Activate Your License
What you need to get started
Section titled “What you need to get started”Two things: a modelBridge license key and a fal.ai API key.
Your license key comes from your LemonSqueezy purchase receipt — check the email you used at checkout. Your fal.ai API key comes from fal.ai/dashboard/keys. The plugin walks you through both during first launch.
First launch — step by step
Section titled “First launch — step by step”When you open modelBridge for the first time, the plugin guides you through setup in four steps.
Step 1 — Welcome. A brief introduction to what modelBridge does and how it works with fal.ai.
Step 2 — License activation. Paste the license key from your LemonSqueezy receipt email. The plugin validates it instantly and confirms activation. If you don’t have the key yet, click “Activate later” to skip — you can always enter it in Settings. Generation will be disabled until you activate, but you can browse models, explore the interface, and configure settings in the meantime.
Step 3 — fal.ai API key. Paste your API key from fal.ai/dashboard/keys. This connects you to 1,000+ AI models. See the API Key Setup guide for detailed instructions on creating your fal.ai account and generating a key.
Step 4 — Choose your starter models. Pick a few favorites to get started quickly. You can always add more later from the Model Search.
That’s it — you’re ready to generate.
Activating on a second device
Section titled “Activating on a second device”Your license works on up to 2 devices — for example, a desktop and a laptop. Just enter the same license key on your second machine during setup or in Settings.
If you’ve used both activations and need to move to a new device, go to Settings on the machine you no longer need and click “Release this device.” This frees up the activation slot. Then enter your license key on the new machine.
Activating later
Section titled “Activating later”If you skip activation during setup, the plugin is fully browsable without a license. You can explore models, adjust settings, view the interface, and familiarize yourself with every feature.
To activate later, go to Settings → Subscription and enter your license key. Once activated, all generation features — including background jobs, Dual Mode, prompt optimization, and report exports — become available immediately.
What requires an active subscription
Section titled “What requires an active subscription”The following features require an active subscription:
- Generating new content (all model categories)
- Starting background generation jobs
- Using Dual Mode
- Optimizing prompts with AI
- Exporting cost reports
- Adding external costs
Everything else — browsing models, viewing generation history, accessing cost tracking data, adjusting settings — works in read-only mode without an active subscription. See What happens when your subscription changes for full details.