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Licensing and Editions

Cortex is licensed per deployment with a license key. The key decides which features the installation switches on and how many archive databases Cortex will connect to.

Viewing Your License​

Navigate to Admin → System Settings → License.

The License key settings panel contains:

  • Company name and License code — the values the running instance is using. Saving new values here overrides anything supplied by appsettings.json or environment variables.
  • Import license — load a license key from a file.
  • Export license — save the currently configured key, for example to move it to another environment.
  • Re-check license — re-reads the key and refreshes the resolved entitlements without restarting Cortex. Use this after importing or pasting a new key.
  • Clear license — removes the configured key.

The License details card beside it shows what the running key actually grants:

  • Expiration date — the date the key expires, marked (EXPIRED) after it has passed.
  • Hosting — SaaS or On-Prem.
  • Enabled features — the capabilities included with the key, such as Cherwell Archives, ServiceNow Archives, Api Embed Access, Mail Monitoring, Platform, or Named Licenses.

If no key is loaded, the card reports that no license is currently loaded.

Unlicensed and Trial Installations​

Cortex runs without a license key, but result sets are limited to 10 records and a banner reports the installation as Unlicensed (or Unlicensed Version) with an Upgrade link.

You can add a key at any time on the License tab, or during installation — see Install using the Installer.

Editions​

Newer license keys are issued as an edition. The edition is the preset that determines which parts of the product are switched on:

EditionWhat it enables
LiteViewing archived data in the Cortex UI — browse, search, and record forms.
ArchiveEverything in Lite, plus Cortex's data migration tooling, the embed (iframe) pages, and REST API / MCP data access.
PlatformThe full product. Includes everything in the Archive edition.
Mail MonitorMail monitoring features.

Older-format license keys are not edition-based. They enable the individual features they were issued with (Cherwell archives, API/embed access, mail monitoring, and so on) and keep that behavior unchanged.

The Enabled features list on the License tab is the authoritative answer for a deployment — if a capability is not listed there, it is not switched on.

What a Lite License Does Not Enable​

When a license does not include the archive feature set:

  • The embed (iframe) pages cannot run saved-search or ad hoc queries.
  • The external REST API data endpoints — records, relationships, and Cortex actions — return HTTP 403.
  • The MCP endpoint (/mcp) is not available and returns HTTP 404, as if it had not been configured.
  • Cortex's data migration tooling is not available.

Archive Database Entitlement​

A license states how many archive databases Cortex may enable, and Cortex enforces that over enabled archive data sources:

  • The limit applies to any applied license. Older-format keys were not issued with a count, so they are treated as one archive database — contact Synapse if you need a key that covers more.
  • If more archive data sources are enabled than the entitlement allows, Cortex keeps the archives it can cover (ordered by data source name) and the remaining archives are not made available anywhere in the UI — navigation menu, home screens, and search. Admins can still see and manage every configured data source under Admin → Data Sources.
  • Only archive data sources count toward the entitlement. API, mailbox, CSV, platform-table, and migration source connections are never limited.
  • An archive type that the license does not cover does not consume the entitlement, so it can never push a covered archive out of the limit.
  • Unlicensed installations have no archive database cap — they are limited to 10 records per result set instead.

Expiration Behavior​

What happens when a license reaches its expiration date depends on how the key was issued:

  • Standard keys — data access continues after expiry, as it always has.
  • Trial-style keys that block at expiry — once the expiration date passes, data access stops: searches and browse return no records, the REST API returns HTTP 403, the MCP endpoint returns HTTP 404, and a banner reading License Expired appears with a Renew link.
  • 30-day expiration warning — keys issued with the expiry notice show a License expiring soon banner to Cortex admins during the 30 days before expiry, including the number of days remaining. It is a courtesy notice and does not change data access.

Renewing or Replacing a Key​

  1. Get the new license code from Synapse.
  2. Open Admin → System Settings → License.
  3. Use Import license to load a key file, or paste the Company name and License code and save.
  4. Click Re-check license to apply it, then confirm the new Expiration date and Enabled features in License details.

To renew, contact sales@synapsesoftware.com.

See Also​