Activating your licence
The first time you launch DBCraft AI Studio you see the Activate DBCraft AI Studio screen. Until the product is entitled to run, this screen is a hard gate — you cannot reach the login screen or any feature behind it.
#4.1Online activation (the normal path)
You will have received a licence key by e-mail when your registration was approved. It looks like:
DBCK-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX- Paste the key into the Enter your license key box.
- Click Activate (or press
Enter).
That is the whole procedure. Behind the scenes the application generates a challenge unique to this machine, exchanges it with the licensing authority, and verifies the signed response locally. The licence is then stored on this machine in protected form. Your machine needs internet access for those few seconds only — after that, DBCraft never needs to go online again.
The machine code shown at the bottom of the screen is a fingerprint of this computer’s hardware. Support may ask for it. It contains no personal information.
#4.2Offline activation
For machines with no internet access, click No internet on this machine? Activate offline. The three-step exchange is:
| Step | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Click Generate Activation Code. A DBCH1-… code appears; copy it (there is a copy button). If you need a fresh one, click Generate a new code. |
| 2 | On any device that does have a browser, open your DBCraft licensing portal, paste the activation code, and copy the response code it returns. |
| 3 | Back in DBCraft, paste the response (DBL1-…) into the box and click Activate. |
The verification is done entirely on your machine — the response carries a cryptographic signature that DBCraft checks offline.
To go back to the simpler path, click Have a license key? Activate online.
#4.3The evaluation period
If your build is configured with a trial, the activation screen shows Evaluation period — n days remaining and a Continue trial button in the bottom-right. Clicking it dismisses the screen for the current window. The notice reappears the next time you start the application, until you either activate or the trial ends.
When the trial ends, the gate becomes hard again and the banner reads "Your evaluation period has ended."
#4.4Other states you may see
| Banner | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| This installation is not activated | No licence and no trial. | Enter a licence key. |
| Your license has expired | A time-limited licence passed its end date. | Renew — the panel switches to Renew License; the procedure is identical to activation. |
| Your license is bound to different hardware | Significant hardware changed, or the licence file was copied from another machine. | Contact your licence administrator to release the old seat, then activate again. |
| System clock tampering was detected | The system clock is behind the last time DBCraft ran. | Set the clock correctly and restart the application. Licensing is suspended until then; no activation is possible in this state. |
| The stored license is invalid | The licence file is corrupt. | Re-activate. |
#4.5Where to manage the licence later
Once you are inside the application, Help → License… opens the licence dialog at any time. It shows who the product is licensed to, the edition, licence ID, seat number, issue and expiry dates, and the machine code — and lets you enter a new licence or deactivate this machine. See chapter 38.