Operations
Licensing & activation
The model in one paragraph
A license includes two device seats — platform-agnostic, so two Macs, two PCs, or one of each. Activation is one online call; after that the app verifies your license locally with a cryptographic signature and does not need the network to start, build, validate, or export. A silent background check-in renews the license roughly every three weeks. Beta keys (issued during the free beta) behave exactly like paid keys.
Activating
- Click the license chip in the top bar (it reads Unlicensed on a fresh install), or use Help → License. On an install that requires activation, the activation form is shown at launch.
- Enter the license key from your purchase email — it starts with
VSB-— and press Activate. - One online call binds a seat to this install and returns a signed license token. On success you'll see Activated, with your edition and seat usage (e.g.
seat 1/2).
Both seats in use? The form lists your activated devices and links to your account portal — deactivate one there (or from the app on that device), then activate here.
Seats and deactivation
Open Help → License (or click the chip) on a licensed device:
- The dialog shows your status — e.g.
Licensed · Professional · renews 2027-07-03. - Deactivate this device frees the seat for another machine.
- All devices can also be managed from your account portal.
Deactivate before selling or wiping a machine; if you forget, the portal can free the seat remotely.
Staying licensed: the silent heartbeat
The signed token is short-lived (about three weeks). The app renews it in the background on launch and every few days:
- Subscription current → the token renews silently; you never notice.
- Offline / server unreachable → the current token keeps working — roughly three weeks of fully offline use. Failed check-ins are retried silently; a dead network is never fatal mid-window.
- Subscription cancelled or key revoked → the server stops renewing; the app works until the token lapses, then the gate closes.
There is no phone-home on the build path — the heartbeat is a tiny background request, and everything you do locally works at full speed regardless.
License states
The top-bar chip shows the current state (hover it for the reason):
| Chip | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Licensed · 〈edition〉 | Valid token on this device. |
| Trial | A time-limited evaluation state, when offered. |
| Expired | The token or key lapsed — renew your subscription or reconnect so the heartbeat can refresh it. |
| Unlicensed | No key activated on this install. |
When the gate is closed
Expired or Unlicensed blocks starting new builds and exporting. Your data is never held hostage: importing data, browsing runs, leaderboards, and saved results all stay available. Activate (or reconnect) and everything unlocks in place.
Accounts and editions
A license requires an account, and private backup sync of your builds/runs/leaderboards is a condition of the license — see Account & sync for exactly what that means (and what never leaves your machine). Keys carry an edition and optional feature flags; what each edition unlocks is defined by the current offer on the pricing page.