Free by default, paid when it matters
Daneel's core is free. Page Q&A, Site RAG, local inference, MCP tool calling, agents, vaults — the features that define the extension work without paying anything or creating an account.
Some capabilities — the kind that take significant infrastructure to support or that serve power-user workflows — are gated behind a one-time payment. Not a subscription. Not a recurring charge. One payment, permanent access.
We'll keep expanding what's included in both tiers as Daneel grows. The boundary between free and paid will shift, but the model stays the same: most features free, a few premium, no dark patterns.
No account required
We don't want your email, your name, or a password. The entire licensing flow works without creating an account.
Click "Unlock" in the settings panel. You're taken to a Stripe checkout page — a standard, secure payment form. Pay once, and you receive a license key in the format DAN-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. That's it. The key is yours.
No login. No dashboard. No profile to manage. The key is your identity.
How the key works
Your license key activates a signed token (ES256 JWT) that the extension caches locally. The token contains your plan tier, your feature flags, and a 7-day expiry.
During those 7 days, everything works offline. The extension verifies the token locally using a cryptographic signature — no network call needed. Before the token expires, Daneel refreshes it in the background. If you're offline when the refresh window opens, the cached token keeps working until it expires. Come back online, and the next refresh happens automatically.
You never think about this. Features just work.
Portable and permanent
The key is yours to keep. Copy it, store it in your password manager, write it on a sticky note — however you manage credentials.
Switch machines? Install Daneel on your new laptop, open Settings, paste your key, and you're activated. Same key, same features, no transfer process.
Lost your key? Enter the email you used at checkout on the recovery page, and we'll return all keys associated with that address. No support ticket, no waiting.
Two tiers, one price point
Standard — a fixed one-time payment. You get permanent access to all premium features, current and future additions to the paid tier.
Sponsor — pay what you wish (above the minimum). Same features as Standard, but your contribution helps fund development. Sponsors may get early access to experimental features down the road.
Both tiers grant the same capabilities today. The distinction exists so that users who want to support the project more generously can do so — and so we can recognize that support in the future.
What happens under the hood
The backend runs on Vercel with a Supabase database. Stripe handles payments — we never see your card details. When a payment completes, a webhook generates your license key and signs your JWT.
The extension caches the token in Chrome's local storage. Feature checks are local — a function reads the cached token, verifies the signature, and checks whether the requested feature flag is present. No phone-home on every use.
If we add new features to your plan tier after you've purchased, the next token refresh picks up the updated flags automatically. Your key doesn't change, but what it unlocks can grow.
Privacy-first licensing
No user accounts means no user database to breach. We store license keys and the email from the Stripe receipt — that's the entire record. Your license key isn't tied to a browser fingerprint, a device ID, or a hardware serial number. It works on any machine, in any Chrome profile.
The token never leaves your device except during the refresh call to our backend — and that call contains only your license key, nothing about your browsing, your documents, or your usage.
We built the licensing to match the extension's philosophy: your data is yours, your identity is minimal, and the system works even when the network doesn't.
Supporting Daneel
If you find the extension useful, the best way to support it is to buy a license — even if you only use free features today. Every purchase funds continued development: better models, more integrations, and features that stay free for everyone.