License Configuration for Previous Versions

This page provides license configuration instructions for the following legacy MinIO KMS versions:

Binary (Linux) installations on MinIO KMS releases prior to RELEASE.2025-11-12T19-14-51Z.
Kubernetes installations using the minkms-operator Helm chart prior to version 1.5.0.
OpenShift installations using the MinIO KMS Operator prior to version 2026.4.13102716.

MinIO KMS no longer requires a MinIO Commercial License to operate as of:

MinIO KMS binary release RELEASE.2025-11-12T19-14-51Z for Linux installations.
minkms-operator Helm chart version 1.5.0 for Kubernetes installations.
MinIO KMS Operator version 2026.4.13102716 for OpenShift installations.

This guide is only for users who need to install or maintain older versions of MinIO KMS.

For new installations, use the current installation guides which do not require license configuration.

Download your MinIO Commercial License

Use the following steps to download your license:

Log into MinIO SUBNET.
Navigate to the Deployments view.
Select the License button to view and download your license key.
Save the license file or copy the license string to a secure location.

If you do not have access to SUBNET, contact us at hello@min.io or see our pricing page for licensing information.

License configuration by platform

Select the tab for your deployment platform:

Kubernetes

Install the Operator with license.

Install the Operator chart with the values file:

helm install minkms-operator minio/minkms-operator \
  -n minkms-operator --create-namespace \
  -f minkms-operator-values.yaml \
  --set license="eyJhbGciOiJFUzM4NCIsInR..."

Proceed with MinIO KMS installation.

After the operator is installed with the license, proceed with installing the MinIO KMS using the minkms chart as documented in the Kubernetes installation guide.

Linux

Save the license file.

Save the license file to a secure location on your MinIO KMS host, such as /etc/minkms/minio.license, update its owner, and change the permissions.

# Example: Save license to /etc/minkms/minio.license
# Ensure proper ownership and permissions
chown minkms-user:minkms-user /etc/minkms/minio.license
chmod 600 /etc/minkms/minio.license

Configure the environment variable.

Add the MINIO_LICENSE environment variable to your MinIO KMS environment file:
```
MINIO_LICENSE=/etc/minkms/minio.license
```
If you cannot set the environment variable, provide the license path directly to the minkms server command:
```
minkms server /path/to/data --license /etc/minkms/minio.license
```

OpenShift

Create a license secret.

Create a Kubernetes secret containing your base64-encoded license:

# First, base64 encode your license
echo -n "YOUR-LICENSE-STRING" | base64

# Create license.yaml
apiVersion: v1
data:
   minio.license: <base64-encoded-license-here>
kind: Secret
metadata:
   name: minio-license
type: Opaque

Apply the license secret.

Apply the secret to the minkms-operator namespace:
```
oc apply -f license.yaml -n minkms-operator
```
Proceed with the Operator installation.

After creating the license secret, proceed with the operator installation as documented in the OpenShift installation guide.

Upgrading to license-free version

If you are currently running a version that requires a license and wish to upgrade to a license-free version (binary release RELEASE.2025-11-12T19-14-51Z or later, minkms-operator Helm chart 1.5.0 or later, or MinIO KMS Operator 2026.4.13102716 or later on OpenShift):

Follow the standard upgrade procedures for your platform.
After upgrading, you can optionally remove:
- The MINIO_LICENSE environment variable from your configuration.
- The minio.license file from your system.
- License secrets from Kubernetes/OpenShift namespaces.
- The --license flag from systemd service files or startup scripts.

The new version will continue to function if these configurations remain in place but will ignore them.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter license-related errors with previous versions:

Verify the license file path is correct and the file is readable by the MinIO KMS process.
Ensure the license string is correctly formatted (no extra whitespace or line breaks).
Check that the license has not expired by logging into SUBNET.
Verify the MinIO KMS process user has permission to read the license file.
For Kubernetes/OpenShift, ensure the license secret exists in the correct namespace.

For additional assistance, contact hello@min.io.