# 30-Day Trial (/licensing/trial)



A trial is a real online license: one installation, 30 days, every feature. You get it
from the website in a few minutes without talking to anyone.

## Get a trial key [#get-a-trial-key]

<Steps>
  <Step>
    ### Fill in the form [#fill-in-the-form]

    Open [kubemq.io/trial](https://kubemq.io/trial) and enter your name, company, work
    email and the platform you will run on. Use a **work email**: free-mail and disposable
    addresses are refused (the form offers a contact link if that blocks you).
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Confirm your email [#confirm-your-email]

    You receive a one-time verification link, valid for **24 hours**. The site shows the
    same "if this address is eligible we sent a link" message whether or not the address
    qualifies, so check your spam folder rather than resubmitting.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Save the key from the second email [#save-the-key-from-the-second-email]

    Clicking the link confirms the request and the license is issued. A second email brings
    the **license key**, a quickstart, and the trial's expiry date. The key is shown only in
    that email — it is stored by KubeMQ as a hash, never in clear. Copy it somewhere safe.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Start the server [#start-the-server]

    Pass the key as `KUBEMQ_LICENSE_KEY`:

    <RunKubeMQ />

    Every other way to supply it — Compose, Helm, raw manifests — is on
    [Use a license key](/licensing/license-key).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What a trial allows [#what-a-trial-allows]

|                              |                                                                              |
| ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Duration                     | **30 days** from issuance                                                    |
| Installations                | **1** — one fingerprint (one Docker host, one VM, or one Kubernetes cluster) |
| Mode                         | Online only. There is no air-gapped trial                                    |
| Features                     | Everything — every messaging pattern, every connector, clustering            |
| Lease                        | **24 hours**, refreshed hourly while the server runs                         |
| Grace after a missed refresh | **2 days**                                                                   |

<Callout type="warn" title="A trial server must reach the licensing endpoint at least every 3 days">
  A trial lease is valid for 24 hours and carries 2 days of grace. The server keeps
  refreshing hourly while it can reach `https://license.kubemq.io`; if it cannot, it runs
  on the cached lease for at most 24 h + 2 days before it drains and exits with code 3.
  That is deliberately long enough to survive a weekend outage, and short enough that a
  30-day trial ends within 33 days.
</Callout>

Trial limits:

* **One trial per email address.** Addresses are normalized before comparison, so
  `Name+tag@example.com` and `name@example.com` count as the same address.
* **Three active trials per company domain.** A fourth request from the same domain is
  not refused — it becomes a request to sales, who will get in touch.
* A second server started with the same key on a different host is accepted, but the
  license is then over its installation cap: both servers log a warning every minute and
  the situation is visible to KubeMQ. Nothing stops automatically, but do not rely on it —
  request a proper license instead.

## Lost your key? [#lost-your-key]

Use the **resend** option on [kubemq.io/trial](https://kubemq.io/trial) with the same
email. You receive a one-time confirmation link; clicking it **regenerates** the key and
emails the new one. The old key stops working for new activations.

Servers that are already running are not affected — they hold a lease, not the key, and
keep refreshing normally. Only a *new* installation (or a container recreated without
its store volume) needs the new key.

Because the resend requires a click on a link sent to the address on file, someone who
merely knows your email cannot rotate your key.

## Converting to a paid license [#converting-to-a-paid-license]

Conversion is handled by KubeMQ sales — you receive a reminder email a week before the
trial ends with a link to request an extension or a quote.

When a trial is converted or extended, **the license id and the key stay the same**. The
running server picks up the new plan, expiry and installation cap at its next hourly
refresh; there is nothing to reinstall and no restart. `GET /api/v1/license` shows the
new `plan` and `license_expires_at` once the refresh has happened.

## Trial troubleshooting [#trial-troubleshooting]

| Symptom                                                                           | Cause                                                                    | Fix                                                                            |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| No verification email                                                             | Free-mail or disposable domain, or the address already has a trial       | Use a work address; if you already have a trial, use the resend option instead |
| "Request a new link" on click                                                     | The verification link is older than 24 hours                             | Submit the form again                                                          |
| Server exits at once, log ends in `#first-boot-bad-key`                           | The key was mistyped, or it was regenerated by a resend                  | Copy the key from the most recent email                                        |
| Server exits after \~30 minutes of retries, log ends in `#first-boot-unreachable` | The host cannot reach `https://license.kubemq.io` (firewall, DNS, proxy) | Allow HTTPS egress to the endpoint; a trial cannot use an offline file         |
| Warning every minute, `#grace-countdown`                                          | The server has not refreshed for over 24 hours                           | Restore connectivity before the 2-day grace ends                               |
| Warning every minute, `#over-cap`                                                 | The key is running on two installations                                  | Stop one, or request a paid license with a higher cap                          |
| Server stops after 30–33 days, `#lease-and-grace-exhausted`                       | The trial ended                                                          | Convert, or request an extension through the reminder email                    |

Every log line above is explained in full in [Troubleshooting](/licensing/troubleshooting).