Activate your license

LiteLLM Enterprise is a license key for the gateway image that you run now. The key enables the Enterprise features. You do not install a different image, and you do not migrate data.

The license key is a JWT. LiteLLM gives you the key when you buy a license or start a 30-day trial.

Set the license key

Set LITELLM_LICENSE in the environment of each gateway instance. Then restart each instance.

.env file

LITELLM_LICENSE="eyJ..."

Docker

docker run \
  -e LITELLM_MASTER_KEY=sk-<paste-a-long-random-key> \
  -e DATABASE_URL=postgresql://<user>:<password>@<host>:5432/<dbname> \
  -e LITELLM_LICENSE="eyJ..." \
  -e STORE_MODEL_IN_DB=True \
  -p 4000:4000 \
  docker.litellm.ai/berriai/litellm:latest

Kubernetes

Put the key in the Secret that your Deployment loads with envFrom:

kubectl create secret generic litellm-secrets \
  --from-literal=LITELLM_MASTER_KEY="sk-<paste-a-long-random-key>" \
  --from-literal=LITELLM_SALT_KEY="sk-<paste-a-long-random-salt>" \
  --from-literal=LITELLM_LICENSE="eyJ..." \
  --from-literal=DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/litellm"

Helm

Create a Secret and list it in environmentSecrets in your values file:

kubectl create secret generic litellm-env-secret \
  --from-literal=LITELLM_LICENSE="eyJ..."

values.yaml

environmentSecrets:
  - litellm-env-secret

You can also set the key as litellm_license in general_settings, or keep an encrypted key in LITELLM_SECRET_AWS_KMS_LITELLM_LICENSE for AWS KMS. Refer to the configuration reference.

If you run the gateway in more than one region, use the same key in each region. Each instance does a check of the key independently. One license covers all the regions that share one database. Refer to Multi-region deployment.

Verify the license

1. Open http://<your-proxy-host>:<port>/ in a browser.
2. Find Enterprise Edition in the description of the API docs page.
3. If the page does not show Enterprise Edition, make sure that the key is correct and not expired.
4. Restart all the gateway instances fully, and then do the check again.

If you set NO_DOCS, the gateway does not show the API docs page. Do the check before you disable the API docs. Refer to Restrict all API documentation.

What the license enables

The full feature list on the Overview page shows all the features that the key enables. Each feature page has an Enterprise feature note at the top. In the sidebar, these pages have an Enterprise label.

Some features have special conditions:

• SSO for the Admin UI is free for up to 5 users. For more users, you must have a license. Refer to SSO for the Admin UI.
• Audit logs are on by default when the gateway has a license. Refer to Audit logs.
• Some guardrail integrations need a license. Refer to Which guardrails need a license?.
• Pages with a Free Enterprise feature note do not need a license. Examples are managed files and managed batches.
• Billable request metering needs the license key and the metering credentials from your LiteLLM onboarding.

Next steps

• Moving from OSS: the checklist for a gateway that you run now.
• Production rollout: the five steps for a new deployment.