Tableau Server on Windows Help

Several command line options allow you to perform common licensing tasks for Tableau Server using automated scripts.

If you want to perform these licensing tasks for Tableau Desktop using automated scripts, see Deploy Tableau Desktop(Link opens in a new window) in the Desktop Deployment Guide.

Command Line Tool Options and Better Script Automation

You can use a utility called tabinstallck.exe to script the activation, refresh and deactivation of server product keys. tabinstallck.exe is installed in the Tableau Server \bin directory on the initial node. By default, this is:

C:\Program Files\Tableau\Tableau Server\packages\bin.<version_code>

You can also use tsm licenses to perform licensing tasks such as activating or deactivating a Tableau Server product key on- or off-line, and getting associated files for offline activation or deactivation. However, Tableau Server must already be deployed and configured. You can automate these licensing tasks using the Tableau Services Manager API. In addition, tabinstallck.exe provides a way to script the licensing step for a new Tableau Server installation that is not completely configured.

To use tabinstallck.exe, you need to run the commands or script as an administrator on the primary Tableau Server node.

Note: tabinstallck.exe does not support offline activation and deactivation. To learn more, see Activate Tableau Server Offline.

Activate

Activate a Tableau Server licence using the -activate option:

start/wait tabinstallck.exe -activate <product_key>

Refresh

Refresh a Tableau Server licence using the -refresh option:

start/wait tabinstallck.exe -refresh <product_key>

Deactivate

Deactivate a Tableau Server licence using the -return option:

start/wait tabinstallck.exe -return <product_key>

Example

An example of a script to activate Tableau Server might look like this:

@echo off
start/wait tabinstallck.exe -activate <product_key>
if %errorlevel% EQU 0 (ECHO SUCCESS) ELSE (ECHO FAILED)

Error Handling

When you use tabinstallck.exe to automate Tableau Server licensing tasks, status information is returned as an exit code in the ERRORLEVEL environment variable. If activation was successful, the exit code is 0 (zero). The table below lists exit codes from the activation process and what they mean. You can also find error information in the tabinstallck.log file. This log file is located in the Tableau Server \logs folder, by default:

C:\ProgramData\Tableau\Tableau Server\data\tabsvc\logs\

The ProgramData folder is hidden by default.

This example script shows how to activate Tableau Server and check for specific errors, such as an invalid product key (536871018) and general licensing issues (536871012).

@echo off
start/wait tabinstallck.exe -activate  <product_key>
if %errorlevel% EQU 536871018 (ECHO TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_INVALID_KEY)
if %errorlevel% EQU 536871012 (ECHO TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENCING_GENERAL)
if %errorlevel% EQU 0 (ECHO SUCCESS)