Licensing FAQ#

Answers to common questions about Lactuca licenses, activation, and account management.

Trials#

How do I start a free trial?#

Run import lactuca in Python. If no license is found, the activation prompt appears with the option [T] Request a free 30-day trial. Enter your name (optional) and email address; a confirmation step lets you correct the address before the request is sent. Your trial key will arrive by email within a few minutes. No credit card required.

Once you receive the key, run import lactuca again and choose [K] to enter it.

How long is the trial?#

30 days after the license key is issued (not from when the email is received). The expiry clock starts at the moment the key is created on the license server, which is typically within seconds of the trial request.

Can I get a second trial?#

No. One trial per person and per device. If your trial has expired, purchase a paid plan from the Pricing page.

I chose `[T]` to start a trial but got an error saying my device has an active license. What should I do?#

Your machine already has a paid Lactuca license registered. Choose option [K] at the activation prompt and enter your license key. If you cannot find your key, check your original purchase confirmation email from Lemon Squeezy. If you need further help, contact support@lactuca.io.

Can I use the trial for commercial work?#

Yes — trial licenses allow full commercial use during the 30-day period.

Activation#

How do I activate my license?#

Run python -m lactuca (or import lactuca) and enter your key at the prompt. With an already-valid license, python -m lactuca prints a one-line status summary. See the full Activation Guide for step-by-step instructions for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Support confirmed a license adjustment, but my local expiry did not update yet. What should I do?#

Run a manual synchronization:

python -m lactuca license refresh

This forces an immediate online sync and updates local license.json when the server returns VALID or EXPIRING.

How do I quickly inspect local license state?#

Use:

python -m lactuca license status

This command reads local state only and does not call the license server.

How do I run guided license diagnostics?#

Use:

python -m lactuca license doctor

For automation pipelines, use JSON output:

python -m lactuca license doctor --json

Where is `license.json` stored?#

OS	Default path
Windows	`%LOCALAPPDATA%\lactuca\license.json`
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/lactuca/license.json`
Linux	`~/.config/lactuca/license.json`

You can override the directory with the LACTUCA_CONFIG_DIR environment variable.

Can I activate on multiple devices?#

Yes, up to the device limit of your plan (Trial: 1; Individual: 1; Team: 10; Enterprise: 50; Academic: 1). Each physical or virtual machine counts as one device.

I upgraded my computer. How do I transfer my license to the new machine?#

On your old machine, delete license.json (see paths above). This does not free the device slot automatically; contact support@lactuca.io to release it. For paid monthly or annual plans, device slots also reset on renewal.
On your new machine, run import lactuca and enter your key. Activation proceeds normally if a slot is available.

If you have reached your device limit and need to activate on a new device immediately, contact support@lactuca.io with the subject “Device transfer request”.

Can I copy `license.json` to another machine?#

No. license.json is device-bound: it contains a device-specific integrity code (MAC) computed from the hardware fingerprint of the machine that activated it. Copying the file to a different machine fails integrity checks ([LAC-3004] or fingerprint mismatch [LAC-2002]). Online recovery using the stored key runs only on the same device (tampered local file, not a cross-host copy). On another machine, delete the copied file and activate independently, or follow the device transfer procedure.

Each machine must activate independently. Activating on a new device consumes one slot from your license’s device pool.

I see `LicenseTamperedError`. What does it mean?#

LicenseTamperedError is raised when the local license.json file fails one of the built-in integrity checks. There are four variants:

Error code	Meaning	Auto-recoverable?
LAC-3001	Missing `signed_data` or `signature` fields (schema version mismatch or manual edit)	Yes — online recovery using stored key
LAC-3003	Missing `mac` integrity field (old file or manual edit)	Yes — online recovery using stored key
LAC-3004	MAC mismatch — fields modified after writing, or file copied from another device	Same device only — online recovery using stored key; cross-host copy → [LAC-2002]
LAC-3005	System clock moved back past the last validated date	No — restore the system clock

For LAC-3001, LAC-3003, and LAC-3004 on the same device: Lactuca attempts online recovery and rewrites license.json when recovery succeeds. Cross-host copies raise [LAC-2002] instead. In non-interactive environments (servers, CI/CD), ensure LACTUCA_LICENSE_KEY is set so same-device recovery can proceed without a prompt.

