add machine client limit

2026-10-22 12:39:08 +02:00 · 2026-10-21 18:15:23 -04:00
parent 865032a4c5
commit 9e3272b492
5 changed files with 16 additions and 12 deletions
@@ -64,11 +64,11 @@ description: "Common questions about Enterprise Edition licensing, editions, and

  > Invalid or expired license keys detected. Follow license terms to continue using all features.

-  If the key row is valid and the host shows **Unlicensed**, the usual cause is too many registered users or too many sites. Read [License limits](/self-host/enterprise-edition/limits) before you clear or re-register the key. Re-registering does not fix a capacity violation.
+  If the key row is valid and the host shows **Unlicensed**, the usual cause is too many registered users, sites, or machine clients. Read [License limits](/self-host/enterprise-edition/limits) before you clear or re-register the key. Re-registering does not fix a capacity violation.
 </Accordion>

 <Accordion title="Do machine clients count toward the user limit?">
-  No. Machine clients that authenticate with an ID and secret, and are not tied to a user account, do not count. Devices attached to a person do not count separately either. The registered account does. Details are on [License limits](/self-host/enterprise-edition/limits).
+  No. Machine clients that authenticate with an ID and secret are not tied to a user account, so they do not count toward the user quantity. They have their own machine client limit on the license (on published tiers it matches the site ceiling). Devices attached to a person do not count separately either; the registered account does. Details are on [License limits](/self-host/enterprise-edition/limits).
 </Accordion>

 <Accordion title="Do archived or blocked users count?">
@@ -11,4 +11,4 @@ The [Self-Hosted pricing comparison](https://pangolin.net/pricing#Self-Hosted-id

 Doc pages for a specific capability note when it requires Enterprise Edition and link back to setup steps for that feature. Search the docs from the pricing table when you want to turn something on.

-[Personal use](/self-host/enterprise-edition/personal-use) covers who qualifies for a free license. [Commercial use](/self-host/enterprise-edition/commercial-use) covers paid tiers. [License limits](/self-host/enterprise-edition/limits) explains how users and sites are counted.
+[Personal use](/self-host/enterprise-edition/personal-use) covers who qualifies for a free license. [Commercial use](/self-host/enterprise-edition/commercial-use) covers paid tiers. [License limits](/self-host/enterprise-edition/limits) explains how users, sites, and machine clients are counted.
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ Organizations with **$100,000+ USD** gross annual revenue require a **paid comme
 </Card>

 <Card title="License limits" icon="chart-bar" href="/self-host/enterprise-edition/limits">
-  How users and sites are counted, and what the red license banner means.
+  How users, sites, and machine clients are counted, and what the red license banner means.
 </Card>

 <Card title="Activate a license" icon="key" href="/self-host/enterprise-edition/activate">
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 ---
 title: "License Limits"
-description: "How Enterprise Edition counts users and sites, and what happens when you go over"
+description: "How Enterprise Edition counts capacity and what happens when you go over"
 ---

-A self-hosted Enterprise license has two capacity numbers: **users** and **sites**. The quantities are on your license key. Published tier ceilings are on the [Self-Hosted pricing page](https://pangolin.net/pricing#Self-Hosted). This page explains how those numbers are counted.
+A self-hosted Enterprise license has three capacity numbers: **users**, **sites**, and **machine clients**. The quantities are on your license key. Published tier ceilings are on the [Self-Hosted pricing page](https://pangolin.net/pricing#Self-Hosted). This page explains how those numbers are counted.

-The host license is invalid when registered users **exceed** the user quantity, or sites **exceed** the site quantity. Matching the limit exactly is allowed.
+The host license is invalid when registered users **exceed** the user quantity, sites **exceed** the site quantity, or machine clients **exceed** the machine client quantity. Matching the limit exactly is allowed.

 ## How users are counted

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ Accounts that have never registered a device or logged in still count. Archiving

 ### What does not count as a user

- **Machine clients** authenticate with an ID and secret and are not tied to a user account. They do not count.
+- **Machine clients** authenticate with an ID and secret and are not tied to a user account. They do not count toward the user quantity. They have their own [machine client limit](#how-machine-clients-are-counted).
 - **Person clients** (devices) do not count on their own. The account they belong to is what counts, even if that account has several devices.
 - **Concurrent sessions** are not checked against the license.

@@ -25,16 +25,20 @@ Accounts that have never registered a device or logged in still count. Archiving

 Every site on the server counts, across every organization.

+## How machine clients are counted
+
+Every machine client on the server counts, across every organization.
+
 ## Where to see the numbers

 - **Server Admin**, **Users** (`/admin/users`): the flattened account list for the whole server, not per organization.
- **Server Admin**, **License** (`/admin/license`): usage against the key, shown as used users out of the licensed maximum, and the same for sites.
+- **Server Admin**, **License** (`/admin/license`): usage against the key, shown as used users out of the licensed maximum, and the same for sites and machine clients.

 ## More than one key on the same server

 Each Pangolin server (one database) needs its own license. You cannot share one key across servers.

-You can activate more than one key on the **same** server. User quantities add together, and site quantities add together. The host uses the highest tier among the valid keys.
+You can activate more than one key on the **same** server. User quantities add together, site quantities add together, and machine client quantities add together. The host uses the highest tier among the valid keys.

 A personal-use key does not add capacity when a paid key is also active on that server. The personal key is ignored for the totals.

@@ -46,4 +50,4 @@ The key itself can still say valid. The host shows **Unlicensed**, and a red ban

 Enterprise features that need a valid license stay unavailable until you are back within the quantities on the key, and a license left over the limit can be revoked.

-Delete accounts or sites until you are at or under the licensed quantity, or add capacity with a higher tier or another key on the same server. See [Commercial use](/self-host/enterprise-edition/commercial-use).
+Delete accounts, sites, or machine clients until you are at or under the licensed quantity, or add capacity with a higher tier or another key on the same server. See [Commercial use](/self-host/enterprise-edition/commercial-use).
@@ -37,4 +37,4 @@ Organizations at or above the revenue threshold need a [paid commercial license]
 </Step>
 </Steps>

-See [Features](/self-host/enterprise-edition/features) for what the license unlocks, and [License limits](/self-host/enterprise-edition/limits) for how users and sites are counted.
+See [Features](/self-host/enterprise-edition/features) for what the license unlocks, and [License limits](/self-host/enterprise-edition/limits) for how users, sites, and machine clients are counted.