License

Community needs no license. Pro features need a license key, one per cluster.

Get a key

Sign up with your email, open the sign-in link and choose Get 3 months of Pro free on your account page. Your key is shown there.

During early access Pro is free and covers up to 2 clusters (one license key per cluster, each valid for 3 months from the day you start it, and we may renew it). With a work email the limit is 2 clusters per company domain, shared by everyone using that domain, for example [email protected] and [email protected] together get 2. With a free mailbox provider such as Gmail or Outlook the limit is per account. Deleting an account does not reset it. Need more? Contact us.

Install the key

The kwatch.sh installer is the way to set up a license. Run it:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://kwatch.dev/kwatch.sh)"

Then open License / Pro and choose Add or replace key, and paste your key. The installer stores it in a Kubernetes Secret and applies it to kwatch. During a fresh install it also asks for a key at the end.

For a non-interactive run, set KWATCH_LICENSE_KEY in the environment of the same command, and the installer stores and applies the key without prompting:

KWATCH_LICENSE_KEY=YOUR_KEY \
  /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://kwatch.dev/kwatch.sh)"

How activation works

On start, kwatch sends the license service a hashed cluster id, its version and the node count, then renews periodically. The first successful check binds the key to that cluster. Nothing else about your cluster is sent.

Offline use

If the license service is unreachable, kwatch keeps its Pro features for up to 7 days from the last successful renewal: each renewal is valid for 3 days, followed by a 4-day grace period.

Moving to another cluster

A key is bound to one cluster at a time. There are two ways to move it, and both count toward the same limit of 3 moves per 30 days.

From the new cluster. Point kubectl at the new cluster and run the kwatch.sh installer:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://kwatch.dev/kwatch.sh)"

Choose License / Pro, then Move license to this cluster. The installer takes the license over and shows the outcome: moved, already on this cluster, transfer limit reached (with the days until a slot frees), or invalid key. Install the key on the new cluster first with Add or replace key if it is not there yet.

From the website. Use Transfer to another cluster on your account page. This releases the license; the new cluster picks it up on its own within about 5 minutes. A cluster that finds its license bound elsewhere asks again every 5 minutes for the first hour, then hourly.

The old cluster. It learns about the move at its next daily check and drops to Community; detection and alerting keep running. You also get an email when a license is moved from the installer, so you can regenerate the key if it was not you.

The number of moves left is shown on the account page. A move made with the installer, a transfer on the website and releasing the license during uninstall all use the same 3 per 30 days. If the old cluster has not renewed for 7 days, for example because it was deleted, the key moves to the new cluster automatically, without using one of the 3 moves. Regenerate key issues a new key and invalidates the old one.

Expiry

When a license expires, kwatch falls back to Community. Detection and alerting continue; Pro-only features turn off.

Troubleshooting /status

The license state appears in the /status output:

State	Meaning	What to do
community	No key configured.	Install a key for Pro features.
invalid	The key is malformed or unrecognised.	Re-copy the key from your account page.
pending	A key is present but not yet verified.	Wait for the first check; verify outbound access to api.kwatch.dev.
active	License valid and renewed.	Nothing.
grace	Renewal failing, within the grace period (up to 7 days offline).	Restore network access to api.kwatch.dev.
expired	The license has expired.	Start or renew a license on your account page.
revoked	The license was revoked.	Contact [email protected].
conflict	The key is active on another cluster.	Run the installer here and choose License / Pro, then Move license to this cluster; or transfer it on your account page, or use a separate key.

What is sent

A hashed cluster id, kwatch version and node count. See the privacy policy.