Free and Pro
PocketCmd is free to use, with no account and no time limit. PocketCmd Pro removes the Free limits and adds split screen, the PocketCmd Server features, protocol switching and the full set of themes. Your plan and license are in Settings › PocketCmd Pro. Current prices are on pocketcmd.com/pricing.
Controls that need Pro carry a PRO badge. Tapping one opens the upgrade sheet for that feature.
What Free includes
Section titled “What Free includes”- SSH, Mosh, Eternal Terminal and Telnet, with tmux.
- The SFTP browser, text editor, transfer queue and system file manager integration.
- Port forwarding and SSH agent forwarding.
- Key generation and import, two-factor logins, the mandatory app lock and the local secrets vault.
- Snippets, runbooks and the built-in command library.
- Encrypted backups (Import & Export).
- Quick links on the phone’s home screen.
- The one-shot
pcmd syncimport of SSH configs from a computer.
Free limits how many of these you can keep:
| Item | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Saved servers (archived servers count) | 1 | Unlimited |
| Server groups | 1 | Unlimited |
| Dashboards | 1 | Unlimited |
| Workspaces | 1 | Unlimited |
A jump host is a saved server, and Free keeps only one server active, so multi-hop SSH needs Pro in practice.
Free includes the app’s own looks: the PocketCmd and PocketCmd Light terminal themes, the matching PocketCmd and PocketCmd Light tmux themes, the Sand Dunes animated background (or none) and the Neutral Dark app theme. The terminal color theme is off by default, which shows plain terminal colors.
What Pro adds
Section titled “What Pro adds”| Area | Pro features |
|---|---|
| Limits | Unlimited servers, groups, dashboards and workspaces |
| Sessions | Split screen with two panes, multi-pane layouts with three or four, saved layout presets |
| Connections | Switching a running session to another protocol, startup commands, scanning the network for a server whose address changed, photo and file attachments in the compose bar |
| Looks | Every terminal theme, the color scheme editor, custom fonts, every animated background, the other app themes, the other tmux themes and the tmux theme editor |
| PocketCmd Server | Pairing a server, server metrics on dashboards, push alerts, end-to-end encrypted sync, approving your other devices for your vault, teams |
On Free, a startup command you saved stays on the server but does not run, and choosing another protocol from a running session’s protocol picker opens the upgrade sheet.
Monthly, yearly and lifetime plans include the same features. There is no trial.
Buying Pro
Section titled “Buying Pro”On iPhone, iPad and Android, buy Pro in the app through the App Store or Google Play. Open Settings › PocketCmd Pro, pick a plan and confirm. Under the buy button you’ll find the renewal terms, the Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy and Restore purchases, which brings a purchase back after a reinstall or on a new device signed in to the same store account.
The Windows, Linux and macOS apps are downloaded from pocketcmd.com. Buy Pro on the website and activate the license key from your purchase email.
The lifetime plan is a one-time purchase and is marked Limited availability.
License keys
Section titled “License keys”A license key looks like PCMD-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX and works on up to 3 devices on any platform. To use one, open Settings › PocketCmd Pro, tap Activate next to “Already have a license key?”, and enter the key. An activation link (https://pocketcmd.com/activate#… or pocketcmd://activate#…) fills the key in for you; the app still waits for you to tap Activate.
- When a key is already in use on 3 devices, the app lists them with their last-seen time and lets you free one slot to activate the current device.
- Deactivate this device frees the slot this device holds. A slot that goes unused for 60 days frees itself.
- A key can move between devices 3 times in 30 days. Past that, the app tells you how many days remain until the next move.
Using a store purchase on other devices
Section titled “Using a store purchase on other devices”A store purchase covers up to 3 devices too. On the device you bought on, open Settings › PocketCmd Pro › Use on other devices to get a license key, then activate it on your other phones, tablets and computers. Asking again returns the same key, so devices that already use it keep working.
Replace key issues a new key and stops the old one on every device. Use it if the key got into the wrong hands, then enter the new key on your own devices. A purchase’s key can be replaced 3 times in 30 days. Past that limit the current key keeps working, and the app tells you when you can replace it again.
Managing a subscription
Section titled “Managing a subscription”On the Pro page, a store subscriber sees:
- Manage subscription, which opens the App Store or Google Play subscription settings. On iOS this opens inside the app. Cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date.
- Switch plan, which moves a monthly subscription to yearly through the store.
- Switch to lifetime. Buying lifetime does not cancel the subscription; cancel it where you subscribed so it doesn’t renew.
License checks and offline use
Section titled “License checks and offline use”A device with a license key checks it with the license server once a day, when the app starts or comes back to the foreground. A device without a key sends no license requests. Store purchases are verified on the device against the store’s signature before they count.
Pro keeps working for up to 7 days without a successful check. After that it pauses until the app reaches the license server again, and comes back by itself. Only a definitive answer from the license server (expired, revoked after a refund, invalid key or device limit) ends Pro. A captive portal, a filtering proxy or a dropped connection does not.
When Pro ends
Section titled “When Pro ends”Nothing is deleted. Items over the Free limits stay saved and wait until you upgrade again.
- The app asks you to choose which server stays active, then which dashboard and which workspace if you have more than one of each. The one you used most recently is preselected.
- The choice is final on Free. You can’t swap a different server in later. Deleting an active item frees its slot, and the app then asks you to fill that slot from the locked items. Archiving does not free a slot.
- Everything else moves behind a Locked filter chip on the home screen, with a banner showing how many items are waiting.
What locked items do:
| Item | While locked |
|---|---|
| Server | Saved and editable, but won’t connect, including as a jump host. The command runner, test connections and share-to-server refuse it, transfers to it pause and resume once it’s active again, and the system file manager shows it as paused |
| Dashboard | Viewable, but read-only and not refreshed |
| Workspace | Won’t open. Its open tabs and drafts stay saved |
| Group | Your oldest group stays editable. Other groups become read-only labels, and their servers keep the group’s settings |
Terminal sessions, SFTP panes and open workspaces that were connected when Pro ended keep working until you close them, reconnects included, and existing split panes stay; you can’t open new panes. Pro themes, fonts and backgrounds switch back to the Free looks and return when Pro is active again. Sync stops, server metrics pause, alert rules are kept and team management becomes read-only.
Items that arrive while you’re on Free and over a limit, from a backup restore, a sync or an SSH config import, are saved the same way: everything is stored, and the items past the limit arrive locked.