Licenses

The runtime packages are MIT licensed. @elements/app is MIT licensed, and it includes the runtime that Elements HTML runs on, which is where most of an app's code is written. @elements/style is MIT licensed too. You own everything you build, and a built app runs on plain Node.js.

You pay for the tooling: the project server, build, test runner and deploy. The tooling is a subscription, per machine. The price is predictable per month, not based on traffic, requests or revenue.

What Is a License

A license grants one machine permission to run the elements tooling. One license, one machine. Any machine that runs the elements command needs one: your laptop, a CI runner, a deployment box.

An account holds a pool of licenses. A checkout takes a license from the pool for one machine, which leaves one fewer available. A checkin puts it back, so another machine can take it.

Getting a License

Install Elements from elements.dev/install. The install command is tied to your account, so the machine checks out a license from your account's pool when the install completes. On a new account, that first checkout starts the trial.

On a machine that already has Elements installed, run elements license checkout.

License Files

The tooling installs two files next to its binaries, in the elements directory: LICENSE.txt, the license notice with the address of the Elements License Agreement, and THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt, the license of every open source project linked into the elements binaries, including the TypeScript compiler the tooling is built on.

elements license

Shows the current license on this machine.

Terminal
elements license

Use this when you want to confirm a license is in place, or when an elements command mentions the license and you want to see the details.

Alias: elements l.

elements license checkout

Takes a license from an account's pool for this machine.

Terminal
elements license checkout
elements license checkout <token>

With no arguments, the license comes from the account this machine is already on. With a token, it comes from the token's account. Your install command carries your own account's token. To use someone else's account, get a token from its administrator.

If the pool has no license available, the checkout fails. Check a license in on another machine, or add licenses from your account.

Deployment handles checkout for you. See elements man deploy.

Alias: elements license c.

elements license checkin

Puts this machine's license back in the pool, so another machine can take it.

Terminal
elements license checkin

Use this when you're retiring a machine, moving development to a new laptop, or rotating a deployment box. After checkin, this machine has no license.

You can also free a license from the web: your account page at elements.dev/account lists every machine with a license, and Checkin puts that machine's license back in the pool. This is often easier than signing in to the machine.

Aliases: elements license release, elements license r.

elements purchase

Opens the purchase page in your browser.

Terminal
elements purchase

If the browser can't open, the command prints the address so you can visit it from another machine. After you buy, the licenses are delivered to your machines automatically.

Related

• Deploy: elements man deploy
• CLI: elements man cli