Self-hosting license

A self-hosted server is one program, one image, and the essentials are free forever. When you need AI, content push and MCP, buy the full license per user. The license is verified offline on your server and keeps working without a connection once activated.

See Pricing for prices and online purchase.

License policy

Free vs full license

	Free	Full license
Price	Free, no license	One-time purchase per user (seat), one year of free updates
Users, notes, attachment storage	Unlimited	Unlimited
Notes, attachments, sync across devices, history	✓	✓
Users (sign-up, sign-in, roles, disabling, deleting), email invitations	✓	✓
Site settings, attachment policy, S3 services, mail service	✓	✓
Note sharing and public files	✓	✓
Key management	✓	✓
Scheduled backup to S3, export, import (Markdown, Joplin, Obsidian)	✓	✓
Task reminders and calendar subscription, API tokens	✓	✓
AI services and AI settings	—	✓ whole site
Audit log	—	✓ whole site
S3 library scan and cleanup	—	✓ whole site
Ask AI	—	✓ per seat
Content push to WordPress	—	✓ per seat
MCP (let AI tools such as Claude or Cursor read and write notes)	—	✓ per seat

• Whole-site features work across the server once a license is active.
• Per-seat features work for the users an admin gave a seat; everyone else keeps the free features, without limit.
• Plans, quotas, trials and payments belong to the official cloud service and are not sold with self-hosting licenses. A self-hosted server never limits notes or storage, with or without a license.

Seats

A seat is one user who can use Ask AI, content push and MCP.

• Buy as many seats as people who need those features.
• An admin gives or takes back seats in the server's Admin → Users.
• Disabling, banning or deleting a user frees their seat.
• If more people hold seats than the license has (for example after switching to a smaller license), the earliest seats stay in force and the rest show as pending until a seat frees up.

One-time purchase and free updates

• A license is a one-time purchase and never expires: the version you run when buying, and every version released during the free-updates window, keep all paid features forever.
• The free-updates window is one year after purchase by default. Versions released later pause the paid features until you renew by contacting us; staying on a version from the window is unaffected.
• What counts is the release date of the server program, not the server's clock; changing the system time does not affect the license.

Getting a license

A license code looks like IVY-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. There are three ways to get one:

1. Buy on the website: sign in to My account, click "Buy the full license" under My licenses, enter the number of users (seats) and pay. The license appears under My licenses and is emailed to you.
2. Issued by us: for company purchases or offline payment, we issue the license straight to your website account; sign in to see it.
3. You received a code: enter it under My licenses → Add a license code to add it to your account. A code that belongs to another account cannot be added.

For bank transfer, invoices or bulk purchases, use the "For companies" form on Pricing.

Activating

A license activates one server. Activation binds it to that server's instance ID.

Online activation (recommended)

When the server can reach ivynote.net:

1. Sign in to the server as an admin and open Admin → License (站点授权).
2. Enter the license code under Activate online and click Activate.

The page then shows the full license and its seats.

Offline activation (no internet)

When the server cannot go online:

1. Copy the activation request (starting with ivyreq1.) from the server's Admin → License page.
2. On any device with internet, sign in to My account, open Offline activation under the license, paste the request and click Create certificate.
3. Copy or download the certificate (starting with ivylic1.), paste it into the server's License page and click Activate.

Environment variables and command line

For Docker, Kubernetes or scripted deployments:

# Either pass the certificate, or point to a file holding it
IVY_LICENSE=ivylic1.…
IVY_LICENSE_FILE=/run/secrets/ivynote-license

A certificate from the environment wins over one pasted in the admin console and cannot be changed there. The server also has a command line:

ivynote license status        # edition, instance ID, seats and problems
ivynote license request       # print the activation request (offline activation)
ivynote license set @file     # install a certificate
ivynote license clear         # remove the license, back to free

To make the server refuse to start on a license problem instead of quietly running as free, set IVY_REQUIRE_EDITION=pro.

Domain binding

When the server has IVY_PUBLIC_URL set, the activation request carries its domain and the certificate is bound to it. To change the server's domain later, release the license and activate again.

Day to day

Adding seats

Under the license in My account, click Add seats and pay.

• Servers with internet check the license once a day and pick up the new seats on their own.
• To apply it at once, click Check now on the License page.
• Offline servers need one more offline activation to install the new certificate.

Moving to another server

1. Find the license in My account and click Release.
2. Activate it on the new server (online or offline).

• Each license can be released 3 times a year by its owner; contact us if you need more.
• After a release, the old server turns off the paid features at its next online check.

If the new server was restored from the old server's data backup (the instance ID moves with the data), no release is needed and the license keeps working.

Online checks

A server with an active full license contacts ivynote.net once a day to check the license:

• It sends only the license ID, instance ID, server domain, version and build date — never notes or user data.
• When the site cannot be reached, nothing changes; the license stays valid.
• If the answer is "revoked" (for example after a refund) or "released", the paid features turn off on that server.
• When seats or the updates window change, the new certificate is installed automatically.

To keep the server from contacting the site, set IVY_LICENSE_SERVER=off; online activation and checks both turn off, and only offline activation remains.

When a license stops working

The server falls back to the free edition when:

• the license was removed, or the certificate does not verify (malformed or altered);
• the certificate belongs to another server, or its domain differs from IVY_PUBLIC_URL;
• the running version was released after the free-updates window;
• an online check reports the license revoked or released.

Then only the paid features hide: notes, sync, sign-in, sharing and export always work and no data is lost. AI services, blog settings and the like are kept and come back when you activate again. The License page shows the reason.

Limits

• One license, one server: a license activates one server at a time. Running several servers needs one license each.
• Limited releases: 3 a year by the owner.
• No real-time revocation offline: a server that never goes online does not learn about changes on the website (a revocation after a refund, a release) and keeps running on its certificate until it is upgraded past the free-updates window.
• Updates window: after it ends, keep running versions released within it, or contact us to renew before upgrading (renewal is not available online yet).
• No cloud billing: plans, quotas, trials and payments are not part of self-hosting licenses.
• Bound to the server: after a reinstall that does not keep the data (a new instance ID), release the license on the website and activate again.

FAQ

Does the free edition limit users or time? No. It has no limit on users, notes or storage, and no trial period.

Are seats counted per registered user? No. Only users given a seat for Ask AI, content push and MCP take one.

Does the license expire? No. The end of the free-updates window only affects upgrading to versions released later; the version you run keeps every feature.

Lost the license code? Sign in to My account; it is always shown under My licenses.

Activation says the license is active on another server? Release it under My licenses first, then activate the new server.