Licensing Guide

Portweaver licenses are assigned through your Portweaver account, and installed to a server offline using a Portweaver license key file.

Each license can be assigned to a single Portweaver server at a time. The expiry date and managed-device limit can be configured when purchasing a license. These control the amount of devices your server can manage for the duration of the license.

Note

Portweaver does not require the server to contact the licensing service. License verification, activation, and deactivation all work offline. Automatic updates are the only optional functionality to require connectivity to portweaver.com, however, updates can be installed manually offline.

---

License Status

The licenses page in your Portweaver account shows one of three states for each license:

unassigned

• The license is available for activation on a Portweaver server
  

assigned

• The license is currently bound to a Portweaver server
• The assigned license can be downloaded again for that same server
  

expired

• The license is no longer valid
• It cannot be activated, downloaded, or released with a deactivation key

---

Before Activating

You will need:

• A Portweaver account
• An active, unassigned license associated with that account
• Access to the Portweaver server you want to license
• Access to a web browser that can sign in to your Portweaver account

The browser does not need to be running on the Portweaver server. You can copy the device ID to another computer, download the license there, and then transfer the license key file back to the Portweaver server.

Caution

Always use the device ID currently shown by the Portweaver server. A license generated for another device ID will not activate.

---

Activating Portweaver

Start on the server

1. Open the web interface and sign in as an administrator
2. Open the user menu in the top-right corner
3. Navigate to settings > licensing

The page will show the current licensing state and the server’s device ID:

4. Click activate
5. Copy the device ID shown in the activation window

Issue key from account

1. Sign in with the account which holds the license at portweaver.com
2. Open account > licenses and find an active unassigned license
3. Click activate and paste the device ID from the previous step 5
4. Click activate again to finalize and download portweaver-license-*****.key

Caution

The license and downloaded key file are now tied to this Portweaver server. The license must be deactivated before it can be assigned to another server. Always complete the deactivation process before migrating or replacing a licensed installation.

---

Finalize server activation

Return to the Activate Portweaver window on the server:

1. Click upload license
2. Select the downloaded portweaver-license-*****.key file from your system
3. Wait for Portweaver to verify and install the license

After successful activation:

• The licensing state will reflect licensed
• The license ID, device limit, and expiration will be visible

Note

The assigned license key file can be downloaded from your account at any time before the license expires. However, it can only be used with the assigned server.

---

Deactivating Portweaver

Caution

Copy and submit the previous deactivation key before activating another license. Portweaver stores only the most recent deactivation details, and they are cleared after the next successful activation.

Deactivating the server

On the licensed Portweaver server:

1. Open settings > licensing
2. Click deactivate, review, and click deactivate again to confirm
3. Copy the deactivation key for the next step

Note

When confirmed, Portweaver will store the deactivation details until the next successful activation

Recover a previous deactivation key

If the confirmation window was closed before the key was copied or was lost:

1. Open settings > licensing
2. Scroll to Previous Deactivation and copy the stored deactivation key

The previous deactivation details remain available until another license is successfully activated.

---

Release license from account

1. Sign in with the account that holds the license at portweaver.com
2. Open account > licenses and find the active assigned license
3. Click deactivate and paste the deactivation key from the server
4. Click deactivate again to confirm

After the key is accepted:

• The license changes from assigned to unassigned
• The previous server assignment is removed
• The license can be re-activated on another Portweaver server
• The old license key file can no longer be used and can be safely deleted

Note

Deactivation is an offline process, and the website can not deactivate the local Portweaver installation. Local deactivation must be completed first to ensure the license can be released.

Moving a License to Another Server

To move a license safely:

1. Deactivate Portweaver on the original server
2. Copy the generated deactivation key
3. Release the license through account > licenses
4. Open settings > licensing on the new server
5. Copy the new server’s device ID
6. Activate the now-unassigned license using the same activation procedure

The new server has a different device ID and will require the newly issued license key file.

---

Expired Licenses

When an installed license expires:

• Portweaver changes the licensing state to expired
• Portweaver returns to its current free or unlicensed device limit
• The expired license remains visible for reference
• The website lists the license as expired

Note

An expired license cannot be released with a deactivation key. Activate a different valid license to restore access.

Troubleshooting

The website rejects the device ID

Confirm that:

• The ID was correctly copied from settings > licensing
• No characters are missing/invalid
• The ID belongs to the server you are activating

The license file does not match this server

The downloaded key was generated for a different device ID.

Return to your Portweaver account and verify that the assigned device ID matches the ID currently displayed by the server.

If the server was deactivated, release the old assignment and generate a new license for its current device ID.

---

The license signature is invalid

The license file may have been altered or corrupted.

1. Delete the invalid copy
2. Return to account > licenses
3. Click download beside the assigned license
4. Upload the newly downloaded file

---

The website still shows the license as assigned

Local deactivation does not automatically contact the website.

Copy the deactivation key from the License Deactivated window or the Previous Deactivation section, then submit it through account > licenses.

---

The deactivation key is rejected

Confirm that:

• The key came from the server previously using that license
• The key belongs to the license currently shown as assigned
• The key is from the most recent assignment
• The license has not expired
• Every character was copied correctly

---

The original server is no longer available

Because Portweaver licensing works offline, the website cannot remotely remove a license from an unavailable server.

Please contact Portweaver support to request an administrative release of the assignment. Administrative release should only be used when the original server cannot complete normal deactivation.