License keys
A license key authorizes one AlphaAgent Studio deployment to run. You create a key in the Console, copy its one-time License Token into your deployment, and then monitor that deployment's health and usage from the Console. This page covers creating, monitoring, editing, and revoking license keys.
What a license key is
Each license key has two parts:
- A License ID (
aalk_…) — a public identifier, safe to share and reference in support requests. - A License Token — the License ID combined with a secret, shown to you once at creation. This is the value your deployment uses to activate and to sign its telemetry.
One license key authorizes one deployment. The key is the unit of your relationship with a running Studio: activation, heartbeats, and usage metering all authenticate against it.
Creating a license key
You need a payment card on file (and no unpaid balance) to create a license key, since usage is billed automatically — see Billing. If you don't have one yet, the Console prompts you to add a card first (from Billing → Payment methods → Manage billing in Stripe).
To create a license key:
- Go to License Keys → Create.
- Provide a name/description so you can recognize the deployment later.
- Confirm. The Console shows the License Token with a copy button.
Copy the License Token now and store it securely. The Console treats it as a one-time reveal — copy it before leaving the screen. You hand this token to your deployment (studioctl accepts it interactively or as the LICENSE_TOKEN environment variable); see Deploy Walkthrough.
A newly created key starts as inactive. It becomes active the first time your deployed Studio activates against the Console.
Monitoring a deployment
Opening a license key shows everything the Console knows about that deployment:
Health and heartbeats
Once active, your Studio sends a signed heartbeat every few minutes. The Console tracks these and shows a health status:
- Healthy — heartbeats are arriving on schedule.
- Warning — one or two recent heartbeats were missed.
- Unhealthy — several heartbeats in a row were missed.
A heartbeat chart shows the pattern over time, so you can correlate gaps with deployment events. Missed heartbeats reflect connectivity between your Studio and the Console; they do not by themselves disable your license.
Usage charts
A usage chart shows the token consumption that deployment has reported, with an accompanying total and an estimated cost (at $40 per 1,000,000 prompt tokens). Billing meters prompt (input) tokens, and the total reflects the full work your deployment has done.
You can shape the view to see where consumption comes from:
- Choose a period — Last 24h, Week to date, Month to date (the default), or Last 30 days.
- Choose the bucket size — view usage in hourly or daily buckets, so you can pinpoint bursts of activity or step back to the bigger picture.
- Break usage down by model or by activity — the chart stacks consumption by the model that produced it (or by the kind of activity), so you can see which models and which kinds of work drive your token spend.
This is the per-license view of usage; the Billing page aggregates usage across all your keys for invoicing.
Audit trail
The license view also shows an audit trail of significant events for the key (created, activated, billing/enforcement changes, revoked), useful for support and compliance.
Downloads
The license view links to available Studio releases so you can download the deployment bundle right where you manage the key. See Downloading Studio.
Editing a license key
You can edit a key's descriptive details from the license view. The License ID never changes.
Revoking a license key
Revoking permanently disables a deployment. From the license view, choose Revoke and confirm.
What happens when you revoke:
- The key's secret is destroyed, so the deployment can no longer authenticate.
- On its next heartbeat, the running Studio learns it is revoked and stops serving agent traffic (it enters a disabled state). Operators can still reach diagnostic endpoints to confirm status.
- The key's record and audit history are retained for reference.
Revocation is permanent and cannot be undone. A revoked License ID can never be reactivated — if you need that deployment back, create a new key and re-deploy. This is different from a billing suspension (see Billing), which is temporary and clears as soon as the overdue invoice is paid.
If a deployment goes quiet
A running deployment needs to confirm a valid heartbeat with the Console to keep serving agent traffic. If it cannot — for example because the Console becomes unreachable from your network, or because there is an account/billing hold on the deployment — Studio disables agent traffic on its own and shows a banner asking the user to contact their administrator. This is recoverable: once connectivity is restored or the hold is cleared, the deployment resumes automatically on its next successful heartbeat (no redeploy needed). If you see unexpected Warning/Unhealthy status, check network egress from your deployment and the host clock (large clock drift can cause signed requests to be rejected). See Troubleshooting.