Self-hosted instances work out of the box on the Community plan, which uses fixed caps (members, targets, teams, service accounts, certificate authorities) and 7-day audit retention. A license key activates Enterprise features on your own instance.
What a key unlocks
While a valid license key is set, the instance runs in Enterprise mode: unlimited members, targets, teams, service accounts, and certificate authorities, plus SSO enforcement and 365-day audit retention.
How keys work
- License keys are Ed25519-signed and verified offline against a public key compiled into the core binary. No network call is needed to validate a key, so activation works fully air-gapped.
- When a key expires or is revoked, the instance falls back to the Community plan automatically. No key or expired key simply means Community features.
- The core only ever verifies keys. It never generates them.
Getting a key
Purchase or renew an Enterprise subscription. A key is generated by our licensing worker and emailed to you. While your subscription stays active, you receive a renewed key on each annual period. Treat the emailed key as a credential: it is what activates Enterprise on your instance.
Activate
Set the key and restart the core:
export NOKKU_LICENSE_KEY=NOKKU-XXXX-...
./nokkuProvide NOKKU_LICENSE_KEY through your normal secrets management in production.