Plans and Limits

Next release. The 50 free conversions, filestarcli account and the exit code 5 arrive with the next CLI release. The released CLI (npm filestar 30.5.1) does not have them. See Use Filestar With AI Agents.

50 free conversions, no account

The Filestar CLI installed with npm or as a .NET tool works without an account for 50 skill runs on each computer. One skill run is one skill run on one file; a run that fails is not counted.

The free conversions are for local skills, one file per run, like Filestar without a plan. An agent that converts 30 files runs the CLI 30 times and uses 30 of the 50. The free conversions belong to the computer: reinstalling the CLI or unregistering does not give new ones.

Every JSON result shows the count, for example "allowance": {"used": 3, "limit": 50}, and filestarcli account shows it at any time. From 40 runs the result adds a note for you, so a batch does not stop by surprise.

What needs a plan

More than 50 runs on one computer.
Cloud skills, which run on Filestar's servers.
Several files in one run (batches), such as a whole folder at once.
The CLI that comes with the Filestar app, as before: it uses the app's plan.

See Pricing for the plans.

When the free conversions are used up

The agent gets the error CliAllowanceUsed (exit code 5) with a sentence for you and a short link, such as https://filestar.com/buy/K7Q4-M2XD. A good agent shows you both and then stops. Only if you say you are buying now does it run:

filestarcli upgrade --wait

Open the link on any device, choose a plan and pay. The link stands for the computer the agent runs on, so the plan lands on that computer: you never see or type a licence key. As soon as the payment is through, upgrade --wait finishes and the agent carries on with what it was doing.

The link is valid for six hours. If it has expired, ask the agent to run filestarcli upgrade again for a new one.

You already have a plan

Situation	What to run
You have a Filestar account with a plan, from another computer	`filestarcli login <your email> --wait`. Filestar emails you a sign-in link, valid for 30 minutes. Click it and the CLI is on your plan.
You have the licence key at hand	`filestarcli register <licence key>`. A key you paste into a chat with an agent ends up in the agent provider's logs; `login` avoids that.
The agent runs in a sandbox, CI or a container	Set `FILESTAR_LICENSE_KEY` in its environment. The CLI registers on its first run.
The Filestar app on the same computer has a plan	Nothing. The CLI and the app share the computer's registration.

Devices

A plan covers a number of computers (see Pricing). All npm and .NET tool installs of one licence count as one device together, so short-lived containers and sandboxes do not use up your devices. You can see and sign out your computers at license.filestar.com/activations.