Service license keys

Overview

Service license keys authenticate and enable Tiny on-premises services that run as Docker containers. These keys are separate from TinyMCE editor license keys.

Service license keys and TinyMCE editor license keys serve different purposes:

TinyMCE editor license keys configure the license mode for the TinyMCE editor (GPL or commercial). See License key for details.
Service license keys authenticate on-premises Docker-based services such as TinyMCE AI, Export to PDF, and the Import from Word / Export to Word converters. They are provisioned separately and managed through the Tiny customer portal.

Services requiring a service license key

The following on-premises services require a service license key:

TinyMCE AI — the on-premises AI service.
Export to PDF — the PDF converter service.
Import from Word and Export to Word — the DOCX converter service.

Other containerized services such as Spell Checker, Enhanced Media Embed, and Image Proxy do not currently require service license keys. These services use access tokens for Docker registry authentication only.

How service license keys work

Deploying a Tiny on-premises service can involve two separate credentials. These are different values and cannot be substituted for one another:

Docker registry access token — used with docker login to authenticate with the Tiny Docker registry and pull the service image. All Tiny on-premises services require an access token to pull images. An access token is not a service license key.
Service license key — passed to the running Docker container as the LICENSE_KEY environment variable to enable the service at runtime. Only the services listed in Services requiring a service license key require a service license key. Without a valid service license key, those containers will not start.

Three separate credentials can be involved when running Tiny on-premises services. Do not confuse them:

TinyMCE editor license key — configures the license mode for the TinyMCE editor (GPL or commercial). See License key.
Docker registry access token — authenticates with the Tiny Docker registry to pull service images. Required by all on-premises services.
Service license key — enables a licensed on-premises service at runtime. Required by some services only.

Obtaining a service license key

Service license keys are provisioned through the Tiny customer portal. Contact Tiny to request a trial or to discuss service licensing.

Using service-specific environment variables

When running multiple on-premises services and storing their environment variables in a shared location, use service-specific environment variable names for each service license key. This prevents collisions when consolidating services into a single .env file or Docker Compose project.

Each Docker container expects the LICENSE_KEY environment variable internally. The service-specific variable names (such as AI_LICENSE_KEY, PDF_LICENSE_KEY, and DOCX_LICENSE_KEY) are host-side conventions that map to LICENSE_KEY when launching the container. These names are the conventions used in the documentation for each service rather than a fixed requirement.

Service Environment variable name Docker container mapping

Service	Environment variable name	Docker container mapping
TinyMCE AI	`AI_LICENSE_KEY`	`-e LICENSE_KEY="$AI_LICENSE_KEY"`
Export to PDF	`PDF_LICENSE_KEY`	`-e LICENSE_KEY="$PDF_LICENSE_KEY"`
Import from Word / Export to Word	`DOCX_LICENSE_KEY`	`-e LICENSE_KEY="$DOCX_LICENSE_KEY"`

TinyMCE AI

AI_LICENSE_KEY

-e LICENSE_KEY="$AI_LICENSE_KEY"

Export to PDF

PDF_LICENSE_KEY

-e LICENSE_KEY="$PDF_LICENSE_KEY"

Import from Word / Export to Word

DOCX_LICENSE_KEY

-e LICENSE_KEY="$DOCX_LICENSE_KEY"

Each service license key is a distinct value. For example, in a .env file used with Docker Compose:

AI_LICENSE_KEY=[your AI license key]
PDF_LICENSE_KEY=[your PDF converter license key]
DOCX_LICENSE_KEY=[your DOCX converter license key]

Deployment guides

See the deployment guides for each service for complete setup instructions:

For an overview of containerized server-side services, see Introduction and initial setup for containerized server-side services.