Migrate to IDE Services Cloud

Last modified: 11 April 2025

Once your IDE Services Cloud instance is up and running, you can migrate your existing users and licenses to it. On this page you will find instructions on migrating from the legacy License Server (also known as Floating License Server or FLS) and from other licensing tools.

Compare IDE Services Cloud and License Server

Due to the upcoming discontinuation of the legacy License Server, we highly recommend switching to IDE Services Cloud. It offers scalability, fully postpaid IDE licensing with the pay-as-you-go billing model, and the ability to share licenses between developers efficiently.

If you've already decided to switch to IDE Services Cloud, you can skip straight to the migration instructions.

The table below compares the key features of License Vault and License Server.

IDE Services Cloud with License Vault

License Server

Access

Accessible from any device with an internet connection

Accessible within the private company network only

Secure connection and user authentication

Yes, single sign-on

You can set up any authentication module used in your company

No

User authentication is not supported

Reverse proxy is required to make connections secure

License management interface

A user-friendly web application to manage licenses and configure access rules

Limited UI. Rule configuration via regexp and property files

Installation and maintenance

Deployed in cloud. Hosted, maintained, and upgraded by JetBrains

No installation is required: setup takes a few minutes

Complicated installation process

Maintenance and upgrades performed by the customer

Upgrades

Seamless zero-downtime upgrades provided by JetBrains

Manual upgrades with downtime

Reliability

High

With multi-node deployment providing redundancy and failover mechanisms

Low

A single-machine installation is extremely vulnerable to hardware failures

Scalability

High

Scales automatically according to the load

None

A single-machine installation is not scalable

Backups and recovery

Settings and license allocation data are stored on JetBrains servers with regular backups

Data is stored on the local server, backups are not supported

SLA and extended enterprise support

Yes

Contact the IDE Services Cloud support team for more details

No

Prerequisites for migration

Before migrating from any licensing tool to IDE Services Cloud, make sure to complete the steps below.

warning

Make sure the licenses you want to migrate are supported in IDE Services Cloud. Only active IDE, .NET tool, and plugin licenses can be distributed via License Vault. Perpetual fallback licenses and team tool licenses such as YouTrack and TeamCity are not supported.

Migrating from License Server

If you manage your licenses via the legacy License Server, you can use the automated migration tool in your JetBrains Account to migrate users and licenses to IDE Services Cloud.

When you start the migration, we'll add temporary licenses to IDE Services Cloud matching your active License Server ones. You'll have 30 days to move users from License Server to IDE Services Cloud.

All your team members have to do is connect to IDE Services Cloud, and they will automatically get temporary licenses. Your License Server will continue distributing licenses during the migration period, so users can switch at their convenience.

Once the migration period ends, all active licenses will be automatically transferred from License Server to IDE Services Cloud.

Step 1: Start migration

  1. Go to the IDE Services Cloud management page in your JetBrains Account.

  2. In the License Vault section, click Start migration.

    Start migration button

  3. (Optional) If you use any other licensing tool, you will see a dropdown menu. Select Migrate from License Server there.

    Dropdown with migration options

  4. If you have more than one License Server, select the ones you want to replace with IDE Services Cloud.

    warning

    You can use the automatic migration tool only once for your IDE Services Cloud instance. For any License Servers that you don't select on this step only manual migration will remain available at a later date.

    Field where license servers can be selected

  5. Click Start 30-day migration period.

    Button to start the migration period

  6. The 30-day migration period will then start immediately, and the free temporary licenses will be added to your IDE Services Cloud instance. The licenses will appear in your License Vault within 2 hours.

  7. (Optional) To make the licenses appear in License Vault without a delay, you can force-refresh your IDE Services license.

    To do that, in the IDE Services Web UI, navigate to Configuration | License & Activation and click Refresh license in the IDE Services section.

    Button to force-refresh IDE Services license

You can check the status of the started migration on the IDE Services Cloud management page in your JetBrains Account. In the License Vault section you'll find the remaining migration period and the number of licenses that will be migrated from your License Server to IDE Services Cloud at the end. The license count is constantly checked and updated, so it might change if you remove some of the licenses from License Server or if they expire during the migration period.

Button to start the migration period

Step 2: Instruct your team

After starting the migration, coordinate with your team to make sure all License Server users switch to IDE Services Cloud activation within the 30-day migration period.

Send your users the URL of your IDE Services Cloud instance and instruct them to install the Toolbox App and connect to IDE Services Cloud.

tip

If you prefer not to use the Toolbox App, instruct your users to activate their IDEs manually.

If you have several authentication modules, specify which one your users should log in with. If only one module is set as the default, users will be automatically directed to it upon clicking Log in.

