Alteryx Designer and Alteryx Server were sold as separate products before the Alteryx One editions. Customers that have not moved, and Alteryx One customers running older versions, still license them this way.[12] Designer is licensed under a User-Based License, which is limited to a number of Authorized Users. Server is licensed under a Core-Based License, which is limited to a number of Cores on one server.[1] Both are delivered as license keys. Alteryx uses FlexNet Operations as a third-party service for licensing administration. Products are downloaded from the Alteryx Licensing & Downloads portal and activated online, offline, or through an Alteryx License Server.[3] The counting models are named user licensing and processor and core licensing.
Editions
| Product or key | What it licenses | Catalog |
|---|---|---|
| Alteryx Designer | Base desktop product; one Authorized User on one personal computer[1] | Designer |
| Alteryx Server | Base server product; one server, Cores up to the Order Form number[1] | Server |
| Additional server CPU cores | Add-on keys activated with the Server base product[7] | Additional cores |
| Alteryx Designer Desktop Automation | Add-on that lets Designer schedule workflows on the user’s own computer[11] | Desktop Automation |
| Alteryx Data Sets | Third-party Syndicated Data used through the product[13] | Data Sets |
The Manage Licenses window in Designer is used to activate a base product (Designer or Server) and the add-ons: data sets, Desktop Automation and additional server CPU cores.[7] An add-on key does not work on its own. The licensing system reports an error when an add-on key “has been activated without an active base product (Alteryx Designer or Alteryx Server)”.[6] Catalog: Each product needs its own license key; add-ons need an active base product.
Metrics
- Authorized User (catalog). Under the EULA, Authorized Users are the customer’s personnel who are authorized to use the product and for whom licence fees are paid. They must be identified to Alteryx, for example by email address.[2]
- Core (catalog). “‘Core’ means an individual physical processor within a computer’s central processing unit (‘CPU’) that receives and executes commands.”[1]
Counting / floors
Designer: one user, one computer. A User-Based License “may only be used by one Authorized User on one personal computer” and “may not be shared by multiple users or used concurrently on different computers”.[1] The total number of Authorized Users must not exceed the User-Based Licenses purchased.[2] The EULA also forbids letting more than one Authorized User use the same credentials.[2] A shared Designer login on a jump host is therefore not a compliant way to stretch licences. Catalog: A User-Based License may not be shared or used concurrently; Authorized Users must be identified and may not exceed licences purchased; Credentials and license keys may not be shared with non-Authorized Users.
Reassignment. User-Based Licenses can be reassigned to other uniquely identified people when staff leave or no longer need the product. They “may not be reassigned so frequently as to enable the sharing of any single User-Based License between multiple users”.[2] In practice, reassignment means deactivating the key. Once a licence is deactivated, it can be activated on another computer or freed for another user.[7] If no seats are available, a license administrator revokes a seat in the Licensing & Downloads portal.[6] Catalog: User-Based Licenses may be reassigned, but not to share them; Deactivating a licence frees it for another computer or user.
Server: one server, physical Cores. A Core-Based License may be installed on one server only, and “The total number of Cores made available to each installation of a Core-Based License shall not exceed the permitted number of Cores identified on the Order Form.”[1] On a multi-processor CPU, each physical processor counts as one Core, even when hyper-threading or a similar technology exposes more logical cores to the operating system.[1] Catalog: A Core-Based License covers one server up to the licensed Cores; Hyper-threading does not increase the Core count.
Enforcement of the core count. The licensing system shows the message “This machine is out of compliance with your organization’s license agreement” when “An Alteryx Server license was activated on a machine that has more cores than the number of cores for which it is licensed.” The suggested remedy is a new license key for additional server CPU cores.[6] Additional server CPU cores cannot be deactivated separately from Alteryx Server.[7] Catalog: Server on a machine with more cores than licensed is flagged out of compliance.
