Licensing and Activation
Genie licensing controls access to the UI. Provider setup is separate and does not unlock Genie by itself.
Licensing model
Section titled “Licensing model”Activation determines whether Genie can be used in the UI. The lock state is native-authoritative, and the recovery path is the activation banner or Manage Activation.
Trial and activation states
Section titled “Trial and activation states”Genie can present these user-visible states:
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
| Trial active | The built-in trial is still valid. |
| Active | This machine has an active Genie entitlement. |
| Grace | Genie was previously validated and is temporarily allowing UI access while offline. |
| Expired / invalid / locked | UI use is blocked until the license issue is resolved. |
The current built-in trial window is 7 days.
Where activation appears
Section titled “Where activation appears”- the license banner in the header when Genie needs to show activation status
- the Manage Activation button in the banner
- Settings > General
- inline activation status in Settings
Activation in Settings
Section titled “Activation in Settings”Open Settings > General to work with product access.
From the Activation panel you can:
- enter an activation key
- activate the current machine
- deactivate the current machine
- open the purchase page
- read the current activation status inline
If the activation key is not recognized, Genie shows an inline alert. Check for extra spaces, confirm the key source, and try again.
Locked UI behavior
Section titled “Locked UI behavior”When Genie is not allowed to use the UI:
- the composer is disabled
- mode controls are disabled
- capture buttons and metadata controls are disabled
- the placeholder text changes to
Activation required to use Genie. - the activation banner remains visible with Manage Activation
The activation UI remains available so you can recover access.
Activation and provider credentials are different
Section titled “Activation and provider credentials are different”You need both of these pieces in working order:
- a valid Genie activation or trial state
- valid credentials or endpoint access for the model provider you chose
If Genie is locked, fix activation first. If Genie is unlocked but requests fail, check AI Providers and Settings Guide.
Offline grace
Section titled “Offline grace”If Genie was successfully validated and then loses connectivity, it can enter a short grace state instead of locking immediately.
Grace is not a permanent offline mode. Reconnect and refresh activation when possible.
Deactivating a machine
Section titled “Deactivating a machine”Use Deactivate Device before moving your entitlement to another machine.
This keeps activation counts clean and avoids seat-limit issues later.
Active state reference
Section titled “Active state reference”Use this view to confirm the machine is currently activated.
Recommended checks
Section titled “Recommended checks”- Verify activation first if Genie looks locked.
- Verify provider settings second if Genie is unlocked but requests still fail.
- If a license message includes a numeric code, use Error Codes and Recovery.
- Deactivate before moving to a different machine.
- Use Troubleshooting: First Response Checklist if you are not sure which system is failing.