Licensing

FireBackup Enterprise uses a license key system to enable self-hosted deployments. This guide covers license types, activation, management, and troubleshooting.

License Types

Team License

Best for small teams and startups.

Feature	Included
Users	Up to 10
Firebase Projects	Up to 5
Organizations	1
Full Backups	✓
Incremental Backups	✓
Point-in-Time Recovery	✓
Multi-Cloud Storage	✓
Scheduled Backups	✓
Webhooks	✓
Email Support	✓
Support Response	48 hours

Business License

For growing organizations with compliance needs.

Feature	Included
Users	Up to 50
Firebase Projects	Up to 25
Organizations	Up to 5
All Team Features	✓
Audit Logging	✓
SSO/SAML Integration	✓
Role-Based Access Control	✓
Priority Support	✓
Support Response	24 hours
Onboarding Assistance	✓

Enterprise License

For large organizations with unlimited scale.

Feature	Included
Users	Unlimited
Firebase Projects	Unlimited
Organizations	Unlimited
All Business Features	✓
Custom Encryption Keys	✓
Dedicated Support Engineer	✓
Custom SLA	✓
Support Response	4 hours
Dedicated Slack Channel	✓
Quarterly Review Calls	✓
Custom Feature Development	Available

Feature Comparison

Feature	Team	Business	Enterprise
Core Features
Full Backups	✓	✓	✓
Incremental Backups	✓	✓	✓
Point-in-Time Recovery	✓	✓	✓
Scheduled Backups	✓	✓	✓
Webhooks	✓	✓	✓
Storage
AWS S3	✓	✓	✓
Google Cloud Storage	✓	✓	✓
DigitalOcean Spaces	✓	✓	✓
Firebase Storage	✓	✓	✓
MinIO (Self-Hosted)	✓	✓	✓
Security
AES-256-GCM Encryption	✓	✓	✓
Encryption at Rest	✓	✓	✓
TLS 1.3	✓	✓	✓
Audit Logging	-	✓	✓
SSO/SAML	-	✓	✓
Custom Encryption Keys	-	-	✓
Compliance
SOC2 Ready	✓	✓	✓
GDPR Ready	✓	✓	✓
HIPAA Ready	-	✓	✓
Custom Compliance	-	-	✓
Support
Documentation	✓	✓	✓
Email Support	✓	✓	✓
Priority Support	-	✓	✓
Dedicated Engineer	-	-	✓
Custom SLA	-	-	✓

Obtaining a License

Request a License

1. Visit firebackup.io/pricing
2. Select your license tier
3. Complete the order form
4. Receive your license key via email

Enterprise Evaluation

For Enterprise tier evaluation:

1. Contact sales@firebackup.io
2. Schedule a demo call
3. Receive a 30-day evaluation license
4. Full support during evaluation period

License Activation

Docker Deployment

# Method 1: Environment variable
docker run -e LICENSE_KEY=YOUR_LICENSE_KEY firebackup/api

# Method 2: CLI activation
docker exec firebackup-api firebackup license activate --key YOUR_LICENSE_KEY

Docker Compose

Add to your .env file:

# License Configuration
LICENSE_KEY=fb_lic_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Or in docker-compose.yml:

services:
  api:
    image: firebackup/api:latest
    environment:
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}

Kubernetes Deployment

Create a secret for your license:

kubectl create secret generic firebackup-license \
  --from-literal=license-key=fb_lic_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Reference in your Helm values:

# values.yaml
license:
  existingSecret: firebackup-license
  secretKey: license-key

Or provide directly (not recommended for production):

# values.yaml
license:
  key: fb_lic_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Verification

After activation, verify your license:

# Docker
docker exec firebackup-api firebackup license status

# Kubernetes
kubectl exec -it deployment/firebackup-api -- firebackup license status

Expected output:

FireBackup License Status
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
License Type:     Business
License ID:       lic_abc123def456
Organization:     Acme Corporation
Status:           Active
Expires:          2025-12-31
Users:            15 / 50
Projects:         8 / 25
Features:
  ✓ Full Backups
  ✓ Incremental Backups
  ✓ Point-in-Time Recovery
  ✓ Audit Logging
  ✓ SSO/SAML
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

License Management

View License Details

firebackup license status --verbose

Update License

When renewing or upgrading:

# Deactivate current license
firebackup license deactivate

# Activate new license
firebackup license activate --key NEW_LICENSE_KEY

Transfer License

To move your license to new infrastructure:

1. Deactivate on current deployment:

   firebackup license deactivate --force

2. Activate on new deployment:

   firebackup license activate --key YOUR_LICENSE_KEY

License Binding

Each license can only be active on one deployment at a time. Deactivate before migrating to prevent conflicts.