If recovery fails, run:

python -m lactuca license doctor
python -m lactuca license refresh

If it still fails, delete license.json manually and re-activate.

For LAC-3005: the library cannot fix the system clock on your behalf. Sync your system clock (e.g. w32tm /resync on Windows, or enable NTP on Linux/macOS) and retry.

See Integrity field missing — LicenseTamperedError (LAC-3003), Integrity check failed — LicenseTamperedError (LAC-3004), and Clock rollback — LicenseTamperedError (LAC-3005) in the Error Reference for full details.

I see `LicenseInvalidError: Your license has reached the maximum number of activations.` What now?#

Your license has no free device slots. Options:

Deactivate an unused device: contact support@lactuca.io and provide the hostname(s) to deactivate.
Upgrade your plan: Team (10 device pool) and Enterprise (50 device pool) support significantly larger activation pools.

I see `LicenseSeatExhaustedError`. What now?#

All concurrent session slots allowed by your plan are currently in use. This is different from the device activation limit — it means too many Python processes are running Lactuca at the same time across your activated devices.

Short-term options:

Wait for a seat to free up. Seats are released automatically when a running process exits cleanly. If a process crashed or was killed, the seat is released after the heartbeat lease expires (30 minutes for Individual/Trial/Academic; 60 minutes for Team/Enterprise).
Check for stuck processes. Look for background scripts, Jupyter kernels, or scheduled jobs running Lactuca that you may have forgotten about.

Long-term options:

Upgrade to Team or Enterprise. These tiers allow 10 and 50 concurrent sessions respectively, which is suitable for shared server deployments and teams running parallel jobs.
Restructure your pipeline. If you are running many short actuarial tasks in parallel, consider batching them within a single process.

Plans and billing#

What does “named user” mean?#

A named user is a specific individual authorised to use the Software under the Licensee’s license. The “named user” count per tier is a contractual limit accepted by the Licensee in the EULA.

Technical enforcement operates on two complementary axes:

Machine activations: each tier has an activation pool (Individual: 1; Team: 10; Enterprise: 50; Trial/Academic: 1). Every device (workstation, server, VM, Docker host) on which Lactuca is activated consumes one slot.
Concurrent sessions (process leasing): the license system also enforces a limit on how many Python processes may run Lactuca simultaneously across all activated devices. Limits are: Individual/Trial/Academic: 1 concurrent session; Team: 10 concurrent sessions; Enterprise: 50 concurrent sessions.

When the concurrent session limit is reached, any additional process that tries to import Lactuca will raise LicenseSeatExhaustedError. The seat is released automatically when the process exits or after the heartbeat lease expires (30 minutes for single-user tiers; 60 minutes for Team/Enterprise).

For workstation deployments, each user typically activates on their own machines. For shared server deployments, the server consumes one activation slot and all internal users on that server share it — no individual license key is required per user. Access control on the server is the Licensee’s own responsibility (LDAP, roles, etc.).

What happens if I cancel my subscription?#

Your license remains active until the end of the period already paid. After that, import lactuca raises LicenseExpiredError. Your data and calculations are unaffected — only the ability to run Lactuca is restricted.

Can I switch from Individual to Team?#

Yes. Purchase the Team plan; you will receive a new key. Activate with the new key on each device. The old Individual key will be revoked at the end of its paid period. Previously generated outputs (spreadsheets, reports) are unaffected.

Are minor updates included?#

Yes. All minor and patch releases within the same major version are included in your subscription. Major version upgrades may require a separate renewal; this policy will be communicated in advance before the first major release.

What payment methods are accepted?#

Lemon Squeezy (our payment provider) accepts all major credit and debit cards. Bank transfers and invoicing are available for Enterprise customers; contact us for details.

