Manage your InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise licenses authorize the use of the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise software and apply to a single cluster. Licenses are primarily based on the number of CPUs InfluxDB can use, but there are other limitations depending on the license type.

• License feature comparison
• CPU limit
  • CPU accounting
• Upgrade from InfluxDB 3 Core
• Activate a license
  • Activate a trial or at-home license
  • Activate a commercial license
• Change your license type
• Renew a license
• Expiration behavior

License feature comparison

The following InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license types are available:

• Trial: 30-day trial license with full access to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise capabilities.
• At-Home: For at-home hobbyist use with limited access to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise capabilities.
• Commercial: Commercial license with full access to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise capabilities.

CPU limit

Each InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license limits the number of CPUs InfluxDB can use. The CPU limit is per cluster, not per machine. A cluster may consist of multiple nodes that share the available CPU limit.

For example, you can purchase a 32-CPU Commercial license and set up an InfluxDB 3 Enterprise cluster with the following:

• 3 × writer nodes, each with 4 CPUs (12 total)
• 1 × compactor node with 8 CPUs
• 3 × query nodes, each with 4 CPUs (12 total)

With the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise Commercial license, CPU cores are purchased in batches of 8, 16, 32, 64, or 128 cores.

CPU accounting

CPU cores are determined by whatever the operating system of the host machine reports as its core count. InfluxDB 3 Enterprise does not differentiate between physical and virtual CPU cores.

Upgrade from InfluxDB 3 Core

If you’re running InfluxDB 3 Core and want to upgrade to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise, follow these instructions. Your existing data is compatible with Enterprise–no data migration is required.

Before you begin

1. Back up your data: Create a backup of your InfluxDB 3 Core data directory before upgrading. For more information, see Back up and restore data.

2. Note your current configuration: Record your Core startup options, including --data-dir, --object-store, and any other configuration. You’ll use the same data directory with Enterprise.

3. Choose a license type: Decide which InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license you need:

   • Trial: 30-day full-featured trial
   • At-Home: Free for hobbyist use (2 CPU limit, single-node only)
   • Commercial: For production and commercial use

Upgrade to Enterprise

Choose your installation method:

# If running in foreground, press Ctrl+C
# If running in background, find and stop the process
pkill -f "influxdb3 serve"

curl -O https://www.influxdata.com/d/install_influxdb3.sh \
&& sh install_influxdb3.sh enterprise

influxdb3 serve \
  --node-id 
NODE_ID
 \
  --cluster-id 
CLUSTER_ID
 \
  --object-store file \
  --data-dir 
DATA_DIR
 \
  --license-email 
EMAIL

docker stop 
CORE_CONTAINER_NAME

docker pull influxdb:3-enterprise

docker run -d \
  --name influxdb3-enterprise \
  -p 8181:8181 \
  -e INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_
EMAIL=
EMAIL
 \
  -v 
DATA_VOLUME
:/var/lib/influxdb3/data \
  -v 
PLUGIN_VOLUME
:/var/lib/influxdb3/plugins \
  influxdb:3-enterprise \
  influxdb3 serve \
    --node-id 
NODE_ID
 \
    --cluster-id 
CLUSTER_ID
 \
    --object-store file \
    --data-dir /var/lib/influxdb3/data

services:
  influxdb3:
    image: influxdb:3-enterprise
    container_name: influxdb3-enterprise
    ports:
      - 8181:8181
    environment:
      - 
INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL
=${
EMAIL_ADDRESS
}
    command:
      - influxdb3
      - serve
      - --node-id=node0
      - --cluster-id=cluster0
      - --object-store=file
      - --data-dir=/var/lib/influxdb3/data
    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: ~/.influxdb3/data  # Same path as Core
        target: /var/lib/influxdb3/data
      - type: bind
        source: ~/.influxdb3/plugins
        target: /var/lib/influxdb3/plugins

docker compose down
docker compose up -d

sudo systemctl stop influxdb3-core

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install influxdb3-enterprise

sudo yum install influxdb3-enterprise

# Copy relevant settings from Core config
sudo cp /etc/influxdb3/influxdb3-core.conf /etc/influxdb3/influxdb3-enterprise.conf

