Configure the licenseUsers.xml File

Important Notice for ReadyAPI Customers

Starting from ReadyAPI 3.62.0, VirtServer 3.29.0, and TestEngine 1.34.0, SmartBear Product Family has fully deprecated file-based licenses and transitioned to the ID-based SmartBear License Management (SLM) system. Any customers still using file-based licenses must complete their migration to SLM by September 30, 2025.

From October 1, 2025, existing and activated file-based licenses will continue to work for some time. However, SmartBear will no longer generate new file-based licenses or support activation and deactivation of file-based licenses in ReadyAPI, VirtServer, or TestEngine. All new and updated licenses are now issued in SLM only.

All technical support for file-based licenses has now ceased, and SmartBear no longer maintains the file-based licensing system. Any access or service issues will result in service disruptions that we will not be able to restore.

If you have not completed the process of migrating, contact your Account Manager or SmartBear representative today. Our teams are ready to assist with smooth transition strategies. For additional support, log a request with our SmartBear Support, who are standing by to help.

For further information and timelines, refer to the File-Based License End-of-Life Policy page.

You can manage the list of users having access to your floating license by editing the licenseUsers.xml file on your Licensing Server. This file is located in the <Protection! Licensing Server installation>\conf folder, for example, C:\Program Files\ProtectionLS 4.9.0\conf.

Note

Besides that, you can use the Licensing Server Management Console.

This section describes how to add, remove, and edit data for license users by using this approach.

Lock changes

Before you start changing user permissions, create an empty licenseUsers.xml.lck file. It allows you to prevent simultaneous changes by several users and data loss. The file lock will be automatically removed 1 minute after you have saved the changes made to licenseUsers.xml. If it is not, delete the file manually.

File structure

The licenseUsers.xml file has the following elements:

Element	Description
`license_users`	The root element which includes all elements with user, group, and license data.
`user`	A `license_users` child element. It has the following attributes that have data of a user: `id` `name` `userName` `host` `IPAddress`
`group`	A `license_users` child element. It has the following attributes that have data of a group: `id` `name` `host` `IPAddress` `ldapFetchUsers` `ldapDN` `ldapFilter` `ldapPropertyUserName` `ldapPropertyHost` `ldapPropertyIPAddress` Note To learn more about LDAP users, see Work With LDAP Servers.
`ldap_connection`	A `license_users` child element. It specifies the LDAP connection. To learn more, see Working With LDAP Servers.
`member`	A `group` child element. It assigns a user to a group and has the `id` attribute.
`license`	A `license_users` child element. It shows users and user groups assigned to a license. It has the `id` attribute with an integer value that is an ordinal number of a license installed.
`grant_user`	A `license` child element. It assigns a user to a license and has the `id` attribute.
`grant_group`	A `license` child element. It assigns a group to a license and has the `id` attribute.

Add a user

To allow users to use a license, add them to the list of users:

Open licenseUsers.xml.
Add the user element to the license_users root element. It should have the following attributes:
Attribute
Value
id
An integer associated with a user.
name
Username.
userName
User's system name.
Important
This value is case-sensitive.
host
User's computer name.
IPAddress
User's private IP address.
For example:
<user id="1" name="John Smith" userName="john.smith" host="localhost" IPAddress="192.168.1.108"/>
Save the file.
Restart the Licensing Server service to apply the changes.

Attribute	Value
`id`	An integer associated with a user.
`name`	Username.
`userName`	User's system name. Important This value is *case-sensitive*.
`host`	User's computer name.
`IPAddress`	User's private IP address.

Add a group of users

To assign a group of users to a license, create a group and add the users as group members:

Open licenseUsers.xml.

To the license_users root element, add the group element with the following attributes:

Attribute	Value
`id`	An integer associated with a group.
`name`	A user group descriptive name.
`host`	User computer names that belong to the group. You can use the `*` and `?` wildcards here.
`IPAddress`	Private IP addresses of users that belong to the group. You can use the `*` and `?` wildcards here.

For example:

<group id="1" name="Everyone" host="*" IPAddress="*.*.*.*"/>

To the group element, add the member child element and enter the id of the user you want to add to the group.
For example:
```
<group id="1" name="Everyone" host="*" IPAddress="*.*.*.*">
    <member id="1"/>
</group>
```
Save the file.
To apply the changes, restart the Licensing Server service.

Assign a license to users

To allow a user to use a license:

Open licenseUsers.xml.
To the license element, add the grant_user element with the id attribute, where id is an id attribute of the user to which you want to assign the license.
For example, the following line assigns a license to the user created above:
<grant_user id="1"/>
To apply changes, restart the Licensing Server service.

To allow the group of users to use a license:

Open licenseUsers.xml.
To the license element, add the grant_group element with the id attribute, where id is an id attribute of the group to which you want to assign the license.
For example, the following line assigns a license to the group created above:
```
<grant_group id="1"/>
```
To apply changes, restart the Licensing Server service.

Delete a user or a group

To remove a user or a group, delete the corresponding element from the file and save the changes. For example, deleting the grant_user element from the license disallows the corresponding user to use a license. Deleting the user element from license_users removes the user from the list of users.

Example

Here is a sample content of the licenseUsers.xml file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<license_users>
    <!--A list of users allowed to use a license:-->
    <user id="1" name="John Smith" userName="john.smith" host="localhost" IPAddress="192.168.1.108"/>
    <user id="2" name="Mary Smith" userName="mary.smith" host="mhost" IPAddress="192.168.1.110"/>
    <user id="3" name="Bill Taylor" userName="bill.taylor" host="billy" IPAddress="192.168.1.115"/>
    <!--A list of groups of users allowed to use a license:-->
    <group id="1" name="Everyone" host="*" IPAddress="*.*.*.*"/>
    <group id="2" name="Administrators" host="Admin" IPAddress="192.168.1.107">
        <!--A member of the Administrators group: Mary Smith and Bill Taylor.-->
        <member id="2"/>
        <member id="3"/>
    </group>
    <!--An installed license:-->
    <license id="1">
        <!--A group assigned to a license:-->
        <grant_group id="1"/>
    </license>
    <license id="2">
        <!--Users assigned to a license-->
        <grant_user id="1"/>
        <grant_user id="2"/>
    </license>
</license_users>

Configure the licenseUsers.xml File

Important Notice for ReadyAPI Customers

Note

Lock changes

File structure

Note

Add a user

Important

Add a group of users

Assign a license to users

Delete a user or a group

Example

See Also

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