Refresh or Deactivate Your Product Key
When you purchase a new subscription, you must refresh your product keys. If you want to move your tableau product to another computer, or need to remove it from a computer, you need to deactivate the product key.
Note: If you are using login-based license management or the Authorization to Run (ATR) service to manage Tableau Desktop licenses, you do not need to use these commands to refresh or deactivate Tableau. For more information about login-based license management, see license_lblm.htm(Link opens in a new window). For more information about the ATR service, see Configure Virtual Desktop Support.
Refresh the product key (Tableau Desktop only)
If you have a legacy product key, when you purchase a new subscription, you must refresh your product keys. Refreshing the product keys updates the product keys with the new date and reflects the new expiration dates.
If you refresh a subscription (term) product key before the expiration date occurs, the product key will not change but the expiration date will. The product key will change when the expiration date occurs or shortly thereafter. If a subscription (term) product key is not refreshed and has expired, Tableau will stop working and you will have to activate a new product key in the Tableau Customer Portal.
On the other hand, if the product key is perpetual (legacy) and its maintenance has expired, Tableau will continue to operate but you will not have access to upgrades until the maintenance is renewed. After renewing the maintenance, refresh the existing product key to update its maintenance expiration date. The product key will never change.
Note: You cannot refresh the product key if Tableau Desktop is offline. If you are activating Tableau Desktop in offline mode, you must obtain and activate a new key from the Tableau Customer Portal.
To refresh your Tableau Desktop product key using the command line, use the -refresh option.
If you want to refresh a Tableau Server product key using automated scripts, see Automate Licensing Tasks(Link opens in a new window) in the Tableau Server Help.
Windows
Run tableau.exe with the -refresh option and a product key. For example:
start/wait "" "C:\Program Files\Tableau\Tableau <version>\bin\tableau.exe" -refresh
Mac
Run the -refresh option on the Tableau object in the /Applications path:
./Applications/Tableau.app/Contents/MacOS/Tableau -refresh
Automatically refresh product keys using zero downtime licensing
Beginning in Tableau version 2021.1, internet-connected Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep Builder users may not have to manually refresh product keys. Term licenses are automatically refreshed without requiring any action starting 14 days before subscription expiration if the user is signed onto Tableau Desktop or Tableau Prep Builder. Permanent product keys are not automatically refreshed and must be refreshed manually using the Manage Product Keys menu option.
Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep Builder will attempt to silently refresh an active product key and will warn users 14 days before their license is set to expire if the silent refresh was unsuccessful. Tableau will attempt to refresh a product key three times (at 14 days, 2 days, and 1 day before license expiration) to reflect license end date extensions as a result of your subscription renewal. The product key is not refreshed unless a Tableau Desktop user signs onto Tableau Desktop during those times. For users who do not sign onto Tableau Desktop every day, you must refresh their product keys using the Manage Product Keys menu option.
Deactivate the product key
Note: If you want to deactivate a Tableau Server product key using automated scripts, see Automate Licensing Tasks(Link opens in a new window) in the Tableau Server Help.
If you want to move Tableau Desktop or Tableau Prep Builder to another computer, or need to remove it from a computer, you should deactivate the product key.
To retrieve and deactivate a Tableau Desktop or Tableau Prep Builder product key without having to manually remove it from an individual computer, start Tableau from the command line and use -return option. This option takes one parameter, which is the product key.
If you are using the Authorization to Run (ATR) service to manage Tableau Desktop licenses, you do not need to use these commands to refresh or deactivate Tableau. To learn more about the ATR service, see Configure Virtual Desktop Support.
You can also deactivate the product key during uninstall (Windows Desktop only). For more information, see Deactivate product keys during uninstall (Windows Desktop only).
Windows
Run tableau.exe with the -return option and a product key, as in the following example:
start/wait "" "C:\Program Files\Tableau\Tableau <version>\bin\tableau.exe" -return <product_key>
or
start/wait "" "C:\Program Files\Tableau\Tableau Prep Builder <version>\Tableau Prep Builder.exe" -return <product_key>
Mac
Run the -return option on the Tableau object in the /Applications path:
./Applications/Tableau.app/Contents/MacOS/Tableau -return <product_key>
or
"./Applications/Tableau Prep Builder <version>.app/Contents/MacOS/Tableau Prep Builder" -return <product_key>
Deactivate product keys during uninstall (Windows Desktop only)
You can deactivate any perpetual (or subscription in version 2018.3 and later) product keys from the command line when uninstalling Tableau Desktop on Windows using the RECLAIMLICENSE=1 installer options.
For example:
tableauDesktop-64bit-2021-4-4.exe /uninstall /quiet /norestart ACCEPTEULA=1 RECLAIMLICENSE=1
When you reclaim a license, it makes Tableau Desktop unlicensed, returning the activation back to the associated product key for future use. Tableau.exe will run a -return command at the start of
the uninstall to deactivate any active perpetual or term product keys.