The free evaluation key unlocks the DAX (Power BI) and MCP (AI agents) modules for 30 days. Excel and MDX work without any key.
1. Request a key
Request a key at emondrian.com/license. It arrives by email and looks like this — the license type, a dash and 16 characters:
TRIAL-0123456789ABCDEF
2. Activate it
Open the eMondrian main page — http://localhost (or your server’s address).
Server with internet access
In the License section, under Activate a license, paste the key into License code and click Activate license. The server contacts the licensing service once to fetch the license.
Server without internet access
- On emondrian.com/license, enter your key and download the license file.
- On the eMondrian main page, under No internet access, click Upload license file and select the downloaded file.
The file picker shows .tar files — select the downloaded file as it is.
Installed licenses
Above the activation cards, the License section lists every license installed on the server: its type, modules, start and expiry date, and whether it is Active, Expired or Not started. A server can hold several licenses, so the activation cards stay available while one is active — use them to add an extension or a commercial key.
On a server with authentication, only users allowed to manage licenses see the License section. Community has no authentication, so everyone who opens the main page sees it.
When does it take effect?
- Server without a valid key: immediately — no restart.
- Replacing an active key (extension, upgrade to a commercial key): a valid key is cached until restart, so run:
docker compose restart eMondrian
What happens when it expires
- DAX and MCP stop. Requests return
License has expired. Expiry time: …. - Power BI loses even its field list — it reads the model metadata through the DAX module.
- Excel and MDX keep working. The core engine never checks the key.
Need more time?
A real proof of concept often takes longer than 30 days. Request an extension at emondrian.com/license#extend with a few words about your project. Activate the new key and restart.
For production use, see emondrian.com/pricing.
Details
- Keys are stored as license files in the
modules/folder of the project.
Error messages
| Message | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
No .lic files found in …/modules | No key activated | Activate a key — takes effect immediately |
License has expired. Expiry time: … | Key expired | Activate a new key, then restart |
License is not valid yet. Start time: … | Key’s start date is in the future | Check the server’s clock and the key’s dates |
Module 'MCP' not found in license modules | Key doesn’t include MCP (evaluation keys issued before 30 September 2026 cover DAX only) | Request a new evaluation key, activate, restart |