Licensing and Activation
Kafma Free needs no license key and never expires. Kafma Pro is an annual subscription activated on one device at a time. See Pricing for plan features.
Activate Pro
Open Settings → License, paste the key from your purchase email, and choose Activate.
Kafma stores the key locally through Electron's safeStorage; protection
depends on your operating system and desktop environment.
One key activates one device at a time. After activation, the panel shows the plan and Last validated, with Revalidate and Deactivate actions. Deactivate before entering a different key.
Validation and offline access
Kafma revalidates Pro seven days after the last successful check. A due check runs while the app is open; on launch, Kafma checks only when the saved state requires online validation or offline recovery.
Opening the License tab may refresh the current status. Choose Revalidate to check manually if needed.
Service unavailable. Pro remains active and Kafma retries every 24 hours. Offline access ends 14 days after the last successful check; failed attempts do not extend that deadline. Kafma switches to Free until a check succeeds.
License rejected. If the service reports that the subscription expired, the license was disabled, or the activation is no longer valid, the change applies immediately. Offline grace does not override a response from the service.
Nothing stored on your device is deleted. See What changes without Pro.
License alerts
When a license needs attention, Kafma shows an alert below the title bar and more details in Settings → License.
| Alert | What to do |
|---|---|
| Offline — Kafma Pro needs to revalidate within N days. | Reconnect and choose Revalidate before the deadline |
| Couldn't validate your Pro license for 14 days — you're on the Free plan for now. | Reconnect and choose Revalidate to restore Pro |
| Your Kafma Pro subscription has expired. | Renew, then choose Revalidate |
| Your license has been disabled. | Email [email protected] |
| This device's license activation is no longer valid. | Choose Review license, then re-enter the key. If the device limit is reached, deactivate the other machine first |
| This license doesn't apply to Kafma. | Choose Replace license and enter a Kafma key |
| Kafma can't read the license saved on this device. | Choose Recover license, then re-enter the original key |
What changes without Pro
When Kafma switches from Pro to Free—for example, after the subscription expires or the offline grace period ends—no local data is deleted:
- The most recently selected cluster remains available; other clusters stay saved and locked.
- Up to two Console tabs remain usable. Other tabs stay saved and locked, and their live consumers stop.
- Locked clusters can still be deleted. Opening, editing, or pinning one shows the upgrade prompt.
A successful validation restores Pro and unlocks everything in place.
Move or recover a license
Move to another device. While online, choose Deactivate on the old device, then activate the same key on the new one. This frees the device slot without cancelling the subscription or deleting local data.
If the old device is unavailable, use the account-management link in your purchase email to deactivate it. Contact [email protected] if you cannot access the account. See the Terms for information about the current seller and payment provider.
If Kafma cannot read the saved license. The Recover option appears only when the locally stored key can no longer be decrypted. Re-enter the original key and choose Recover. Kafma reuses the activation already saved on this device, so recovery does not consume another device slot.
Renewals and refunds
Cancelling renewal does not end Pro immediately; access continues until the subscription expires.
A first-time Pro purchase may be refunded within 14 days. See the Terms for eligibility and how a refund affects the license.