Licensing fixes

Help
1

Hey all,

After v12 launched, some of you running self-hosted Directus reported two licensing problems. Every CI or test instance used up an activation, and a failed license check could drop a project to Core with no warning and delete the key from the database.

We shipped fixes for both in October. Full write-up here: Licensing updates: your key stays put, and CI instances stop eating activations | Directus

The short version:

  • CI stops eating activations (live since Oct 8). New activations stay pending for 24 hours and don’t count against your limit. A CI instance torn down within a day never takes a slot. This is a licensing service change, so it works on any Directus version.
  • Your key stays put (12.5). A failed check no longer deletes your key. Directus keeps retrying on its own, and only a canceled or suspended license clears the token.
  • Admins see warnings (12.5 and 12.6). Settings > License shows what went wrong and the date the license lapses. 12.6 adds a sidebar notice with the days left.
  • Breaking API changes (12.5). /server/license replaces downgrade_reason with invalid_reason and adds token_expires_at. Several license error types changed too. If you read license state from the API, check the post before upgrading.

One more thing before you upgrade. 12.6.0 raises the minimum Node.js version to 26.

If you hit one of the new warnings and the fix isn’t clear, let us know and I’ll help sort it out.