Kabuto CFD

Editions and license files

Kabuto Meshing runs as one of two editions:

Free Pro
needs a license file no yes
largest mesh 200,000 cells no limit
everything else (layers, zones, remeshing, command line, MCP server, desktop application) the same the same

Without a license file Kabuto Meshing runs as the Free edition. A mesh that comes out larger than the limit is not written: the run ends with a message that gives the cell count and the limit (exit status 5 on the command line). Make the mesh coarser, or install a license.

kabuto-mesh license                  the edition this copy runs as, and why
kabuto-mesh license install FILE     install a license file
kabuto-mesh license renew            fetch the next file of a subscription now
kabuto-mesh license remove           remove the installed file

In the desktop application the edition is shown in the bottom right corner; License… next to it installs, renews and removes the file.

The license file

A license is a small text file, signed by Kabuto CFD. It names the product, the edition, the licensee, the date of issue and the date of expiry. A license is for one named user, on any number of computers that user works with: a workstation, a laptop, a cluster, a cloud machine. The file is not tied to a computer.

kabuto-mesh license install FILE checks the file and copies it to

  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Kabuto Meshing\license.json
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Kabuto Meshing/license.json
  • Linux: ~/.config/kabuto-meshing/license.json

On a cluster or in a container, set KABUTO_LICENSE_FILE to the file's path instead, or give --license FILE to a run.

The check is done by the meshing program itself, on your computer, from the file and the computer's date. A file that was changed, has expired or was issued for another product is not accepted, and kabuto-mesh license says which of these it is; Kabuto Meshing then runs as the Free edition.

Subscriptions: renewal

A subscription's license file is valid for 30 days and is replaced by the next one over the network:

  • from 10 days before the expiry, Kabuto Meshing asks for the next file when a run starts (at most once a day, waiting a few seconds at most; a run is never held up by it);
  • when that has not worked by the expiry date (no network, a holiday), the license keeps working for 14 more days, and every run says how many days are left;
  • after those 14 days Kabuto Meshing runs as the Free edition until a file is renewed or installed.

What is sent: the license's id, the product name and the product version, to https://kabuto.cfd/api/license/renew. Nothing about your computer, your geometry, your meshes or your use of the program. This is the only network request Kabuto Meshing itself ever makes; the Free edition and licenses for a whole term make none.

To turn automatic renewal off, set KABUTO_LICENSE_OFFLINE=1; kabuto-mesh license renew then renews when you say so.

Computers without a network connection

Ask for a license file for the whole term. It is installed by hand, as above, never renews and makes no network request.