open-consul/website/content/docs/nia/enterprise/license.mdx

---
layout: docs
page_title: Consul-Terraform-Sync Enterprise License
description: >-
  Consul-Terraform-Sync Enterprise License
---

# Consul-Terraform-Sync Enterprise License

<EnterpriseAlert>
  Licenses are only required for Consul-Terraform-Sync (CTS) Enterprise
</EnterpriseAlert>

CTS Enterprise binaries require a [Consul Enterprise license](/docs/enterprise/license/overview) to run. There is no CTS Enterprise specific license. As a result, CTS Enterprise's licensing is very similar to Consul Enterprise.

All CTS Enterprise features are available with a valid Consul Enterprise license, regardless of your Consul Enterprise packaging or pricing model.

To get a trial license for CTS, you can sign-up for the [trial license for Consul Enterprise](/docs/enterprise/license/faq#q-where-can-users-get-a-trial-license-for-consul-enterprise).

## Automatic License Retrieval
CTS automatically retrieves a license from Consul on startup and then attempts to retrieve a new license once a day. If the current license is reaching its expiration date, CTS attempts to retrieve a license with increased frequency, as defined by the [License Expiration Date Handling](/docs/nia/enterprise/license#license-expiration-handling).

~> Enabling automatic license retrieval is recommended when using HCP Consul, as HCP Consul licenses expire more frequently than Consul Enterprise licenses. Without auto-retrieval enabled, you have to restart CTS every time you load a new license.

## Setting the License Manually

If a license needs to be manually set, choose one of the following methods (in order of precedence) to set the license:

1. Set the `CONSUL_LICENSE` environment variable to the license string.

   ```shell-session
   export CONSUL_LICENSE=<LICENSE_VALUE>
   ```

1. Set the `CONSUL_LICENSE_PATH` environment variable to the path of the file containing the license.

   ```shell-session
   export CONSUL_LICENSE_PATH=<PATH>/<TO>/<FILE>
   ```

1. To point to the file containing the license, in the configuration file, configure the [`license`](/docs/nia/configuration#license) path option.

   ```hcl
   license {
     path = "<PATH>/<TO>/<FILE>"
   }
   ```

1. To point to the file containing the license, in the configuration file, configure the [`license_path`](/docs/nia/configuration#license_path) option i. **Deprecated in CTS 0.6.0 and will be removed in a future release. Use [license block](/docs/nia/configuration#license) instead.**

   ```hcl
   license_path = "<PATH>/<TO>/<FILE>"
   ```

~> **Note**: the [options to set the license and the order of precedence](/docs/enterprise/license/overview#binaries-without-built-in-licenses) are the same as Consul Enterprise server agents.
Visit the [Enterprise License Tutorial](https://learn.hashicorp.com/tutorials/consul/hashicorp-enterprise-license?utm_source=docs) for detailed steps on how to install the license key.

### Updating the License Manually
To update the license when it expires or is near the expiration date and automatic license retrieval is disabled:

1. Update the license environment variable or configuration with the new license value or path to the new license file
1. Stop and restart CTS Enterprise

Once CTS Enterprise starts again, it will pick up the new license and run the tasks with any changes that may have occurred between the stop and restart period.

## License Expiration Handling

Licenses have an expiration date and a termination date. The termination date is a time at or after the license expires. CTS Enterprise will cease to function once the termination date has passed.

The time between the expiration and termination dates is a grace period. Grace periods are generally 24-hours, but you should refer to your license agreement for complete terms of your grace period.

When approaching expiration and termination, by default, CTS Enterprise will attempt to retrieve a new license. If auto-retrieval is disabled, CTS Enterprise will provide notifications in the system logs:

| Time period                                 | Behavior - auto-retrieval enabled (default) |Behavior - auto-retrieval disabled |
| ------------------------------------------- |-------------------------------------------- |---------------------------------- |
| 30 days before expiration                   | License retrieval attempt every 24-hours    | Warning-level log every 24-hours  |
| 7 days before expiration                    | License retrieval attempt every 1 hour      | Warning-level log every 1 hour    |
| 1 day before expiration                     | License retrieval attempt every 5 minutes   | Warning-level log every 5 minutes |
| 1 hour before expiration                    | License retrieval attempt every 1 minute    | Warning-level log every 1 minute  |
| At or after expiration (before termination) | License retrieval attempt every 1 minute    | Error-level log every 1 minute    |
| At or after termination                     | Error-level log and exit                    | Error-level log and exit          |

~> **Note**: Notification frequency and [grace period](/docs/enterprise/license/faq#q-is-there-a-grace-period-when-licenses-expire) behavior is the same as Consul Enterprise.