Adding the License Key to CI/CD Services

Updated on Aug 14, 2026

This article describes how to set up and activate your Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC license across a few popular CI/CD services by using deployment keys.

Deployment keys are a dedicated type of license key for build pipelines. They are tied to a specific application and the set of products that the application uses. Deployment keys cannot be used for application development.

Developer license keys remain valid for CI/CD deployments, so existing pipelines do not need to be updated. For new pipelines, we recommend using deployment keys. For more information, see the differences between developer license keys and deployment keys.

To activate your license in a CI/CD environment:

1. Navigate to the Deployment Keys page.
2. Click Add Application. In the form that opens:
   • Add the application name.
   • Select the type of application—public or private.
   • Select the set of products used in the application.
3. Copy the key value and store it securely.
4. Create an environment variable named TELERIK_LICENSE and set it to the obtained key value. Alternatively, store the key in a telerik-license.txt file, for example, when using the Azure secure files approach.

Treat the deployment key and the license file as secrets. Always store and retrieve them securely according to the build platform's best practices.

Creating an Environment Variable

The recommended approach for providing your license key to the Telerik.Licensing NuGet package is to use environment variables. Each CI/CD service has a different process for setting environment variables. This article lists examples for some of the most popular services.

If your CI/CD service is not listed in this article, contact Telerik technical support.

GitHub Actions

1. Create a new Repository Secret or Organization Secret.
2. Set the name of the secret to TELERIK_LICENSE and paste the deployment key value into the secret.
3. After running npm install or yarn, add a build step to activate the license:

yaml

  env:
    TELERIK_LICENSE: ${{ secrets.TELERIK_LICENSE }}

In a complete CI/CD workflow, you also need to set up NuGet package restoration authentication using TELERIK_NUGET_KEY. See Restoring NuGet Packages in Your CI Workflow for details.

Azure Pipelines

1. Create a new secret variable named TELERIK_LICENSE.
2. Paste the deployment key as its value.

Using Secure Files on Azure DevOps

Secure files are an alternative for sharing the deployment key file in Azure Pipelines without the size limitations of environment variables.

You have two options for the file-based approach:

• Set the TELERIK_LICENSE_PATH variable to the full path of the license file.
• Add a file named telerik-license.txt to the project directory or a parent directory.

Make sure that you reference Telerik.Licensing version 1.4.10 or later.

YAML Pipeline

With a YAML pipeline, use the DownloadSecureFile@1 task, then use $(name.secureFilePath) to reference it. For example:

YAML

steps:
- task: DownloadSecureFile@1
  name: DownloadTelerikLicenseFile
  displayName: 'Download Telerik License Key File'
  inputs:
    secureFile: 'telerik-license.txt'


- task: MSBuild@1
  displayName: 'Build Project'
  inputs:
    solution: 'myapp.csproj'
    platform: 'Any CPU'
    configuration: 'Release'
    msbuildArguments: '/p:RestorePackages=false'
  env:
    TELERIK_LICENSE_PATH: $(DownloadTelerikLicenseFile.secureFilePath)

Classic Pipeline

With a classic pipeline, add a Download secure file task and a PowerShell script to set TELERIK_LICENSE_PATH to the secure file path.

1. Add a “Download secure file” task and set the output variable's name to telerikLicense.

   

2. Add a PowerShell task and set the TELERIK_LICENSE_PATH variable to the secureFilePath property of the output variable:

   

The script to set the environment variable is quoted below:

powershell

Write-Host "Setting TELERIK_LICENSE_PATH to $(telerikLicense.secureFilePath)"
Write-Host "##vso[task.setvariable variable=TELERIK_LICENSE_PATH;]$(telerikLicense.secureFilePath)"

Alternatively, copy the file into the repository directory:

powershell

Write-Host "Copying $(telerikLicense.secureFilePath) to $(Build.Repository.LocalPath)/telerik-license.txt"
Copy-Item -Path $(telerikLicense.secureFilePath) -Destination "$(Build.Repository.LocalPath)/telerik-license.txt"

Next Steps

• Restore Telerik NuGet Packages in CI/CD Workflows

See Also

• Licensing FAQ

• CI, CD, Build Server

• Getting Started with Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC