Understanding your license state
Provisional trial, activation pending, trial, active, grace period, locked: what each state opens, and what never closes.
Updated on Sep 30, 2026, 9:00 a.m.
In short. The state is shown in Administration → Agora, License block, with the Reason when something is wrong. Whatever the state, the forum stays open and no data is deleted.
The states #
| State | What it means | What is open |
|---|---|---|
| Provisional trial | New installation: the license server answered, the trial license is being activated. Three days at most | Everything |
| Activation pending | No signed lease yet (license server never reached, or activation not completed), up to 14 days after the database was created | Forum and MDT, not Pro |
| Trial | 14-day trial running, days left shown | The trial tier (Basic) |
| Active | Valid paid license | Your tier |
| Grace period | License expired, revoked, suspended, or license server unreachable for a long time. End date shown | Your tier, until the grace ends |
| Locked | Grace is over | Forum only |
Banners you may see #
- "Trial — N day(s) left."
- "License expired — MDT and premium features lock in N day(s)."
- "License suspended by the publisher — everything stays active for N more day(s)…"
- "License inactive — MDT and premium features are locked. The forum stays open."
The banner's Manage license button leads to the License block.
Reasons shown #
| Reason | Meaning |
|---|---|
| up to date | All good |
| no lease obtained yet | The trial or activation has not completed yet |
| the license server could not be reached for a while | A network issue, not a license issue: wait for the next contact |
| domain could not be verified | See the error shown below: the site must be reachable over HTTPS from the Internet, or link a Discord server |
| the license has reached its end date | Renew or extend |
| the publisher marked this license as expired | Contact support |
| the trial period is over | Go paid |
| the license is suspended by the publisher | See Suspended or expired license |
| the license has been revoked | Contact support |
Safeguards #
- The clock is watched: moving it back extends neither the trial nor the grace. A drift is reported.
- An internal error is permissive: a bug in the license system never locks an instance that should be running.
- The lease survives a session secret change: it is stored in clear, since it is a signed object.
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Related articles
- Suspended or expired license: what happensAn expired license leaves 14 days of grace; a suspended one, 3 days before the free tier; either way, the forum never closes.
- Without access to the license server (offline trial and license)An activated installation holds for days without contact thanks to its signed lease, then enters grace; an installation never activated stays on forum and MDT.
- License errors: causes and fixesUnknown key, seats taken, trial already used, installation already claimed, domain not verifiable: what each message means and how to fix it.
- Activate or change your license keyThe key is read in your customer space, set on the first start, and later replaced in Administration → Agora without touching the server.