Where does the license file go when deploying?

[mlopezFC]

Where does the license file go when we deploy? We build on a CI server and deploy to several machines, and I would rather not bake it into the artifact if that is avoidable.

[mlopezFC]

You do not bake it in, and it does not go on your CI server at all. The license file is only needed on the machines where the application actually runs. Your build server never sees it.

On each of those machines, put the file in one of these locations. They are resolved in this order:

1. The path in the environment variable APPJARS_LICENSE_FOLDER
2. The path in the Java system property com.appjars.license.folder
3. ~/.appjars — the home directory of the user running the application

Nothing else to configure. The application reads every file in that directory at startup, ignores anything that is not a valid license, and matches the ones that belong to it. The filename and extension do not matter, and one directory holds licenses for any number of AppJars — if you use three, all three files go in the same place.

Two things that catch people out:

Licenses are read only at startup. Adding or replacing a file needs a restart; it is not picked up at runtime.

If one server runs more than one application reading from the same directory, set the application name explicitly on each:

-Dappjars.applicationName="My Application"

using the name the license was issued for. Without it, an application can match a license issued for a different one and silently fall back to free mode. If each server runs a single application, you do not need this property.

To confirm it worked, check the startup log: every AppJar logs one line saying whether it started with a full license or in free mode. If it says free mode when you expected otherwise, the same log line tells you why — no license found, issued for a different application, or does not cover this version.

Full guide: Licensing → Installing a License.