Seat limits and machines

Every licence has a limit: a number of seats (people) or a number of machines. The limit decides how many machines can hold an activation at once. Use this page to choose the limit when you issue a licence, and to know how a customer frees a seat.

Seats or machines

A licence has a limit_kind and a limit_count:

limit_kind	limit_count counts	Machines that can activate
machines	Computers	limit_count
seats	People	limit_count times machines per seat

Machines per seat is a setting of the product, 3 by default and from 1 to 1000. A licence for 2 seats of a product that allows 3 machines per seat can run on 6 machines. Change the setting from the product’s page in the Console, or with the Admin API (PATCH /v1/admin/products/{id}). It applies to every licence of the product that counts seats, including those already issued.

The limit is in the key, so your app can show it, but only the API enforces it: the app learns the outcome when it activates. limit_count is 1 to 4294967295; when you issue without one, the licence is for 1 seat. When you issue through Polar, the product mapping sets the kind and the count, and, for a mapping that counts seats, a seat count on the Polar order replaces the count.

When the limit is reached

Activating a machine that holds no seat when every seat is taken answers 409:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "seat_limit_reached",
    "message": "Every seat of this licence is in use.",
    "details": { "limit": 3, "active": 3 },
    "request_id": "8f0d6c1e-2a55-4b8e-9d61-0c1f3f6a7b90"
  }
}

details.limit is the number of machines the licence allows and details.active the number holding a seat now. Show the limit and offer the customer a way to free a seat. A machine that already holds a seat is never refused: activating it again answers 200 and refreshes its details.

Free a seat

Anyone with a way in can free a seat; the seat is free as soon as the call succeeds.

• The app calls POST /v1/activations/deactivate with the licence key and the machine id, for example from a “Sign out” or “Move this licence” button (how). Safe to repeat.
• The customer, in the Console under My licences, when your workspace allows customers to free machines. The workspace setting “Let customers free a machine themselves” turns it off; the customer is then refused with customer_deactivation_disabled and asks you.
• You, in the Console, from the licence’s page, by machine.
• Your backend, with an admin API key that has licences:write: POST /v1/admin/activations/{id}/deactivate, by the activation’s id, which GET /v1/admin/licences/{id} lists. Freeing a seat already freed answers the activation unchanged.
• An AI assistant, with the MCP tool sealcord_deactivate_activation.

A freed machine keeps its record, marked as deactivated, and the freed seat can be taken by another machine. Each activation and deactivation is in the licence’s audit log.

Revoked and expired licences

Activating a revoked or expired licence answers licence_revoked or licence_expired. A status check answers a signed revoked verdict with the reason. Revoking or expiring a licence leaves its machines in place; they stop running at their next status check, and they are not counted among your live machines, which count only machines on active and trial licences. If you reinstate the licence, its machines are still there.

Questions

Does the customer’s reinstalled app use a new seat?

Only if it sends a new machine_id. A reinstall that keeps the stored id keeps its seat; one that generates a new id takes another, and the old seat stays taken until someone frees it. Store the id where a reinstall keeps it, and let the customer free old machines by their label.

Can I raise a licence’s limit after issuing it?

The limit is part of the key and no route changes it, so a licence keeps the limit it was issued with. To give a customer more, issue a new licence with the larger limit and revoke or expire the old one.

What is a good label?

The computer’s name, such as “Studio iMac”: it is what the customer picks from when freeing a seat. It is 1 to 200 characters.

How many machines can a licence for one person run on?

Whatever you set. With seats, it is machines per seat for each seat. With machines, it is the count. Blue Lantern might sell one seat and keep the default of 3 machines, so a customer’s desktop, laptop and studio machine all run.