Skip to content
Handsontable dev

License key

Activate Handsontable, passing your license key in the configuration object. Use a special key for non-commercial and evaluation purposes.

Overview

Handsontable is available under Commercial and Free licenses, depending on your usage.

We require you to specify which terms apply to your usage, by passing a license key in Handsontable’s licenseKey configuration option.

Commercial license

If you use the paid version of Handsontable, pass the string of numbers delivered to you after the purchase. Note that the license key is a string, so you need to wrap it in quotes ''.

Pass the license key as a prop:

<HotTable licenseKey="00000-00000-00000-00000-00000" />

Or include it in the settings object passed to :settings:

<script setup>
  const hotSettings = ref({
    licenseKey: '00000-00000-00000-00000-00000',
    // ... other options
  });
</script>


<template>
  <HotTable :settings="hotSettings" />
</template>

Non-Commercial license

If you use Handsontable for purposes not intended toward monetary compensation such as, but not limited to, teaching, academic research, evaluation, testing and experimentation, pass the string 'non-commercial-and-evaluation'.

<HotTable licenseKey="non-commercial-and-evaluation" />

Result

Your grid is now licensed. A valid commercial key removes the license notice from the grid header.

The validation process

We validate the license key to determine whether you are entitled to use the software. To do that, we compare the time between two dates. These dates come from two sources of information. One is the build date that is provided in each version of Handsontable. The other is the creation date that comes with the license key. This process does not trigger any connection to any server.

Notifications

If your license key is missing, invalid, or expired, Handsontable will display an appropriate notification. The notification is displayed in two places, below the table as HTML text and in the console. The messages are as follows:

Missing license key

The license key for Handsontable is missing. Use your purchased key to activate the product. Alternatively, you can activate Handsontable to use for non-commercial purposes by passing the key: ‘non-commercial-and-evaluation’. Read more about it in the documentation or contact us at [email].

Invalid license key

The license key for Handsontable is invalid. Read more on how to install it properly or contact us at [email].

Expired license key

The license key for Handsontable expired on [expiration_date], and is not valid for the installed version [handsontable_version]. Renew your license key or downgrade to a version released prior to [expiration_dates]. If you need any help, contact us at [email].

Get a license key

To get a commercial license key for your Handsontable copy, contact our Sales Team.

FAQ

How do I update the license key in many tables at once?

There’s no built-in method to update all existing instances automatically. You have two options:

  • Before creating any instances: set the key globally so every new instance picks it up.

    Handsontable.defaults.licenseKey = 'your-new-key';

  • For instances that already exist: call updateSettings() on each one, looping through them manually.

    hot1.updateSettings({ licenseKey: 'your-new-key' });
    hot2.updateSettings({ licenseKey: 'your-new-key' });

What happens if I keep using a stale (expired) license key?

What you can do depends on your license type:

  • Subscription license: once your subscription expires, you can no longer use Handsontable. Renew your subscription to keep using the grid.
  • Perpetual license: you can keep using any version of Handsontable that was released before your license expired. You won’t be able to upgrade to versions released after that date.

If you load a version that your license doesn’t cover, you’ll see a console warning and a watermark on the grid. To keep support and access to updates, keep your license up to date.

What will I see if I update to a newer version with a stale key?

If your license key is expired and you update to a version of Handsontable released after it expired, you’ll see:

  • A watermark below the table saying the license is invalid.
  • A warning in the browser console (see Expired license key).

All features still work, but you’re not entitled to use that version under an expired license. To remove the warning and watermark, either downgrade to the last version released while your license was still active, or renew the license.

Software license
licenseKey