Subscription
Compare plans, check your license, activate a machine, and manage your subscription.
Your hob subscription enables the workspace where you and your agents work. Activate it on the computer running the hob Host. Your agent providers' subscriptions and usage are separate: hob does not sell model access.
Plans
Pricing has current rates, eligibility, and the full comparison. In short:
| Plan | For |
|---|---|
| Personal Pro | An individual who buys hob for their own work. Includes every supported agent backend, parallel agent panes and terminals, and local history. |
| Personal Pro+ | Everything in Pro, plus encrypted remote access and hob mobile and priority support. |
| Business | hob used inside a company: bought or reimbursed by a company, or managed as part of a company workflow. Includes remote access. Contact us; team billing and admin controls are in development. |
| Enterprise | Larger deployments with custom procurement, security, deployment, or source-access needs. Contact us. |
A personal license can be used for your own professional work. If a company buys, reimburses, or manages hob, it needs a Business license.
Remote connections need hob Pro+ on both computers: the Host you connect to and the desktop that connects. A desktop without it cannot pair with or connect to another computer. For a new remote machine, the hob Pro+ trial includes remote access.
Check your license in hob
Select the license chip in the titlebar, or press Alt+L, to open License.
It shows the plan and activation state, with a trial end date or paid renewal
date when available. From a shell, run:
hob app license status| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Active trial | The displayed plan is available until the trial ends. Use Enter license when you have a purchased key. |
| Active plan | This Host has an active license. The renewal timeline shows the next billing date when supplied. |
| Trial ending soon | The remaining time is shown in the trial timeline. Check your subscription before it ends. |
| Read-only or expired | Your local conversations and history remain accessible. Starting agent work, sending messages, running terminal commands, and starting automations require an active license. |
| License used on another computer | A copied activation conflicts with another machine. Re-enter your key and choose Use here to claim an available machine slot. |
A cached license grant has its own expiry, separate from the subscription's renewal date. If the license service cannot be reached, an unexpired cached grant keeps working; the popover explains when that grant has expired.
Activate on another machine
Run this on the computer where the Host will run. The interactive prompt keeps the key out of the command itself:
hob app license activateFor scripted setup, pipe the key from your credential source into
hob app license activate --key-stdin. License keys are not accepted as positional
arguments. These commands work from an ordinary shell; see the
CLI reference and
Headless guide for server setup.
To remove this machine's activation, run hob app license deactivate, or choose
Remove in the popover and confirm. This returns the installation to read-only;
it does not cancel your billing subscription.
Manage your subscription
Open the billing portal using the link in your Polar receipt or subscription email. Sign in with the email address used at checkout. The portal holds your subscription, payment method, invoices, and license benefits. See Polar's customer portal guide for the available account actions.
Change plans
Use the plan-change action on your existing subscription. Review the effective date, amount, and discount before confirming: a change can apply immediately or at the next billing cycle, depending on its billing settings. Polar documents the timing rules. If the plan you need is unavailable in the portal, contact us.
Downgrade from Pro+
Choose Pro on the existing Pro+ subscription rather than canceling and starting again. Check the effective date shown before confirming; when the downgrade takes effect, Pro+ remote access is no longer included.
Founders pricing
Founders pricing depends on a continuous eligible personal subscription. Canceling during the trial or letting the subscription lapse forfeits that rate. Keep the subscription active while changing plans, and contact us if the confirmation does not show your expected discount. Eligibility and current terms live on Pricing.
Extended trials
An extended trial code starts a Pro+ trial, with monthly or annual billing chosen at checkout. Codes can be limited to a campaign or redemption window.
Before changing a trial's plan, check its resulting trial end and first charge. Changing products can shorten or end a trial under Polar's plan-change rules. For help moving an extended trial to Pro, contact us before the first charge.
When something is wrong
| Problem | First check |
|---|---|
| Activation refused | Read the popover or CLI error. Check the key, connectivity, and whether a machine slot is available. |
| Expired after renewal | Confirm the payment in the portal and that this Host can reach the license service. hob retries refreshes; re-entering the purchased key also requests activation. |
| Conflict after cloning or restoring a machine | Re-enter the key on the new Host. A copied activation can keep working only until its cached grant expires. |
| Trial code rejected | Check the code and its redemption window. A campaign code belongs in trial checkout; the License popover takes a license key. |
If the problem persists, contact support with the exact error and your purchase email. Keep the full license key out of the message.