License Management

API7 Gateway requires a valid license to operate. The license controls which features are available (e.g., API Gateway, Developer Portal) and defines the maximum number of data plane CPU cores your deployment can use.

License Properties

Each license contains the following properties:

Property	Description
Serial Number	Unique identifier for the license
Customer	Organization name
Effective Date	When the license becomes active
Expiration Date	When the license expires
Max DP Cores	Maximum total CPU cores across all data plane instances
Feature List	Licensed features (e.g., API7 Gateway, API7 Portal)
Deployment ID	Ties the license to a specific deployment
Free Trial	Whether this is a trial license

Upload a License

Using the Dashboard

1. Log in to the API7 Dashboard.
2. If no license is active, you are prompted to upload one on login.
3. Upload the license file and click Activate.

Using the Admin API

Upload a license via the Admin API:

If you are not running locally, replace localhost with your Dashboard or Admin API host.

curl -k "https://localhost:7443/api/license" -X PUT \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API7_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "license": "<LICENSE_CONTENT>"
  }'

You can validate a license without applying it by adding the ?dry-run=all query parameter:

curl -k "https://localhost:7443/api/license?dry-run=all" -X PUT \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API7_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "license": "<LICENSE_CONTENT>"
  }'

Using a License File Path

For automated deployments (e.g., Kubernetes), you can configure the control plane to load the license from a file. The system polls the file every 5 seconds for changes.

Configure the license file path in the control plane's configuration:

Helm values

dashboard_configuration:
  license:
    file_path: "/path/to/license.txt"

This approach is useful for GitOps workflows where the license is stored as a Kubernetes Secret and mounted into the control plane pod.

Retrieve License Details

Get the current license details, including the runtime status:

curl -k "https://localhost:7443/api/license" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API7_TOKEN"

The response includes the license properties and the current runtime status.

Core Quota

The Max DP Cores property defines the maximum number of CPU cores that all data plane (gateway) instances can collectively use. The control plane tracks actual core usage daily.

How Core Usage Is Tracked

At midnight each day, the control plane queries the peak core usage from all gateway instances for the previous day and compares it against the licensed max_dp_cores value.

License Runtime States

The license transitions through three runtime states based on core usage:

State	Description	Impact
Normal	Core usage is within the licensed limit	Full functionality
DP Core Exceeded	Core usage exceeds the limit; a 7-day grace period begins	Full functionality (warning only)
Restricted	Grace period expired with cores still exceeding the limit	Write operations are blocked; read operations continue

When in the Restricted state:

• Blocked: Creating or updating services, routes, consumers, plugins, SSL certificates, and other configuration resources.
• Allowed: Reading configurations, viewing dashboards, and uploading a new license.

To resolve the restricted state, either reduce the number of data plane cores (e.g., by scaling down gateway replicas) or upload a license with a higher core quota.

License Expiration

When a license expires:

• Read operations (viewing configurations, dashboards) continue to work.
• Write operations (creating or updating resources) are blocked.
• You can still upload a new license.

tip

Monitor your license expiration date and plan renewals in advance. If you need a license, contact API7 sales or request a trial license.

Free Trial License

A free trial license is available for evaluation purposes:

• Maximum duration: 90 days.
• The trial period starts from the deployment date.

To request a trial license, visit api7.ai/try.