Licensing

A self-hosted installation renders documents only while it has a valid license key. Studio, the API, templates, files and finished renders keep working without one.

Get a key

• Trial: sign in to the hosted Typefold Studio, open Account → Self-hosted license, enter your Company and choose Email my trial key. The key is emailed to your account address and lasts 30 days. Asking again sends the same key.
• Paid license: buy a subscription from the vendor. The key is emailed after the first payment, and renewals extend the same key.

If the installation can never reach the internet, ask the vendor for an offline key instead.

Install a key

1. Put the key in .env in the installation directory, as one line:

   LICENSE_KEY=eyJpZCI6IjNmMmMuLi4iLCJjb21wYW55IjoiQWNtZSBDb3JwIiwic2VydmVyIjoi...

2. Run docker compose up -d. The API reads the key only when it starts.

3. Check that Studio shows no banner saying rendering is disabled, or that license.state in the response of curl https://pdf.example.com/v1/instance is active or trial.

The installation checks its key with the vendor’s license server every hour. Allow outbound HTTPS from the API server to the hosted Typefold address, and keep the server clock synchronized. Offline keys need neither.

To move from a trial to a paid license, replace LICENSE_KEY the same way.

When rendering stops

API clients get 403 LICENSE_REQUIRED and Studio shows a banner. The license state tells you what to do:

State	Meaning	What to do
missing	LICENSE_KEY is not set	Set it in .env and run docker compose up -d
pending	The installation has not reached the license server yet, or not in the last 7 days	Allow outbound HTTPS. Rendering resumes by itself.
invalid	The key is damaged or revoked, is used by too many installations, or the server clock is wrong	Paste the key again and run docker compose up -d, fix the clock, or stop unused installations
expired	The trial ended, or the license ended more than 14 days ago	Buy or renew, then install the new key if you got one
grace	The license ended less than 14 days ago. Rendering still works.	Renew now

Lost your key? Ask the vendor to send it again, or request the trial again.

Installations per license

One license runs a limited number of installations at the same time, 3 by default. API and worker replicas that share one database are one installation, and a restored database stays the same installation. A new server with an empty database is another one. An installation that has not checked in for 7 days stops counting.