CHIPSEditions and licensing
CHIPS comes in three editions. Without a license key it runs as Community — free, with limits. A license key from the vendor unlocks Team or Enterprise.
| Community | Team | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scrum master and administrator accounts (seats) | 3 | as licensed (10 by default) | as licensed |
| Active rooms | 5 | unlimited | unlimited |
| People per room | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| All estimation techniques, CSV, history, notes, help, display settings | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Jira integration | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recording and playback | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| REST API and personal access tokens | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect sign-in | — | — | ✓ |
| Activity log download and REST access | — | — | ✓ |
| Analytics: estimators, velocity, anchoring, quality, forecasts | — | — | ✓ |
| Support | community | standard | priority |
Team members who join rooms by link never use a seat. The activity log itself is always kept and viewable by administrators.
Installing a license key
Admin → License: paste the key (it starts with CHIPS1.) and press Install key. The page shows
the edition, the licensee, the expiry, the seats and rooms in use, and the installation ID — the
vendor can bind a key to it so it works only on this installation. On the server you can also run
python -m scrumpoker.manage license install KEY (or license show).
Keys are checked offline with a digital signature: CHIPS never contacts a license server and sends no usage data. A key cannot be edited — changing it breaks the signature.
Expiry
Thirty days before a key expires, administrators see a reminder. After the expiry date everything keeps working for a 14-day grace period; then CHIPS runs as the Community edition until a renewed key is installed. No data is ever deleted: limits only stop adding accounts or rooms, and features of a higher edition stop being usable — existing rooms, stories, history and recordings stay.
When a limit is reached
Creating one more account or room beyond the edition's limit is refused with an explanation; disable an account, archive a room, or install a key with more seats. Using a feature of a higher edition shows which edition it needs.
Protected builds
The packages customers install contain CHIPS compiled to native code, without its source, and a list of every file signed by the vendor. When CHIPS starts it checks that list; if a file was changed, removed or added, it runs as the Community edition, tells administrators that the installation was modified and writes this in the activity log. Reinstalling from the original package fixes it; no data is lost. Admin → Settings → Security and installation checks shows the result.
The license agreement the first administrator accepted, and the third-party notices, are under Legal.
Buying, upgrading and renewing
Contact sales or use the store at the address shown on Admin → License. Send your installation
ID (shown there) if you want the key bound to one installation. You receive a key by email; install it
under Admin → License or with chips-manage license install KEY. Renewals are new keys: install the
new key before the old one expires (or within the 14-day grace period).
Trials
Evaluation keys unlock Team or Enterprise for a limited period (usually 30 days) and are marked trial. When a trial ends, CHIPS continues as Community; nothing is lost.
The license agreement
CHIPS is proprietary software licensed under its end-user license agreement (LICENSE.txt, also shown in
CHIPS under Help → Legal). The open source components it includes are listed in the third-party
notices next to it, and remain under their own licenses.
Privacy
License checks happen inside CHIPS, offline. CHIPS sends nothing to the vendor — no usage data, no "phone home". Your data stays on your server.