Licensing and activation

Every SpanDock install needs a license. You get one by signing up on https://spandock.com, which creates a Free license for you, and you activate it by pasting its key into your server. This page explains the tiers, where the key goes, what a license check sends, and what each license status means.

Tiers

Tier	For	Billing
Free	Trying SpanDock, or a small team	No charge, with limits on servers and clients
Usage	Teams that grow and shrink	Pay as you go, per active client and per server or satellite
Unlimited	Larger teams	A yearly plan with unlimited servers, satellites and clients
Enterprise	Organisations with special needs	Custom terms, including offline licenses

See pricing for prices, limits and the features in each tier.

Get your license key

1. Sign in at https://spandock.com/dashboard.
2. Open Licenses.
3. Choose Copy key.

A license key is a signed token that starts with sdkey_.. Treat it like a password: anyone with the key can activate an install on your license.

Trial and activation

A new install runs a 30-day trial with no key. When the trial ends without a key, it continues on the Free tier. Activate a license at any time, during the trial or after it.

Paste the key on your server (hub), or on a standalone install, under Settings → License. The app checks the key straight away and shows its tier, limits and status on the same page.

You don't paste a key on satellites or clients. Only the hub (or the standalone install) checks the license. Satellites and clients get the license state from their hub.

License checks

The hub checks its license with https://spandock.com:

• once a day;
• whenever the license changes, for example when you paste a new key;
• after every update.

A check sends only what is needed to validate and bill the license:

• a random installation ID, created when the app is installed;
• the role (for example hub or standalone), the app version, the operating system and the architecture;
• the reason for the check;
• counts: active clients, servers and satellites, for the current billing period.

It never sends telemetry, prompts, code, tool output, or the names of your machines or people. Here is an example of a check:

{
  "installationId": "…",
  "role": "hub",
  "version": "v0.9.0",
  "os": "darwin",
  "arch": "arm64",
  "reason": "daily",
  "usage": {
    "activeClients": 12,
    "servers": 1,
    "satellites": 2,
    "periodStart": "2026-10-01T00:00:00Z",
    "periodEnd": "2026-10-31T23:59:59Z"
  }
}

The key refreshes itself

The key you paste is short-lived on purpose. Each successful check returns a fresh key, which the app saves in place of the old one. That is also how a change of plan reaches your install: when you upgrade or downgrade, the next check brings the new tier, limits and features. You don't need to copy a new key after a plan change.

When the site can't be reached

If a check fails because https://spandock.com can't be reached, SpanDock keeps working on the last license it received, for a grace period. The grace period is part of the license and is 14 days by default. Once the site answers again, the license refreshes as usual.

An answer the app can't act on (the site is busy, a request was refused for a reason other than revocation or expiry, or the status is reported as unknown) counts as a failed check too: the app keeps the last license and retries later, without changing your tier.

License statuses

Status	What it means
Active	The license is valid. Everything in your tier is available.
Past due	A payment failed. Update your payment method under Dashboard → Billing to keep the license active.
Revoked	The license was revoked, for example because the key was replaced. Paste the current key from Licenses.
Expired	The license ended, or the key wasn't refreshed in time. Features are limited to the Free tier until it is renewed or refreshed.

The status shows under Settings → License in the app, and on the Licenses page of your dashboard, along with the installations that have checked in and this period's usage.

How Usage billing works

The Usage tier is billed on the counts the hub reports in its license checks. For each day, the bill counts:

• the day's highest number of active clients, meaning clients that reported to your servers that day;
• the day's highest number of servers plus satellites.

You can see this period's usage on the Licenses page.

Upgrading and downgrading

Change your plan from Dashboard → Billing on https://spandock.com. Your hub picks up the new tier on its next license check. Downgrades and cancellations are also handled there, and invoices are listed on the same page.

Offline licenses

Air-gapped installs that can never reach https://spandock.com can use a long-lived offline license. Offline licenses are an Enterprise feature. Contact sales@spandock.com.