Troubleshooting conflicting license status in Posit Workbench

licensing
Workbench
Published

May 1, 2026

Abstract

When using a license file in Workbench, the license-manager status command might show both an active license file and an expired local license state, potentially leading to confusion.

Description

When using a license file in Workbench, the license-manager status command might show both an active license file and an expired local license state, potentially leading to confusion.

For example, you might see this type of conflict:

-- License file status --

Status: Activated
Product-Key: AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD-EEEE-FFFF-GGGG
Has-Key: Yes
Has-Trial: No
...
Expiration: 2026-08-31

-- Local license status --

Status: Expired
Product-Key: HHHH-JJJJ-KKKK-MMMM-NNNN-PPPP-QQQQ
Has-Key: Yes
Has-Trial: No
...
Expiration: 2025-08-31

Solution

This situation occurs because the license file status takes precedence over the local license status without removing it. You can safely ignore this if the license file is valid, but an expired local license state can sometimes cause confusion.

To resolve conflicting license states:

  1. Clear any existing local license state by removing the following files:

    Terminal
    sudo rm -rf /var/lib/.local/.263cf365521e038cd9e659.78188028
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/.prof/.c236f365521e038cd9e659.78188028

  2. Ensure your license file has the correct permissions:

    • Owner: rstudio-server
    • Group: rstudio-server
    • Permissions: 600

  3. Restart the Workbench services:

    Terminal
    sudo systemctl restart rstudio-server
sudo systemctl restart rstudio-launcher

  4. Verify the license status:

    Terminal
    sudo rstudio-server license-manager status

After performing these steps to clear the license state, the local license status will show as expired, while the license file status shows as activated. This is the expected behavior when using a license file. After running the commands again, you will see the old key removed, similar to the following:

-- License file status --

Status: Activated
Product-Key: AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD-EEEE-FFFF-GGGG
Has-Key: Yes
Has-Trial: No
...
Expiration: 2026-08-31

-- Local license status --

Status: Expired
Has-Key: No
Has-Trial: No
...

Summary

When using a license file, you can safely ignore the expired status shown in the local license section of the license-manager status output. The license file status takes precedence. For clarity, you can also remove it with the steps above.

If you’re still having issues, you can reach out to Support by opening a ticket.