License File Format

For air-gapped environments, use a license file:

# Download license file from your account
curl -o firebackup.lic https://license.firebackup.io/download/YOUR_LICENSE_ID

# Activate using file
firebackup license activate --file /path/to/firebackup.lic

License file location:

/etc/firebackup/license/firebackup.lic

Or via environment variable:

LICENSE_FILE=/path/to/firebackup.lic

Offline Activation

For air-gapped environments without internet access:

Step 1: Generate Machine ID

firebackup license machine-id

Output:

Machine ID: mach_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Step 2: Request Offline License

Send the machine ID to license@firebackup.io or use the license portal.

Step 3: Apply Offline License

firebackup license activate --offline --file /path/to/offline.lic

Grace Period

If your license expires:

• 7-day grace period: Full functionality continues
• After grace period: Read-only mode (backups continue, new configurations blocked)
• 30 days expired: Scheduled backups paused, manual backups only

Renewal Reminders

FireBackup sends renewal reminders at 30, 14, and 7 days before expiration. Configure email notifications in Settings.

License Limits

User Limits

When approaching user limits:

Warning: 9/10 users allocated (Team license)
Consider upgrading to Business license for additional users.

Project Limits

When approaching project limits:

Warning: 4/5 projects configured (Team license)
Contact sales@firebackup.io to upgrade your license.

Exceeding Limits

If you exceed your license limits:

1. New user/project creation is blocked
2. Existing functionality continues normally
3. Contact sales for immediate upgrade

License API

Check License Status

GET /api/v1/license/status
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "type": "business",
    "id": "lic_abc123def456",
    "organization": "Acme Corporation",
    "status": "active",
    "expiresAt": "2025-12-31T23:59:59Z",
    "usage": {
      "users": {
        "current": 15,
        "limit": 50
      },
      "projects": {
        "current": 8,
        "limit": 25
      },
      "organizations": {
        "current": 2,
        "limit": 5
      }
    },
    "features": [
      "full_backups",
      "incremental_backups",
      "pitr",
      "audit_logging",
      "sso_saml"
    ]
  }
}

License Events Webhook

Configure webhooks for license events:

{
  "event": "license.expiring_soon",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-24T00:00:00Z",
  "data": {
    "licenseId": "lic_abc123def456",
    "expiresAt": "2025-12-31T23:59:59Z",
    "daysRemaining": 7
  }
}

License events:

• license.activated
• license.deactivated
• license.expiring_soon
• license.expired
• license.limit_approaching
• license.limit_exceeded

Troubleshooting

License Not Found

Error: License key not found or invalid

Solutions:

1. Verify the license key is correct
2. Check the LICENSE_KEY environment variable
3. Ensure no extra whitespace in the key

License Already Active

Error: License is already active on another deployment

Solutions:

1. Deactivate on the other deployment
2. Contact support for emergency deactivation
3. Use --force flag if the original deployment is unavailable

Network Error

Error: Unable to reach license server

Solutions:

1. Check network connectivity
2. Verify firewall allows license.firebackup.io:443
3. Use offline activation for air-gapped environments

Expired License

Error: License has expired

Solutions:

1. Renew your license at the license portal
2. Contact sales for renewal assistance
3. Grace period provides 7 days of continued operation

Compliance & Audit

License Audit Log

All license operations are logged:

firebackup license audit-log

Output:

Timestamp                 Action              Details
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
2024-01-15T10:00:00Z     activated           by admin@company.com
2024-06-01T09:00:00Z     renewed             from Business to Enterprise
2024-09-15T14:30:00Z     user_added          user: dev@company.com (16/50)

Export License Report

For compliance audits:

firebackup license export --format json > license-report.json
firebackup license export --format pdf > license-report.pdf

Pricing

License	Annual Price	Notes
Team	$299/year	Billed annually
Business	$999/year	Billed annually
Enterprise	Custom	Contact sales

Volume Discounts

• 2-year commitment: 10% discount
• 3-year commitment: 20% discount

Non-Profit & Education

Special pricing available for:

• Registered non-profit organizations
• Educational institutions
• Open-source projects

Contact sales@firebackup.io with verification.

Related

• System Requirements - Hardware requirements
• Docker Deployment - Docker installation
• Security Hardening - Security configuration

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Next: System Requirements - Hardware and software requirements.