Once a user connects to IDE Services Cloud via the Toolbox App or manually activates their IDE, they will obtain one of the free temporary licenses, which they can use until the migration is over.

    Step 3 (Optional): Transfer True-Up settings

    If you have been using the True-Up option for your License Server, True-Up limits won't be transferred to IDE Services Cloud automatically during migration. You can set up postpaid license limits in the IDE Services Cloud settings if necessary.

    Like the True-Up option in License Server, postpaid IDE licensing in IDE Services Cloud allows you to use JetBrains IDEs without purchasing subscriptions up front. License Vault supplies additional IDE licenses automatically when your team needs them. At the end of each billing period, you pay for the exact number of licenses used.

    You can change your postpaid limits at any time.

      Step 4: Finalize migration

      Once all of your developers switch to activating their JetBrains tools via IDE Services Cloud, you have two options: wait for the migration to be completed automatically after 30 days or complete it manually.

      warning

      Once the migration is completed, all active licenses will be transferred from your License Servers and all free temporary licenses provided during the migration will expire.

      To complete the migration before the 30 days are over:

      1. Go to the IDE Services Cloud management page in your JetBrains Account.

      2. In the License Vault section, click Manage.

      3. Select Complete migration and transfer licenses.

        Complete migration and trasfer licenses menu option

      4. In the popup dialog, confirm your choice by clicking Complete migration and transfer licenses.

      Cancel migration

      warning

      You can start the automated migration only once for your IDE Services Cloud instance. If the migration is canceled or not completed for any reason, you can't restart it. If you have issues with a started migration, contact us for assistance.

      You have the option to cancel the migration before it's completed. We do not recommend doing so, because in this case all temporary licenses are immediately removed from IDE Services Cloud, and anyone using them will lose access to their JetBrains products. Additionally, you won't be able to restart the migration later.

      If you have any problems or questions, contact our support team before canceling a running migration.

      If you still decide to cancel, do the following:

      1. Go to the IDE Services Cloud management page in your JetBrains Account.

      2. In the License Vault section, click Manage.

      3. Select Cancel migration.

        Cancel migration menu option

      4. In the popup dialog, confirm your choice by clicking Cancel migration.

      Migrating from other licensing tools

      If you distribute licenses manually via JetBrains Account or use a standalone License Vault instance that's not integrated with IDE Services Cloud, you can switch to IDE Services Cloud in a few steps.

      Manually migrating to IDE Services Cloud

      1. Notify your team about the migration in advance.

        Coordinate with your team and make sure that your developers get the new activation instructions before you start transferring your licenses to the IDE Services Cloud instance.

        tip

        If you are concerned about the migration disrupting your team's workflow, contact us for assistance.

      2. Instruct your team.

        Send your users the URL of your IDE Services Cloud instance and instruct them to install the Toolbox App and connect to IDE Services Cloud.

        tip

        If you prefer not to use the Toolbox App, instruct your users to activate their IDEs manually.

        If you have several authentication modules, specify which one your users should log in with. If only one module is set as the default, users will be automatically directed to it upon clicking Log in.

      3. Start transferring licenses to IDE Services Cloud.

        When your team is ready, start transferring the licenses to License Vault. For instructions, refer to Adding licenses to your License Vault.

        We recommend transferring the licenses in batches for a more controlled and smoother transition. Start by transferring a portion of your licenses and then keep an eye on your license usage statistics and the Denials Report for a while. Once you have confirmed that your developers can successfully obtain licenses, move on to the next batch.

      Assisted migration

      If you are concerned about the migration disrupting your team's workflow, contact us for assistance.

      1. Go to the IDE Services Cloud management page in your JetBrains Account.

      2. If you don't have active License Servers, in the License Vault section, click Request migration assistance.

        The button to request migration assistance

        Otherwise, click Start migration and select Migrate from other licensing tools.

      3. In the popup dialog, click Request migration support.

      Our Sales team will get in touch with you to discuss your migration options.

      Using License Vault without the Toolbox App

      The Toolbox App is required for you to fully utilize the capabilities of IDE Services Cloud. But if your organization currently uses only License Vault and prefers not to use the Toolbox App, your users can activate their JetBrains tools manually. You will need to send them the following information:

      • The activation instructions along with the URL of your IDE Services Cloud instance.

        • If you have automatic server discovery set up for your IDE Services Cloud instance, let the users know they can use the Discover server option in Step 5 of the activation instructions.

        • Without automatic server discovery, make sure to share the URL of your IDE Services Cloud instance.

      • If you have several authentication modules, specify which one your users should log in with. If only one module is set as the default, users will be automatically directed to it upon clicking Log in.