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 license using the -activate option:

start/wait tabinstallck.exe -activate <product_key>

Refresh

Refresh a Tableau Server license using the -refresh option:

start/wait tabinstallck.exe -refresh <product_key>

Deactivate

Deactivate a Tableau Server license 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)

Exit Code	Message	Value
536871012	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_GENERAL	An unknown error occurred during the licensing operation.
536871013	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_INTERNAL	The product is unable to start due to an internal licensing error.
536871014	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_SETUP	The product is unable to start due to an internal licensing error.
536871015	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_CONNECT	An error occurred contacting the Tableau license server.
536871017	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_ACTIVATION_ASR	An error occurred while activating the ASR.
536871016	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_ACTIVATION_GENERAL	Activation failed, please try again.
536871018	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_ACTIVATION_INVALID_KEY	Invalid product key.
536871019	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_ACTIVATION_OFFLINE	Unable to complete offline activation.
536871020	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_ACTIVATION_INVALID_MODEL	An error was returned from the license server. Check the Tableau log file for more information.
536871021	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_ACTIVATION_MAX_REHOSTS	Failed to deactivate the license because you have reached the limit of deactivations for this license.
536871033	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_ACTIVATION_MAX_EXTRA_ACTIVATIONS	Failed to activate the license because you have reached the limit of activations for this license.
536871022	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_UNLICENSED_GENERAL	An unknown error occurred during the unlicensing operation. Check your product key or contact support.
536871023	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_UNLICENSED_NONE_FOUND	No licenses found.
536871024	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_UNLICENSED_EXPIRED	Only expired product keys were found.
536871025	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_UNLICENSED_EXPIRED_TRIAL	Your trial for this version has ended.
536871026	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_UNLICENSED_EXPIRED_SUBSCRIPTION	The product key is expired.
536871027	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_UNLICENSED_EXPIRED_MAINTENANCE	Maintenance has expired.
536871028	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_RESYNC_GENERAL	Your product keys could not be synchronized.
536871029	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_REGISTRATION_GENERAL	An error occurred during product registration.
536871030	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_SERVICE_INSTALL	An unknown error occurred during licensing operations.
536871031	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_SERVICE_UNINSTALL	An unknown error occurred during licensing operations.
536871032	TABLEAU_ERROR_LICENSING_SERVICE_NOT_PRESENT	The FLEXnet licensing service is not present on the system.