# Existing settings from Core
node-id = "node0"
object-store = "file"
data-dir = "/var/lib/influxdb3/data"
plugin-dir = "/var/lib/influxdb3/plugins"

# Add Enterprise-specific settings
cluster-id = "cluster0"
license-email = "your-email@example.com"

sudo systemctl start influxdb3-enterprise

journalctl --unit influxdb3-enterprise -f

sudo systemctl disable influxdb3-core

Verify the upgrade

After starting Enterprise, verify the upgrade was successful:

1. Check the version:

   influxdb3 --version

2. Verify your license:

   influxdb3 show license --host http://localhost:8181

3. Query your existing data to confirm it’s accessible.

Activate a license

Each InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license must be activated when you start the server, but the process of activating the license depends on the license type:

• Activate a trial or at-home license
• Activate a commercial license

Activate a trial or at-home license

1. Use the influxdb3 serve command to start the server. If the server doesn’t find a license file or email address, the server prompts you to enter your email address. If you’re activating an InfluxDB trial or home license with Docker or with DEB/RPM installs, include options to skip the email prompt.
2. The server prompts you to select a license type. Select trial or home.
3. In the verification email from InfluxDB 3 Enterprise, click the button to verify your email address.

After you verify your email address, InfluxDB 3 Enterprise auto-generates a license (associated with your cluster and email address) and stores the license file in your object store. The license file is a JWT file that contains the license information.

Skip the email prompt

To skip the email prompt when starting the server, you can provide your email address using one of the following methods:

• CLI option: Use the --license-email option with the influxdb3 serve command
• Environment variable: Set the INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL environment variable
• TOML config (DEB/RPM-only): Set the license-email option in the /etc/influxdb3/influxdb3-enterprise.conf file for a DEB or RPM install

If the server finds a valid license file in your object store, it ignores the license email option.

See examples to start the server with your license email.

Use an existing trial or at-home license

When you activate a trial or at-home license, InfluxDB registers your email address with the license server. To use your existing license–for example, if you deleted your license file–provide your email address using one of the following methods:

• CLI option: Use the --license-email option with the influxdb3 serve command
• Environment variable: Set the INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL environment variable
• TOML config (DEB/RPM-only): Set the license-email option in the /etc/influxdb3/influxdb3-enterprise.conf file for a DEB or RPM install

InfluxDB validates your email address with the license server and uses your existing license if it’s still valid.

Activate a commercial license

1. Contact InfluxData Sales to obtain an InfluxDB 3 Enterprise Commercial license. Provide the following:

   • Cluster UUID
   • Object Store Info

   This information is provided in the output of the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise server if you try to start the server without a valid license.

   InfluxData will provide you with a commercial license file. The license file is a JWT file that contains the license information.

2. When starting the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise server, provide the license file path using one of the following methods:

   • CLI option: Use the --license-file option with the influxdb3 serve command
   • Environment variable: Set the INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.
   • TOML config (DEB/RPM-only): Set the license-file option in the /etc/influxdb3/influxdb3-enterprise.conf file for a DEB or RPM install

License detection

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise checks for a license file in the following order:

1. The license file path provided with the --license-file command line option or license-file TOML option (DEB/RPM installs)

2. The license file path provided with the INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_FILE environment variable

3. The default license path:

   /
   OBJECT_STORE
   /
   CLUSTER_ID
   /commercial_license

4. A trial or at-home license stored in the default location

   /
   OBJECT_STORE
   /
   CLUSTER_ID
   /trial_or_home_license

5. The license email provided with the --license-email command line option or license-email TOML option (DEB/RPM installs)

6. The license email provided with the INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL environment variable

7. If no license is found, the server won’t start

Start the server with your license email

influxdb3 serve \
--cluster-id cluster01 \
--node-id node01 \
--license-email example@email.com \
# ...

INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL=example@email.com

influxdb3 serve \
--cluster-id cluster01 \
--node-id node01 \
# ...

# compose.yaml
name: data-crunching-stack
services:
  influxdb3-enterprise:
    container_name: influxdb3-enterprise
    image: influxdb:3-enterprise
    ports:
      - 8181:8181
    # In the following command, replace 
INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL
 with your email address.
    # Alternatively, pass the `
INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL
` environment variable or
    # store the email address in a compose CLI .env file.
    command:
      - influxdb3
      - serve
      - --node-id=node0
      - --cluster-id=cluster0
      - --object-store=file
      - --data-dir=/var/lib/influxdb3/data
      - --plugin-dir=/var/lib/influxdb3/plugins
    environment:
      - 
INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL
=${
EMAIL_ADDRESS
}
    volumes:
      - type: bind
        # Path to store data on your host system
        source: ~/.influxdb3/data
        # Path to store data in the container
        target: /var/lib/influxdb3/data
      - type: bind
        # Path to store plugins on your host system
        source: ~/.influxdb3/plugins
        # Path to store plugins in the container
        target: /var/lib/influxdb3/plugins

Start the server with your license file

influxdb3 serve \
--cluster-id cluster01 \
--node-id node01 \
--license-file /path/to/license-file.jwt \
# ...

INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_FILE=/path/to/license-file.jwt

influxdb3 serve \
--cluster-id cluster01 \
--node-id node01 \
# ...

For more information about influxdb3 serve options, see the CLI reference.

Change your license type

If you need to change your InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license type–for example, from Trial to At-Home, or from Trial to Commercial–follow these steps.

Identify your current license

Check your current license type and status:

influxdb3 show license --host http://localhost:8181

Change from Trial or At-Home to a different Trial or At-Home license

To switch between Trial and At-Home licenses (or to reset a Trial license), you need to remove the existing license file so the server prompts you to select a new license type.

1. Stop the server.

2. Back up and remove the existing license file from your object store. The license file is stored in your object store at:

   OBJECT_STORE
   /
   CLUSTER_ID
   /trial_or_home_license

   For example, if using a local file system object store:

   # Back up the license file
   mv /path/to/data/
   CLUSTER_ID
   /trial_or_home_license \
      /path/to/data/
   CLUSTER_ID
   /trial_or_home_license.bak

3. Restart the server with your license email:

   influxdb3 serve \
     --license-email 
   EMAIL
    \
     # ... other options

   Or with Docker:

   docker run -d \
     -e INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_
   EMAIL=
   EMAIL
    \
     # ... other options
     influxdb:3-enterprise

4. Select the new license type when prompted (or the server automatically activates the license associated with your email).

5. Verify your email by clicking the link in the verification email.

6. Verify the new license:

   influxdb3 show license --host http://localhost:8181

Change to a Commercial license

To upgrade to a Commercial license from any other license type:

1. Contact InfluxData Sales to obtain a Commercial license file. Provide:

   • Your cluster ID
   • Your object store information

2. Stop the server.

3. Start the server with the commercial license file:

   influxdb3 serve \
     --license-file /path/to/commercial-license.jwt \
     # ... other options

   Or set the environment variable:

   export 
   INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_FILE=/path/to/commercial-license.jwt
   influxdb3 serve # ... other options

   The commercial license takes precedence over any existing trial or at-home license in your object store.

4. Verify the new license:

   influxdb3 show license --host http://localhost:8181

Renew a license

To renew an InfluxDB 3 Enterprise Commercial license, contact InfluxData Sales.

Expiration behavior

When your InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license expires, the following occurs:

• Write requests continue to be accepted and processed.
• Compactions continue to optimize persisted data.
• Query requests return an error.
• If the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise server stops, it will not restart without a valid, non-expired license.