License activation

Label Alchemy’s free tier needs no account and no license. Paid features — bulk convert, deploy to org, project-wide AI naming, custom denylist, diverging-name duplicate detection, and Audit CSV export — are unlocked with a license key from your purchase.

What’s free vs. Paid

Free (no license)	Paid (requires a license)
Single-file scan, name, review, apply	Bulk convert across your whole project
Deterministic naming + per-file AI naming (BYOK)	Project-wide AI naming (reuses existing labels + your convention)
Organize labels into categories	Deploy to org on approve (production hard-blocked)
Folder/project Audit Report + cost estimate	Audit CSV export
Smart label reuse + change-record output	Custom denylist (your own terms)
Built-in technical denylist	Catch diverging-name duplicates (reuse-or-create at write)
	Priority email support

You can scan, name, review, and apply on single files forever without paying. The preview always works — only the Paid actions require a valid key. For the full feature breakdown, see Features.

Enter your license key

Buy a license — you’ll receive a license key by email from Lemon Squeezy.
In VS Code, open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P).
Run Label Alchemy: Enter License Key.
Paste the key and press Enter.

Label Alchemy validates the key and, on success, activates the Paid features immediately. Your key is stored in VS Code’s encrypted secret storage — never in settings.json and never logged.

Moving the license between machines

Your license activates a limited number of devices (seats). To move it to another machine yourself — no need to email support:

On the machine you’re leaving, open the Command Palette → Label Alchemy: Deactivate License on This Device. This frees the seat.
On the new machine, run Label Alchemy: Enter License Key and paste the same key.

If you try to activate beyond your seat limit, Label Alchemy tells you the activation limit was reached — deactivate on another device first, or add another license.

Offline & validation grace period

Label Alchemy re-validates your license periodically (about every 7 days) and on restart. The check sends only your license key and a VS Code machine ID — never your source. If the license server is unreachable:

If you previously validated successfully, you keep working normally during a 3-day grace period.
A warning appears after 1 day of failed validation.
Network problems alone never block you — only a genuinely invalid/expired key does, and only after the grace period.

What your purchase includes

Label Alchemy is sold as a one-time, perpetual license — the version you buy is yours to keep forever. It includes a 12-month window of updates; after that window your installed version keeps working indefinitely, and only features released after your window are locked until you renew updates (Command Palette → the Renew updates prompt links to your account).

There’s a Personal vs. Commercial license (based on who pays), a limited Founding-Member early-bird for the first launch buyers, and a per-seat Team plan that’s coming soon. Pricing, the founding offer, and renewal costs are kept current on the website:

➡️ See current pricing on labelalchemy.dev — all figures, Purchasing Power Parity discounts, and the refund window live there.

Troubleshooting activation

“License key not accepted.” Confirm you’re using the key from your Lemon Squeezy purchase email (case-sensitive, no extra spaces).

“Activation limit reached.” Deactivate the license on a device you no longer use (see Moving the license between machines), or add another license.

For more, see Troubleshooting or email support@labelalchemy.dev.