Activate and manage access

Applies to SiliconForge 0.1.2 · Updated 2026-09-30. Check platform limits.

Before this task: Check commercial plan and allowance boundaries →

The native application requires a paid subscription for new engineering work. Your managed-AI allowance and any external provider account are separate costs and limits.

Before purchase#

Check current pricing, supported platforms, terms and refund/cancellation policy. Download availability does not grant an unlimited or perpetual license. Activate online once, then use paid local operations offline through the verified paid-term expiry shown by the app. Managed AI still requires connectivity and its own valid allowance. An external AI account does not replace the application subscription.

Install the supported application on the device you intend to activate. Use your own trusted browser for checkout and keep the original checkout tab. Do not send a card number or account credential to support.

Purchase and activation#

1. Select the intended plan and billing interval. Review currency, amount, recurring period and tax in Stripe-hosted checkout before confirming payment.
2. Return to the activation page in the same browser. It checks the verified payment result; the browser page itself does not bind a device.
3. When shown, choose Open SiliconForge to activate. Allow the browser's application handoff only when it corresponds to the transaction you just made.
4. The desktop consumes the one-time activation claim and binds the installation. Never share the claim, activation URI or checkout URL.
5. Open Settings → Usage & cost → Desktop subscription and inspect the installation status and paid-through date. If you received an activation code instead of an app handoff, enter it in Activation code and choose Activate installation. Also inspect the active AI provider route and usage state. Verify entitlement before sending a request; do not make an unnecessary paid “probe.”

Expected result: the installation has a verified signed desktop lease with a paid-through date, and its selected AI route is identifiable. A successful checkout is not by itself proof that the application activated.

Manage installations and activation codes#

1. Open Subscription… from the welcome window or application menu. No project needs to be open.
2. Choose Installations & activation → Refresh installations. A purchaser can see the account's installations; members can manage only their own current installation.
3. For a lost or retired computer, select the exact installation and choose Revoke selected installation…. Review the confirmation carefully. Revoking the current installation removes its local paid access; it does not cancel billing or delete project files.
4. Only the verified purchaser can use Create activation code… for an available seat. Use Copy activation code to transfer it privately to the intended installation. Never post the code in a project, screenshot or public support message.

If an activation response is interrupted, refresh subscription status first. If this installation is still not active, retry on the same installation with the same activation code. The application retains a protected retry identity so a committed response can be recovered without consuming another seat. For an unconfirmed revocation, portal request or new-code request, check the current status or contact support instead of repeating the action. Do not clear credentials, repeatedly mint codes or purchase again as a first remedy.

If all activated devices or the original purchase handoff are lost, choose Already purchased? Activation help… or contact support. Recovery requires proof of purchaser authority; knowing an email address or order number is not enough. Use Copy public recovery identity to share only the installation identifier and public key through the established support channel, never a device private key. On Linux, fix password-store setup first if that is the reported failure.

Understand paid-term offline access#

The service verifies the paid subscription period and signs an installation-bound lease. The app checks the signature, installation and expiry locally. This is not a weekly check-in: a valid lease permits paid local work through its verified paid term even when the service is unreachable. It does not permit offline cloud AI or create a new paid period.

1. Before disconnecting, open Settings → Usage & cost → Desktop subscription, choose Refresh subscription while online, and check the paid-through date.
2. Keep the system clock correct. Moving it backwards to extend access is not supported; a detected rollback can block paid operations until the clock and entitlement are checked.
3. After a successful renewal, reconnect and refresh to obtain the next verified paid period. An old lease cannot know that a later renewal succeeded.
4. Keep activation state on its original installation. Copying credentials or a lease to another computer does not transfer the license.

A temporary network failure does not invalidate an otherwise valid lease. A definitive revocation returned by the service does invalidate it. A refund or revocation cannot instantly reach a disconnected computer: an already-issued offline lease can remain usable until its signed expiry or the next definitive online check, whichever comes first.

What remains available after expiry#

You can open and view existing projects, inspect retained results, export your work, recover data, cancel running jobs and reach billing. Your source files are not deleted or encrypted as a licensing penalty. New projects/imports, AI requests and proposals, approvals/apply actions and new engineering runs require active paid access. A different AI provider does not bypass that boundary.

Save edits before expiry whenever possible. An editor buffer opened while paid access was active can make its protected recovery save after expiry; this is not continued paid editing. Files newly opened without paid access are read-only. Preserve any unsaved buffer before closing it and use export/recovery rather than deleting local state.

Upgrade an existing paid installation#

Install the current compatible release without deleting its secure credentials. In Desktop subscription, choose Refresh subscription online. A verified existing subscription receives the signed lease without another purchase. If authentication must be recovered, use the supported activation/account recovery route or contact support. Fully expired installation credentials can require recovery even when payment has renewed; another purchase does not repair authentication. Never buy again merely because a refresh failed.

Read allowances and costs correctly#

Managed units are product usage units, not unlimited model tokens or guaranteed successful designs. Available profiles and quota policy determine consumption. Use the application's authoritative usage information and current plan terms rather than an estimated token count as a billing ledger.

A seat, an activated device and a concurrent request are different limits. An external My Codex account or My OpenAI API key route has its own provider billing and access rules. Switching routes does not transfer a subscription or its unused allowance.

Under Usage & cost, warnings are advisory. Blank optional hard-cap fields mean those local caps are disabled; do not assume a warning is a provider-side spending block. Read the active route's own usage and limits too.

Monthly units, including annual subscriptions#

Managed AI allowances renew on monthly UTC anniversaries within the paid subscription period, not only when an annual invoice renews. If the original anniversary is 31 January, the February boundary is its last day (28 or 29), followed by 31 March. Read the current allowance window in Usage & cost; it is separate from the desktop license's paid-through date. A new allowance window does not extend an unpaid or expired subscription.

Manage renewal or cancellation#

1. In the activated app open Settings → Usage & cost.
2. Choose Manage SiliconForge subscription… to open the supported secure management route for that account.
3. Review the account, subscription and effective dates before confirming a change.
4. Retain the resulting confirmation and use the published policy for refund questions.

If secure management directs you to support because the billing customer also has another product subscription, use that support route; do not try to access or cancel unrelated subscriptions. Cancellation of renewal and refund are different operations. Uninstalling the application, deleting a key or stopping AI requests does not cancel billing. External-provider subscriptions must be managed with that provider.

Recover without duplicate charges#

Payment succeeded, activation still waiting

Keep the receipt and original browser tab; allow payment confirmation to resolve. If it does not, report the receipt identifier and visible error. Do not purchase again.

The application handoff does not open

Confirm the supported app is installed and registered for its activation URI, then retry the existing handoff. Do not post the link publicly.

Claim expired, used or browser state lost

Use support for recovery; do not invent a new claim, copy another device's credential or buy a second subscription.

Offline lease expired

Reconnect, confirm payment/renewal and choose Refresh subscription. If payment has not renewed, safe read/export/recovery remains available; changing the clock is not a renewal.

Clock or signing-key warning

Correct the clock and refresh online. If the release does not recognize the signing key, install a verified compatible update. Do not edit cached lease fields.

Device changed or limit reached

Record the non-secret device/release information and use the supported account-management/support process. Do not copy activation state to bypass binding.

Related: AI routes, installation, billing support, data handling.

Need help? Report an issue. Include your application version; never include credentials.