# Install the app and activate it

> From an empty account to a licensed workstation, in three moves.

Status: Available · Level: Start here · About 5 minutes · Canonical: https://paracrux.com/docs/install-and-activate

## You need

- 64-bit Windows
- Your own licensed SOLIDWORKS installation
- An email address for your customer account

## You'll come away with

- A customer account with at least one seat
- The desktop app installed and activated on this computer
- Updates arriving on their own

## Step by step

1. **Create your account and buy a seat.** Open My account, register with your email and choose monthly or yearly billing. Payment is taken by Paddle, our merchant of record. One seat covers one computer at a time.
2. **Confirm your payment.** After payment, refresh the payment status in My account. You need an activation code only if you will paste one instead of signing in from the app; treat a code like a password until it has been used.
3. **Install the app.** Download the Windows installer from the download page and run it. The Files preview works straight away, without a licence.
4. **Activate.** In the app, open Licensing. On the ParaCrux Solidworks Agent access card, choose Sign in with your ParaCrux account and approve this computer in your browser. Or expand Use an activation code instead, paste your code into Activation code for this product and choose Activate Solidworks Agent. Online access starts automatically when a seat is free, and the app renews it while it runs.
5. **Let it keep itself current.** The app checks for updates on launch and every four hours. Update packages are signed and verified before they install. To check by hand, open Settings, General, App updates and choose Check for updates. Save your work before restarting.

## What it won't do

- The installer does not yet carry a Windows publisher signature, so Windows may warn you the first time.
- Compatibility qualification is still in progress. Confirm your SOLIDWORKS version with support before production use.
- AI credit is separate from the seat subscription.
- Use a seat automatically when online is on by default, so a running app can occupy a company seat. Turn it off on the Licensing card if you do not want that.

## Covers

- Customer account (Available): Register with your email, sign in and recover your password. Where: My account (/dashboard)
- Seats and subscription (Available): Buy seats monthly (£39) or yearly (£390); each seat runs on one computer at a time. Where: Pricing, then My account → Subscription
- Install and update (Available): Download the Windows app; it checks for signed updates on launch and every four hours. Where: Download page; in the app, Settings → General
- Activate a computer (Available): Generate a code for each product in your account and paste it into the app; it takes a seat automatically whenever one is free and you are online. Where: My account → Activation; in the app, Licensing

## Next

- [Activate by signing in from the app](https://paracrux.com/docs/sign-in-from-the-app.md): Approve this computer in your browser instead of copying an activation code.
- [Ask about the open model](https://paracrux.com/docs/ask-about-your-model.md): Ask a question in plain English and the Agent reads the answer from the model open in SOLIDWORKS. Reading never changes anything.