deployments

For Docker deployments, pass the license via environment variables:

services:
  ramp:
    image: kenaro.azurecr.io/ramp:latest
    environment:
      - License__Serial=XXXX-YYYY-ZZZZ-...
      - License__Certificate=MIIBxz...

Note

The activation code is derived from the container’s hostname and /etc/machine-id. Use a fixed hostname in your Docker Compose file and mount a stable machine ID to ensure the activation code stays consistent across container restarts:

services:
  ramp:
    hostname: ramp-production
    volumes:
      - /etc/machine-id:/etc/machine-id:ro

Activating in Docker

To activate inside a running container:

# Enter the container
docker exec -it ramp-container bash

# Run activation
dotnet RAMP.Cli.dll license activate --serial YOUR-SERIAL-CODE --email your@email.com

# Or for offline activation
dotnet RAMP.Cli.dll license activate --serial YOUR-SERIAL-CODE --file /path/to/license.lic

Then copy the License:Certificate value from the generated appsettings.json to your Docker Compose environment variables for persistence.

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CLI Reference

Command	Description
ramp-cli license status	Show license validity, edition, template count, and expiry
ramp-cli license activation-code	Show this machine’s activation code
ramp-cli license activate	Activate a license (online or offline)
ramp-cli license deactivate	Deactivate and release the license slot

Common Options

Option	Alias	Description
--serial	-s	Serial code
--email	-e	Email address (for online activation/deactivation)
--file	-f	Path to .lic file (for offline activation)
--config	-c	Path to appsettings.json (default: current directory)

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Troubleshooting

”RAMP is not licensed”

This error appears when logging in if no valid license is configured. Check:

1. Is License:Serial set in appsettings.json or environment variables?
2. Is License:Certificate set and non-empty?
3. Run ramp-cli license status to see the specific validation error.

”Activation code mismatch”

The license certificate is bound to a different machine. This happens when:

• The server hostname changed
• The machine ID changed (e.g., after OS reinstall)
• The license was activated on a different machine

Fix: Deactivate the old license and re-activate on the current machine.

”License expired”

The license certificate has passed its expiry date. Contact your vendor to renew.

Template limit reached

You’ve reached the maximum number of templates for your edition. Options:

• Delete unused templates
• Upgrade to a higher edition