Docs

Moving or replacing a license

One license, one PBX · move it whenever you need to

A Call Flow Studio license is tied to one PBX. You can move it to a different PBX as often as you need to — the steps below cover both a planned move and a PBX that has failed.

If the old PBX is still running

This is the normal case — you’re replacing or rebuilding a working PBX and have access to both boxes. Free the license from the old one first, then activate it on the new one.

  1. On the old PBX, sign in to Call Flow Studio and run, from a shell: 
    sudo cfs release-license
    This releases the license. That box keeps working in free read-only Viewer mode.
  2. Install Call Flow Studio on the new PBX (see Installing Call Flow Studio).
  3. On the new PBX, go to Admin → License, paste your original activation code, and click Activate. It binds to the new machine right away — you don’t need a new code.

See the cfs command-line reference for more on release-license.

If the old PBX has failed

If the old PBX is dead — hardware failure, a wiped disk, a host you no longer have — you can’t run release-license on it. That’s fine. We’ll release it for you.

  1. Email support@callflowstudio.io from the address on the purchase, and tell us the license needs to move to replacement hardware.
  2. We confirm the old PBX is genuinely offline and release the license from it.
  3. Install Call Flow Studio on the new PBX and activate your original code under Admin → License.

If you try to activate on the new PBX before the old one is released, you’ll see “already active on another PBX.” That’s the same situation — email us and we’ll clear it.

What changes — and what doesn’t

  • The new PBX gets the full licensed experience as soon as you activate.
  • The old PBX drops to free Viewer mode (read-only). On the FreePBX family it keeps visualizing your dial plan for good; on VitalPBX it returns to the free tier.
  • Nothing on the PBX itself changes either way — moving a license only affects Call Flow Studio, never your dial plan, extensions, or call routing.

Why a license is tied to one PBX

One license covers one PBX, so it stays bound to the machine it’s activated on until you release it. That’s what keeps a single license from quietly running on several boxes at once. Releasing and re-activating is the supported way to move it, and you can do it yourself whenever the old box is reachable.