Offline use#

What is the grace period?#

Lactuca enforces two independent grace periods when the network is unavailable:

License validation grace period

Lactuca attempts to revalidate the license online every 30 days. If the network is unavailable at revalidation time, the library continues operating — printing a warning to stderr on each startup — until the license’s local expiry date:

[Lactuca] Could not reach license server. Continuing with locally validated license.

There is no hard offline cutoff for the validation check; operation continues with the warning until expires_at is reached. Normal computations continue unaffected.

Process heartbeat grace period (3 days)

Each running Lactuca process sends a short keep-alive heartbeat to the license server approximately every 10 minutes on single-seat tiers and every 20 minutes on Team and Enterprise (derived from the license server’s process policy). If the server cannot be reached, heartbeat failures are silently ignored — a running process is never interrupted by network unavailability. However, new startups of Lactuca are permitted offline for up to 3 days from the last successful server contact. After 3 days, a new import lactuca will raise LicenseSeatExhaustedError until the network is restored.

Both grace periods are independent. The binding practical limit is the 3-day heartbeat grace: new startups of Lactuca are blocked after 3 days without connectivity. License revalidation has no hard offline cutoff — the library continues running with a warning on each startup until expires_at is reached.

Does the grace period apply to cancelled or revoked licenses?#

No. Once a cancellation or revocation event is processed by our server, the next time the network is available the license is blocked immediately. The grace period only applies when the network is physically unreachable (timeout). It does not extend the validity of an expired or revoked license.

A permanent revocation on the license server (for example after subscription cancellation or account closure) removes the license record entirely. Lactuca detects this on the next online check. Running python -m lactuca license refresh or license doctor records that outcome; the next import lactuca with network access forces an immediate check and blocks access even if the 30-day revalidation window has not elapsed.

For payment or account issues that may be temporary, contact support@lactuca.io — support can restore access when appropriate.

I work on a corporate network with no internet access. What should I do?#

Ask your IT administrator to allow outbound HTTPS (port 443) to the Lactuca license server (api.keygen.sh). Lactuca contacts the server at each startup (to acquire a session seat) and sends keep-alive requests approximately every 10–20 minutes during operation (tier-dependent). Heartbeat failures are silently tolerated — a running process is never interrupted — but new startups require a successful server connection within the last 3 days. Every 30 days the library attempts online revalidation; if the network is unavailable at that time, computation continues with a startup warning until the local license expiry date (expires_at) — there is no separate 30-day offline cutoff beyond that date. If persistent internet access is not possible, contact support@lactuca.io to discuss options for your organization.

Servers, Docker, and CI/CD#

How do I use Lactuca in Docker?#

Pass the license key as an environment variable:

ENV LACTUCA_LICENSE_KEY="XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX"

Or inject it at runtime:

docker run -e LACTUCA_LICENSE_KEY="XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX" my-image

Important — device fingerprint and container identity: Lactuca uses the container’s MAC address as part of its device fingerprint. By default, Docker assigns a random MAC to every new container, so each container recreation is treated as a different device. This means:

A license.json stored on a persistent volume will produce a LicenseInvalidError (error code LAC-2002) when the container is recreated, because the new container’s fingerprint no longer matches the stored one.
The activated device slot from the previous container is not released automatically.

Recommended setup for persistent container deployments:

Fix the container’s MAC address so it is stable across recreations:

docker run --mac-address 02:42:ac:11:00:02 \
           -e LACTUCA_LICENSE_KEY="XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX" \
           -v /data/lactuca:/var/lib/lactuca \
           -e LACTUCA_CONFIG_DIR=/var/lib/lactuca \
           my-image

Mount LACTUCA_CONFIG_DIR on a persistent volume so the activated license.json survives container recreations.

Without both steps, Lactuca will re-activate on every container restart, consuming a new device slot each time. The previous slot is not released automatically and must be freed manually from the Lactuca account portal.

