AES Crypt License File

After purchasing AES Crypt, you will receive a license file named "aescrypt_license.json" that contains your unique license key. This file will be read when AES Crypt starts. (If you did not receive one or if you lost yours, please contact support.)

The license file should be placed in your "home" directory (folder) using one of the names listed below. Alternatively, you may install it in certain directories for system wide access (e.g., access by "root" on Linux systems).

License File Location

User's Home Directory

The following locations may be used to store the license in the user's home directory or, on Windows, "User Profile" directory. The tilde symbol (~) represents your home directory location. On Linux, this is generally something like "/home/paulej". On Windows, this is generally something like "C:\Users\paulej". On Mac, this is generally something like "/Users/paulej". In all cases, "paulej" would be replaced with your username on the computer.

~/aescrypt_license.json
~/.aescrypt_license.json
~/.config/aescrypt/aescrypt_license.json

The instructions that follow are specific to each of the supported operating systems, but just note that once you figure out where your home directory is, the above are all valid locations within your home directory where you can place the license file.

Windows User Profile Location

If you're unsure of where your User Profile directory is, you can find it on Windows by opening File Explorer and typing %USERPROFILE% in the address area at the top and pressing ENTER. Alternatively, you can press Windows + R and type %USERPROFILE% and press ENTER. Either method will lead you to your User Profile directory.

The User Profile directory should look something like the following image. (Note that this is not the sane as "Home" on the left side of File Explorer that shows "Quick Access" or "Favorites". The instructions above use the word "home" as this is generally what it is called on other operating systems. Microsoft refers to this as the "User Profile" directory.)

You can place the file "aescrypt_license.json" right there. You may also create a directory named ".config" and a subdirectory named "aescrypt" where you can place the file. For most users, putting it in the User Profile directory is easiest.

If you want to hide the file so it's not visible, you can right-click on the file and select Properties and check "Hidden". It will then be out of view, unless you tell File Explorer to show hidden files. (That option is available from the ... menu and selecting "Options" and, on the "View" tab, indicating to show hidden files.)

Mac Home Location

Your home directory on Mac is readily found by opening Finder and pressing Command + Shift + H. It should look something like the following.

In your home folder, you will see other folders like "Desktop", "Documents", "Downloads", "Music", etc. If you're unsure if you're in the right place, you can navigate there in Finder by selecting the "Macintosh HD" location on the left, selecting "Users", and selecting double-clicking on your username.

Normally on Mac, Finder will not allow you to create a folder named ".config" or to rename the license file to ".aescrypt_license.json". However, you can easily make it possible by typing Command + Shift + .. For more details, see this page.

Renaming the license with with a leading period will normally hide the file so that it's out of sight. You can use the same keyboard sequence to make the files starting with period disappear again.

Another way to hide the file is using the Terminal. If you open a Terminal window, you can type "chflags hidden aescrypt_license.json" to make the file hidden in the Finder window.

On Linux, there are usually several hidden files and directories and, often, you will find the directory ".config". This is less common on Mac, but some software follows this convention for consistency with Linux. Placing the file in "~/.config/aescrypt/aescrypt_license.json" is the best place, as that is the first place AES Crypt will look when searching for the license file.

Linux Home Location

On Linux, the home directory can be easily found using the file manager on your Linux distribution. Opening the "Files" application on Ubuntu, for example, will generally take you to your home directory.

If you want to hide the file so it's not visible, you rename the license file with a leading period. Normally, those are not visible from the file manager or from the terminal when typing "ls". However, you can see them with "ls -a" in the terminal or selecting the option to show hidden files in the file manager.

On Linux, there are usually several hidden files directories and, often, you will find the directory ".config". For Linux, the best place to store your license file is in "~/.config/aescrypt/aescrypt_license.json", as that is the first place AES Crypt will look when searching for the license file. Further, that is the de facto location for various software configuration files.

System-Wide Access

As an alternative to storing the license file in your home directory, you may also store it certain directories so that it is available for all users on the system.

On Windows, the system-wide directory is %PROGRAMDATA%\AES Crypt. Normally, this location is "C:\PRogramData\AES Crypt". This directory must be created, so first go to %PROGRAMDATA% and create a directory named "AES Crypt" (including a space in the name). Place the license file in that directory with the name "aescrypt_license.json".

On Linux and Mac, the system-wide directory is /etc. Just place the license file in that directory with the name "aescrypt_license.json". This directory is a protected directory and you will need root access to store it there. Mac will prompt you for a password, but on Linux you will probably find it easier to use the terminal and copy it manually using the command sudo cp aescrypt_license.json /etc/. (Note that Mac normally hides the /etc directory, but you can press Command + Shift + . to make it visible when you select "Macintosh HD".)