Project Description: 🏔️ kms on Alpine

What is the project about?

This project provides a Docker image that runs a Key Management Service (KMS) server based on Alpine Linux. It allows users to activate various versions of Microsoft Windows and Office products.

What problem does it solve?

It provides a way to activate Microsoft Windows and Office products (volume license editions) without requiring a direct connection to Microsoft's activation servers. This is particularly useful in environments where such connections are restricted or unavailable, or for testing/development purposes. It offers a self-hosted solution for managing product activations.

What are the features of the project?

• KMS Server: Runs a KMS server that emulates Microsoft's activation service.
• Wide Compatibility: Supports activation of a wide range of Windows and Office versions, from Vista/2008 to the latest releases (including Server 2025 and Office 2024).
• Dockerized: Packaged as a Docker image for easy deployment and portability.
• Alpine Linux Based: Uses Alpine Linux as the base image, resulting in a small image size.
• Configurable: Allows customization of various KMS parameters through environment variables (e.g., locale, client count, activation/renewal intervals, log level).
• Persistent Storage: Uses a volume (/var) to store the activation database, ensuring persistence across container restarts.
• Unraid Support: Includes specific tags optimized for Unraid systems.
• Optional GUI: A separate kms-gui image is available to provide a web-based interface for monitoring activated clients.
• Docker Compose: Provides a docker-compose.yml example for easy deployment of both the KMS server and the optional GUI.
• Registry modification examples for Windows.

What are the technologies used in the project?

• Docker: Containerization technology.
• Alpine Linux: Lightweight Linux distribution.
• py-kms: A Python-based KMS server implementation.
• SQLite: Used for the activation database.
• (Optional) kms-gui: Web interface for monitoring.

What are the benefits of the project?

• Simplified Activation: Provides a centralized and self-hosted solution for activating Windows and Office products.
• Offline Activation: Enables activation in environments without direct internet access to Microsoft servers.
• Easy Deployment: Dockerized nature makes it easy to deploy and manage.
• Small Footprint: Alpine Linux base keeps the image size small.
• Customizable: Environment variables allow for configuration.
• Persistence: Activation data is stored persistently.
• Unraid Compatibility: Specifically tailored for Unraid users.

What are the use cases of the project?

• Corporate Environments: Activating Windows and Office in organizations with restricted internet access or internal network policies.
• Testing and Development: Activating software in testing or development environments without using production licenses.
• Home Labs: Managing activations for personal servers and workstations.
• Offline Environments: Activating systems in locations with limited or no internet connectivity.
• Educational Institutions: Providing a way to activate software for students and staff.
• Air-gapped networks: Activating systems that are intentionally isolated from external networks.