# Updates & renewals

Licensing and Updates Basics:

- **Your license is a 12-month *update window***, not a 12-month
  *runtime*.
- Anything **released within the window** is yours forever, even
  after the license expires.
- Updates released **after expiry** require a renewal to install,
  but your existing version keeps running.
- Nothing about your data, recordings, or detection changes when a
  license lapses. Fregata keeps running.
- **Trials are the exception.** When a 30-day trial runs out,
  Frigate stops and the app blocks and shows a buy-or-quit dialog —
  there's no "lapse and keep running" path the way paid licenses
  have. See
  [After the trial expires](/getting-started/activation/#after-the-trial-expires).

## How update checks work

- Once a day, Fregata checks for a new update.
- If a newer version exists **and your license covers it**, the
  tray surfaces **Update available: v\<X.Y.Z\>**.
- Updates are **not auto-installed**. You decide when. Click the
  menu item to open the download window.
- **Want to check right now?** Open the tray menu →
  **About Fregata…** and click **Check for Updates**. It tells you
  on the spot whether you're up to date, and offers a **View…** link
  if there's an update — no need to wait for the daily check. If an
  update is found, the tray item appears too.

## When your license won't cover a new release

If a version was released **after** your license expired, the tray
shows a yellow indicator instead of the standard update item. The
update window says something like:

> Fregata 1.4.0 was released on 2026-08-12. Your license covers
> updates released up to 2026-06-15. Renew for $10 to install this
> update; your current version keeps running either way.

Renewing extends your update window forward by 12 months **from the
date you renew**, not from the date your license lapsed. So a
30-day gap between expiry and renewal isn't 30 days you "lose" — it
just shifts the next year forward by a month.

## Renewing

Two ways:

1. **Click "Renew" in the update window.** It opens
   [fregata.app/renew](https://fregata.app/renew) pre-filled with
   your license email and key. Pay $10, return to the app, the new
   expiry shows up on the next heartbeat (within ~6 hours, usually
   minutes).
2. **From the Fregata.app site.** Go to
   [fregata.app/manage-license](https://fregata.app/manage-license),
   sign in with your license email, click **Renew**.

## What if I never want updates?

Skip them. Don't click. The prompt is a single tray menu item, and there's no nag-screen.
Your existing install with a paid license runs forever.

## Keeping multiple Macs current

A license binds to one Mac. If you want Fregata on two, you have
two options:

- **Two licenses.** Buy a second one. Same email is fine; the
  manage-license page will show both licenses.
- **Volume licensing for businesses or households with several
  Macs** — reply to your license email.

:::note
On a renewal, *only the expiry date* changes. The license key is
the same string; you don't re-enter it, the app picks up the new
expiry automatically.
:::