License

Aurono Start runs in two modes:

Shadow mode — Aurono evaluates every strategy and records every decision, but never sends an order to your exchange. This is the unlimited, free trial. You can run shadow mode for as long as you want.
Live mode — Aurono sends real orders to your exchange. A license is required.

The License card in Settings is where you activate your device for live trading. Without a license, every feature still works except the “Go Live” toggle in Settings.

License card in the Not activated state, showing the device fingerprint, the "Get a license" button, and the license-key paste area

Why a License?

Aurono Start is local-first software. There is no cloud account, no subscription, and no monthly recurring charge. Live mode is unlocked by a one-time license that’s tied to the device you install Aurono on. This is how we keep the project sustainable while preserving the “your data, your hardware, no phone-home” architecture.

Shadow mode runs forever without a license. That’s by design — we’d rather you spent weeks watching what Aurono would have done with your strategy before you commit real money.

Finding Your Device Fingerprint

Every device has a unique 32-character fingerprint. Aurono needs it to issue a license bound to your specific install. The fingerprint is derived from local OS identifiers — it never leaves your machine on its own.

In Aurono → Settings → License, the fingerprint is shown directly below the explanatory text. It looks like:

9d9dbc3901fd7097797c57bb4ec1d677

Click Copy to put it in your clipboard.

Getting a License

Click Get a license in the License card. Your default email client opens with a draft pre-filled with your fingerprint:

Subject: Aurono Start — License request

Hi,

I'd like to activate Aurono Start on this device.

My device fingerprint is:
9d9dbc3901fd7097797c57bb4ec1d677

Thanks!

Send the email to license@auronolabs.com. We’ll reply with your license key — a single line starting with AUR1. followed by about 125 characters of base64.

Activating Your License

When the reply arrives, copy the entire AUR1.… line (no extra whitespace, no line breaks). In Aurono → Settings → License, paste it into Paste license key and click Activate.

The card flips to the Active state, showing:

Tier (currently software)
Issued date
License ID (the last few characters are useful when contacting support)
The fingerprint your license is bound to

License card in the Active state, with the "Ready to go live?" panel below it and the System section showing Operating mode set to shadow

Below the claim details, a Ready to go live? panel appears with two options:

Go live now — runs Aurono’s pre-flight checks (exchange connection, active strategies, allocated capital) and switches the system to live mode after you confirm. Your strategies start submitting real orders on their next evaluation cycle.
Stay in shadow — the panel stays available indefinitely. Live trading is something you opt into when you’re ready, not something Aurono nags you about.

The Three Card States

The License card in Settings always shows one of three states:

State	What it means	What to do
Active	A valid license is installed, bound to this device.	Nothing — you can toggle live mode whenever you’re ready.
Not activated	No license file is present on this device. Shadow mode runs unconditionally.	Either continue in shadow, or follow the activation flow above.
Rejected (inline error)	A license is on disk but doesn’t validate. The card shows why and keeps the textarea visible so you can paste a corrected token.	See the next section.

When Activation Is Rejected

License card with the "This license code looks malformed" rejection message above the fingerprint, and a malformed token visible in the paste area

If the inline warning appears after pasting, the message tells you exactly what went wrong:

“This license is for a different device” — the license was issued for a fingerprint that doesn’t match this machine. This happens if you reused a license from a different computer, or if your hardware changed (e.g. a Mac mini logic board replacement). Send us your new fingerprint and we’ll issue a fresh license.
“This license code wasn’t recognised” — the signature on the license doesn’t match. Usually a copy-paste mistake. Double-check you copied the full AUR1.… line from your email — including the AUR1. prefix.
“This license code looks malformed” — extra characters in the token (spaces, line breaks, an HTML wrapper from your email client). Re-copy by triple-clicking the line in your email.
“This license code was issued for a newer version” — your Aurono Start is older than the version the license expects. Update Aurono Start first (Settings → System → Update status will show if an update is available), then retry activation.

Replacing Your Device

A license is bound to one device’s fingerprint. If you move Aurono to a different machine, the old license won’t activate on the new one — you’ll see the “different device” rejection.

To transfer:

Install Aurono Start on the new device.
Open Settings → License on the new device, copy the fingerprint.
Email us at license@auronolabs.com with your old license ID and the new fingerprint. We’ll issue a fresh license.
Activate on the new device using the new license.

We don’t charge for transfers during the beta. If you decommission the old device, we mark the old license revoked in our records.

What “Live” Actually Means

Activating a license doesn’t make Aurono trade. The license unlocks the ability to switch to live mode. You still have to:

Have an exchange connected (Settings → Exchanges).
Have at least one strategy that’s marked active.
Click Go Live in Settings → System, confirm the pre-flight check, and let Aurono know you’re ready.

From that point on, when a strategy’s rules fire on a closed candle, Aurono will submit a real limit order. You can switch back to shadow at any time — the toggle is reversible.

If you flip the operating mode to live but your license has gone invalid for any reason (revoked, hardware changed, file corrupted), the operating-mode badge in Settings will say shadow with a small “(license required)” hint. That’s Aurono telling you: the database row says live, but until the license validates, every evaluation cycle still uses shadow mode. No risk of accidental live trades when the gate is closed.

Privacy

Aurono never contacts our servers to verify your license. Verification happens entirely on your device using the Ed25519 public key shipped with every Aurono install. After activation, you can disconnect Aurono from the internet and it will continue to validate your license offline.

The only thing that ever leaves your device for licensing purposes is the email you choose to send when requesting a license — and that’s a one-time exchange, manually initiated by you.