License and trial
WP Instances has a 14-day free trial. After that, a lifetime license for one computer keeps everything working.
The trial
- The trial starts the first time you open WP Instances and lasts 14 days. Everything works during the trial.
- The status bar shows the days left, for example trial · 9 days left. It turns amber in the last 3 days.
- The start date is stored in two places: in
%APPDATA%\WP Instances\license.jsonand in the Windows registry. The earliest one counts, so reinstalling WP Instances or deleting its data doesn't restart the trial.
When the trial ends
Your sites keep working. A bar at the top says Your 14-day trial has ended. Your sites keep working — activate WP Instances to create, import or duplicate sites.
| Needs a license after the trial | Keeps working without one |
|---|---|
| Creating sites | Opening sites and wp-admin, logging in as any user |
| Importing backups (Restore Now and Only Copy for the Plugin) | Switching and adding PHP versions |
| Duplicating sites | Mail, Debug and Database tabs, phpMyAdmin |
| Files, VS Code, previews | |
| Deleting sites, changing ports |
If you try one of the locked actions, a License needed notice appears with an Enter license key button. The status bar shows trial ended · activate.
Buy a license
A license is $39 once, for life, for one computer, with lifetime updates.
- Click Buy — $39 lifetime in the license dialog (open it from the license status in the status bar, or License in the command bar). Once the trial has ended, the same button is also in the bar at the top.
- The Freemius checkout opens in your browser. Freemius handles the payment.
- Your license key arrives in your purchase email from Freemius. It starts with
sk_.
Activate
- Open the license dialog: click the license status in the status bar (for example trial · 9 days left), or choose License in the command bar.
- Paste your key into License key and click Activate.
- WP Instances is activated — thank you! appears, and the status bar shows licensed.
Activation needs an internet connection. Once activated, the license dialog shows the Plan, the License key (shortened), This computer (its name) and the date it was Activated.
If activation fails, the dialog says why:
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Can't reach the license server. | Check your internet connection and try again. |
| That license key isn't valid. | Copy the key exactly from your purchase email. |
| This license is already active on another computer. | Deactivate it there first (see below), then try again. |
| This license has expired. / This license was cancelled. | The license can no longer be used. |
| Couldn't read this computer's ID from Windows. | Restart WP Instances and try again. |
The periodic online check
WP Instances checks your license with Freemius about once a week. It looks when it starts and every 6 hours, and checks if the last successful check is more than 7 days old.
- Offline, or the license server has a problem: nothing changes. Being offline never locks you out.
- The license is still valid: nothing changes.
- The license is no longer valid (refunded, cancelled, expired, or deactivated from elsewhere): it's removed from this computer. WP Instances goes back to the trial state, which, after the first 14 days, means the trial has ended.
Move to a new computer
A license is active on one computer at a time.
- On the old computer, open the license dialog and click Deactivate this computer. Confirm. This needs an internet connection. Your sites stay as they are.
- On the new computer, install WP Instances and activate the same key.
The activation is tied to the computer. Copying license.json to another PC doesn't carry the license over.
If the old computer is lost or broken and you can't deactivate it, contact us via warcal.dev/contact and we'll release the activation, as the license agreement says.
What the license check sends
Activating, deactivating and the periodic check send your license key and a computer ID to Freemius. Activation also sends the computer's name, which the license dialog shows as This computer. The computer ID is a one-way hash of Windows' machine ID, not the ID itself. See Privacy and crash reports.
The license agreement
The full terms, including refunds, are in the license agreement: About WP Instances → License agreement, also shown by the installer.