Sizing versus licensing. Alteryx’s hardware guidance for Server is written in logical cores and treats one physical core as two logical cores. The minimum is 4 physical cores per node, and 8 or more physical cores per node is recommended for production multi-node deployments.[9] These figures describe performance, not entitlement. The License Metrics document allows each Core-Based License on one server only[1] and does not say how the nodes of a multi-node Server deployment share licences, so the Order Form governs that question.
Activation methods
Online. The user enters an email address and the license keys, one per line, in the Designer Activation window. “A separate license key is required for each product.”[4] The engine checks its licensing through FlexNet Operations on every call, so an online-activated machine needs constant access to the Alteryx licensing endpoint.[6]
Offline (file activation). On a computer without internet access, the user creates a request (.req) file in Designer and uploads it to the Licensing & Downloads portal from another computer. The portal returns an activation (.bin) file, which activates the license keys on the offline computer.[5] Catalog: Offline computers activate by request and activation files through the portal.
Alteryx License Server. License administrators can deploy keys locally. “The License Server operates offline so users can activate and deactivate Alteryx product license keys without having to connect to the Alteryx online activation service.”[8] It is based on the FlexNet Embedded License Server, runs on Windows Server (not Linux), and is compatible with Designer and Server but not with Connect, Promote or Alteryx Analytics Hub.[8] After activating from a License Server, a user can keep working while disconnected for a set period. Designer shows how many days remain before the user must reconnect.[7] Catalog: Alteryx License Server activates keys locally without the online service.
Who activates. End users activate trials, online activations and offline activations themselves. License administrators activate on users’ behalf when a License Server or command-line activation is used.[4] From Designer 2026.1 there is no separate Designer installer. Designer is installed through the Alteryx One Windows application.[5]
Desktop Automation
Desktop Automation lets Designer schedule workflows on the user’s own computer. It needs the Designer key and the add-on key, entered together.[11] Running Designer from a third-party scheduler is not an alternative. The On-Premise Terms prohibit using the on-premises products with “any other product, service, or technology not provided by Alteryx to perform or schedule automated, bulk, or batched actions or queries”, unless the Agreement expressly allows it.[10] Automated use therefore has to be licensed through Desktop Automation, Alteryx Server or Alteryx One automation. Catalog: On-premises products may not be driven by third-party tools for automated or batch runs.
Virtualization & partitioning
The EULA prohibits customers from placing the products on the internet or a network service, or virtualizing “a user-based license”, unless an Order Form or Alteryx in writing allows it.[2] Running Designer in virtual desktop infrastructure therefore needs explicit permission. For Server, the Core definition refers to physical processors in a computer’s CPU. The License Metrics document does not say how virtual CPUs on a hypervisor map to Cores.[1] The Server system requirements treat vCPUs as logical cores for sizing.[9] Customers should have the mapping written into the Order Form. Backup copies are allowed only as cold backups that are disconnected from any use environment and need manual activation to take over.[10] A warm or active standby Server is therefore not covered by the backup allowance. Catalog: A user-based license may not be virtualized without written permission; On-premises backup copies must be cold backups. See virtualization and partitioning.
Cloud / BYOL
No Alteryx document reviewed provides for bringing Designer or Server keys to a public cloud. The EULA’s restrictions on hosted and third-party use apply wherever the software runs.[2] Cloud execution is sold as Alteryx One Workspace Execution, which is part of the editions.
Programs
Trial licences cover evaluation on one personal computer for 30 days or another period Alteryx grants, and they expire automatically.[1] Non-Commercial Licenses for education and not-for-profit organizations are one-year licences under the same User-Based or Core-Based rules.[1] Catalog: Trial License; Non-Commercial License.
Out of scope
This article does not cover Alteryx Connect, Promote and Analytics Hub, the command-line installer options in detail, or the Licensing & Downloads portal API. Licensing through Alteryx One sign-in is covered in Alteryx One editions and user roles licensing.