There is an alternative to having license files in the project root directory where you instead set a path to where you store your license files. This is an excellent way to also remove the need of extra deployments to update the license file.
In CMS 11 and prior you'd set the license path in the episerver.framework section, this was also documented https://world.optimizely.com/documentation/Items/Developers-Guide/Episerver-Framework/7/Configuration/Configuring-episerverframework-Section/
<configuration> <episerver.framework> <licensing licenseFilePath="C:\Repos\License.config" /> </episerver.framework> </configuration>
In CMS 12 the config has moved to appsettings and the CMS section
{ "EPiServer": { "CMS": { "LicensePath": { "Path": "C:\\Repos\\License.config" } } } }
The CMS 12 version of this is however still undocumented at the time of writing, https://world.optimizely.com/documentation/developer-guides/CMS/configuration/Configuring-cms/