How standalone keys work
Every Standalone licence is a signed offline key: a licence that proves itself cryptographically on your machine, with no account and no server contact, ever. That makes it ideal for everyday use and for workstations that never touch the internet (secure sites, isolated networks, strict IT policies).
This page explains what the key is and what it guarantees. For the steps that get you one, see activate your licence.
What the key actually is
Section titled “What the key actually is”A standalone key is a block of text starting with key/, digitally signed with our private key
and bound to your machine. It looks like key/eyJhbGci….MEUCIQ…: a payload naming the product,
the machine and the term, followed by a signature over it.
On every AutoCAD start the plugin verifies that signature locally: math, not network. If the signature checks out and the key matches the machine, the plugin is licensed. There is no phone-home, no grace window to manage, nothing to renew for perpetual keys.
The public half of the signing key is compiled into the plugin, which is what lets verification happen with nothing to reach. The private half never leaves us, so a key cannot be forged or edited: change one character of the payload and the signature stops matching it.
Why it is bound to one machine
Section titled “Why it is bound to one machine”Your Machine ID is a one-way fingerprint of the computer. It identifies the machine, not you, and cannot be turned back into anything about it. The key is minted for that exact fingerprint, and that binding is the whole reason the licence can be checked without a server: with nothing to phone, the key itself has to carry the answer to “may this computer run this plugin”.
The trade-off is that a key issued for one machine will not run on another, so changing machines (or a major hardware change) means a new licence.
What it guarantees
Section titled “What it guarantees”- Perpetual: a perpetual standalone key works forever, entirely offline.
- Private: verification is local, so no usage of the plugin is observable to us through licensing. Anonymous usage information is a separate, opt-in thing covered in how licensing works.
- Machine-bound, and not transferable: the key runs only on the machine it was issued for. Moving means a new licence: contact us to generate one.
- No sign-in needed: standalone licences appear in the Licence Manager even when signed out.
Once validated, the licence sits in the Licences tab reading Standalone - Perpetual - Machine locked, which is those guarantees stated back to you:
