KyoubeAI is free for up to 5 users on an instance. A user is a person with a sign-in account;
AI agents never count. Above 5 you need a licence from KyoubeAI (see LICENSE and
kyoubeai.com/pricing), delivered as a licence key.
What happens at the limit
When an instance has as many users as it's allowed, the next new account is refused. That covers sign-up, an invited person creating an account, and every other way in. The person signing up sees:
This KyoubeAI instance has reached its user limit (5 of 5). An instance admin can add a licence key under Settings → Plugins → KyoubeAI Licence.
Everyone who already has an account keeps working. The limit never locks anyone out.
Applying a licence key
A key looks like KYB1. followed by two long blocks of letters and digits. An instance admin can
apply it in either of two ways:
- In the app: open Settings → Plugins → KyoubeAI Licence, paste the key, and press Apply.
- From the Terminal page:
kyoube license set <key>.
The key is checked before it's saved, and a key that isn't valid is never saved. The page then shows "Licensed to : of users", and the expiry date or "perpetual".
Keys are checked entirely on your instance. Nothing is sent to KyoubeAI, and no internet connection is needed.
To replace a key, apply the new one. To remove it, use Remove licence or
kyoube license clear; the free limit of 5 then applies again.
Keys for one instance
Most keys work on any of your instances. A key can also be issued for a single instance. For that,
send KyoubeAI the Instance ID shown on the Licence page (or by kyoube license show).
The ID is kept in /kyoubeai/kyoube/instance-id on the home volume, so restoring a backup keeps it.
A fresh install gets a new ID and needs a new key.
Expiry
Keys normally last a year from the day they're issued; some are perpetual.
In the last 30 days before expiry, instance admins see a reminder chip in the top bar and a warning
on the Licence page, and kyoube doctor shows a WARN line. When the key expires, the free limit
of 5 applies again. Nobody is locked out or deleted, but no new user can be added while the
instance has 5 or more. Apply the renewed key to lift the limit again.
Groups
Creating and changing user groups (docs/groups.md) needs any valid licence. The limit of 5 users
is a separate matter: a key unlocks groups whatever its seat count.
Without a valid licence (free, expired, invalid or removed), existing groups keep restricting apps, agents and data levels, and can be deleted. Only creating and changing them is refused. Nothing opens up silently when a key expires.
Removing a user to free a seat
The core has no way to delete an account, so KyoubeAI adds one. In the Terminal page:
kyoube users list
kyoube users remove person@example.com
Removing a user:
- takes them out of every company and deletes their account, sessions, sign-in and API keys;
- keeps comments they wrote, with no author shown.
You can't remove the last instance admin, or the admin whose board API key kyoube setup stored.
To remove that admin, run kyoube setup signed in as another instance admin first.
If KYOUBE_BOARD_API_KEY is set in the environment, kyoube can't tell whose key it is, so it
refuses to remove any instance admin until you unset the variable. Other users can still be removed.
If a removal stops halfway, for example after the memberships are archived but before the account is
deleted, kyoube says so and asks you to run the same command again to finish.
The Licence page lists everyone counted, and each person's Remove shows the exact command.
The user list on the Licence page
The page reads a list of users that the container refreshes every minute
(/kyoubeai/kyoube/license-users.json), and shows when it was read. kyoube license refresh
refreshes it at once. The limit itself is always checked live, when an account is created.
One known gap
If two people create accounts at exactly the same moment with one seat left, both can get in,
leaving the instance one over its limit. The next sign-up is refused as usual, and the Licence page
and kyoube doctor show the overage.