Ephemeral containers (CI/CD, batch jobs): if the container is intentionally short-lived and never reused, set LACTUCA_LICENSE_KEY as an environment variable and do not persist LACTUCA_CONFIG_DIR. Each run will activate and consume a device slot — ensure your license tier has enough device slots for the expected concurrency. See How do I use Lactuca in a CI/CD pipeline? for a CI-specific approach that avoids this problem.

Kubernetes: the same principles apply. Fix the pod’s MAC address via a network annotation and mount LACTUCA_CONFIG_DIR on a PersistentVolumeClaim.

How do I use Lactuca in a CI/CD pipeline?#

Store your key as a repository secret and inject it as an environment variable:

# GitHub Actions example
- name: Run actuarial tests
  env:
    LACTUCA_LICENSE_KEY: ${{ secrets.LACTUCA_LICENSE_KEY }}
  run: pytest

See the Activation Guide for more details.

Can I install Lactuca on a calculation server used by my whole team?#

Yes. Any tier allows installing Lactuca on a shared server for internal users. The activation consumes one slot from the license’s pool — the same as a workstation. In addition, concurrent session limits apply to the number of processes that may use Lactuca simultaneously on that server:

Individual: permits 1 named user and 1 concurrent session. Server-side use is allowed but limited to that same user’s own calculations, one at a time.
Team: one server activation shares the 30-slot pool; up to 10 concurrent sessions across the server — suitable for a team running calculations in parallel.
Enterprise: up to 150 activations — suitable for multi-server infrastructure with up to 50 concurrent sessions across all activated devices combined.

Internal users accessing Lactuca through the server do not need their own key. Users external to your organisation are not covered by any standard tier — see OEM and third-party distribution below.

Academic & Community licenses#

Who qualifies for a free Academic & Community license?#

Individuals using Lactuca for non-commercial, academic, research, or open-source community purposes — including students, educators, independent academic researchers, and open-source contributors. See §4 of the EULA for the full eligibility criteria and restrictions.

Is commercial use allowed with an Academic license?#

No. Academic & Community licenses are strictly non-commercial. Consulting work, client deliverables, and production systems are not permitted. Violations result in immediate revocation. See the EULA.

How do I apply for an Academic license?#

Send an email to support@lactuca.io with your name, institution, institutional email, and intended use. Licenses are issued within 2–3 business days.

OEM and third-party distribution#

I want to integrate Lactuca into software I sell to my clients. What license do I need?#

You need an OEM license — a separate written agreement with Licensor. Standard tiers (Individual, Team, Enterprise) do not permit using Lactuca as a backend engine for products distributed to users external to your organisation.

OEM licenses are negotiated individually and include:

No concurrent session limit — process leasing (heartbeat) is disabled for OEM deployments, so your product can run unlimited parallel Lactuca instances without triggering LicenseSeatExhaustedError.
No heartbeat requirement — ideal for server-side or embedded deployments where maintaining a persistent internet connection per process is impractical.
Activation pools and device limits set by agreement.

Contact support@lactuca.io with a description of your product and intended use.

Does an Enterprise license cover a SaaS platform I build on top of Lactuca?#

No. An Enterprise license covers up to 50 device activations for internal named users of your organisation, with up to 50 concurrent sessions. If your SaaS platform serves Lactuca calculations to your own clients (users external to your organisation), that is OEM use and requires a separate OEM agreement, regardless of the number of end users.

Privacy and data#

What data does activation collect?#

Your email address (for license management and support)
A hardware fingerprint: a one-way cryptographic hash derived from hardware attributes (MAC address, hostname, CPU architecture). The raw values are never transmitted — only the irreversible hash is stored. This hash constitutes pseudonymous data (GDPR Art. 4(5)): it cannot directly identify you as an individual.

Full details are in the Privacy Policy.

Where is the data stored?#

License data is stored on Keygen.sh servers (United States). Transfers to Keygen.sh are governed by Standard Contractual Clauses (EU Commission Decision 2021/914). Email addresses used during the trial sign-up are also stored on Keygen. Payment data is processed and stored by Lemon Squeezy — Lactuca/Actuaan never sees your card details.

Still have questions?#

Contact us at support@lactuca.io.