---
url: https://docs.mochiexec.io/getting-started/license.md
description: >-
  How to activate a Mochi license, check its status, and which commands it
  covers. Commands that come from flow never need one.
---

# Licensing

A license unlocks what Mochi adds on top of flow. Running flow itself stays free.

## Try Mochi

Start a 7-day trial from the desktop app, or in a terminal:

```sh
mochi license trial --email you@example.com
```

A trial includes everything a license does, except the managed AI gateway. AI features
work with your own provider key. You get one trial per email and per machine, and no
payment details are asked for. When it ends, enter a key you bought and you carry on where
you left off.

## Activate a key

The [installer](/getting-started/installation) registers your key for you. To set or
change it later:

```sh
mochi license set
```

It asks for the key at a masked prompt, the same way `flow secret set` asks for a
secret. In a script, use `--file path/to/key`, or pipe it in:
`printf '%s\n' "$KEY" | mochi license set`. The key is never taken as an
argument, which would leave it in your shell history and in the process list.

Once set, the key is stored on this machine, so you don't need the `MOCHI_LICENSE_KEY`
environment variable. In the desktop app, choose **I have a key** on the license screen,
or **Enter a key** in Settings → Account.

## Updates

A one-time license includes a year of updates and keeps working forever on every version
released in that year. Renewing adds another year. If you install a version released after
your updates ended, Mochi asks you to renew, and any earlier version still runs. The
installer checks this first: re-running it won't replace a working version with one
your license doesn't cover. Pro always
includes updates. If you cancel Pro after a year or more, you keep a license for the
versions released while you were subscribed.

## Check your license

| Command | Shows |
|---|---|
| `mochi license status` | Whether Mochi is licensed here, the plan and what it includes, and when a trial ends, updates stop, or an unverified license stops working. `-o json` for scripts. |

`mochi license` itself never needs a license, so you can always diagnose a locked-out
machine.

## What needs a license

| Needs a license | Always free (from flow) |
|---|---|
| `ai`, `desktop`, `discover`, `favorite`, `search`, `stats`, `executable add`/`edit`, `workspace edit`, `vault preset` | `exec` and every verb, `browse`, `logs`, `workspace`, `vault`, `secret`, `template`, `cache`, `config`, `mcp`, `sync` |

`mochi views` is part of Mochi but doesn't check for a license.

flow docs: [flow CLI reference](https://flowexec.io/cli/)

Every command in the right-hand column is documented there, and works the same as `mochi`.

Installing Mochi never takes away a command you already had with flow.

## Offline use

Mochi re-checks your license about once a day. When it can't reach the license server, it
keeps working for **14 days after the last successful check**. Staying offline doesn't
extend that. After 14 days the licensed commands stop until Mochi can check again, and
anything that comes from flow keeps working throughout.

`mochi license status` says when Mochi last verified your license and, while it's offline,
when it would stop working.