To obtain a Gurobi license key you'll need to run the grbgetkey
command on your machine. Note that the machine must be connected to
the Internet in order to run this command. An Internet connection is
not required after you have obtained your license key.
If your computer isn't connected to the Internet or if your network security system does not allow the command below to function, we also offer a manual license key process. You'll find manual instructions at the bottom of the License Detail page (by following the link labeled click here for additional instructions).
The exact command to run for a specific license is indicated at the
bottom of the License Detail page (e.g., grbgetkey 253e22f3-...
). We
recommend that you use copy-paste to copy the entire grbgetkey
command from our website and paste it directly into the Windows
Search box (and then hit Enter):
The grbgetkey
program passes identifying information about
your machine back to our website, and the website responds with your
license key. Once this exchange has occurred, grbgetkey
will
ask for the name of the directory in which to store your license
key file (gurobi.lic
). You should see a prompt that looks
like this:
You can store the license key file anywhere, but we strongly recommend that you accept the default location by hitting Enter. Setting up a non-default location is error-prone and a frequent source of trouble.
Using a non-default license file location
When you run the Windows version of the Gurobi Optimizer, it will look
for the gurobi.lic
key file in three different default
locations. It will always look in your home directory. In addition,
Gurobi Optimizer 7.02 will also look in c:\gurobi
and
c:\gurobi
702. Note that these default paths are absolute, so
for example Gurobi will look for the license key file in
c:\gurobi
, even if the software is installed in
d:\gurobi
.
If you would like to use a non-default license key file
location, you can do so by setting environment variable
GRB_LICENSE_FILE
to point to the license key file. Important note: the environment variable should point to the license
key file itself, not to the directory that contains the file.
On Windows systems, environment variables are created and modified
through the Control Panel. Searching for Environment Variables
from the Control Panel search box will lead you to the
appropriate screen. You will need to add a new System variable
named GRB_LICENSE_FILE
, and set it to the
location of your license file (e.g., d:\gurobi\gurobi.lic
).
Important note: your new environment variable must be a System variable, not a User variable.
Next steps
If your license includes the Distributed Add-On and you plan to use any of the Gurobi distributed algorithms, you'll also need to set up Gurobi Remote Services on your distributed worker machines.
Once you have followed the steps above and have obtained a license key file, your next step is to test your license.