Hosts and activation keys — Glueprint Docs

A host is a machine registered to your account. Its host key, also called an activation key or API key, is a credential used for host authentication and encryption setup.

For a new desktop installation, start with Sign in or Create account in the app. Then choose an existing host or create one if you are an owner or admin. The desktop prepares its key without asking you to copy one from the portal. See Activate your account.

The portal’s Settings > Hosts page manages host entries and the alternative key-based setup flow.

Choose an existing desktop host

After signing in on an unregistered desktop, select an eligible entry under Available hosts and click Use this host.

A member can claim a pending desktop host assigned to that member. An organization owner or admin can also claim a pending desktop host to which they have full access. Visibility alone does not allow a member to claim another person’s host.

Only eligible desktop hosts awaiting their first installation can be claimed. An already activated host or a CLI daemon host is not a candidate.

Claiming preserves the existing host entry and its occupied slot. It creates a replacement key and revokes the previous key, so the original key can no longer activate the host.

Create a desktop host in the app

Owners and admins can select Create a new host, enter a Host name, review Saved as:, and click Create host.

Members cannot create hosts. If a member has nothing to claim, the desktop says Ask an owner or admin to create a host for you. After the host is prepared, the member can click Refresh hosts.

Prepare a host key in the portal

Use this path for a CLI daemon or when you want to provide a desktop host key for the alternative setup flow.

Free and Lite

Free and Lite use guided setup for their included desktop host and do not show the Create Host form.

Open Home and follow the desktop setup checklist. Or open Settings > Hosts and find Set up your included host. Click Download; the same button then reads Continue setup and returns you to the Home checklist.
On Home, enter Name this Desktop.
Click Create one-time host key.
Click Copy key and use it in the desktop’s alternative key path.

This setup path prepares only the included desktop host. New CLI daemon hosts require Pro, Team, or Enterprise.

Pro, Team, and Enterprise

Open Settings > Hosts in the portal.
Click Create Host.
Choose the appropriate Host type and enter a Label.
Optionally pick an Avatar icon. Default shows a Laptop for a desktop host on a Mac, a Monitor for other desktop hosts, and a Server for a CLI daemon. You can change it later from the host’s Edit sheet.
Set the host’s scope and owner as appropriate. To prepare a member’s individual host, use the Owner selector where the individual-scope controls are available.
Click Create Host to confirm.

Creating hosts requires an owner or admin and available capacity. A host prepared for a member must name that member as its owner for the member to claim it.

In either flow, the key is displayed once. Copy it if you intend to use key entry. It starts with gp_ followed by 64 hexadecimal characters.

Desktop and CLI daemon keys have the same format, but their host types are fixed. A desktop host key cannot activate a CLI daemon, and a CLI daemon key cannot activate the desktop.

Use a prepared key

Desktop: on the welcome screen, choose Have a host key? Enter it instead, paste the key into One-time host key, and click Register host. Then sign in with an account that can access that host.
CLI daemon: use the key with the daemon’s activate command. See CLI daemon.

Each key is bound to one host. Do not reuse it to register a different machine.

Plan limits

Pending desktop and CLI daemon host entries count against host capacity when they are created. They do not become free slots while awaiting installation.

Creating another host is blocked when the account has no capacity. Claiming an eligible existing desktop host uses its already occupied slot, so that claim remains available at the limit.

On the desktop, Host limit reached replaces the create option for owners and admins, who see Manage billing to open the portal’s billing page. A billing-role user changes capacity directly from the portal. Members never see the limit card. When no host is available to them, the desktop says Ask an owner or admin to create a host for you.

After capacity or assignments change, click Refresh hosts. Revoking an unneeded host frees its slot; see Seats, hosts, and teams.

Lost keys

If a desktop host is still pending and you are eligible to claim it, sign in on the desktop and use Use this host. You do not need its original key; claiming replaces that key.

If claiming is unavailable, ask an owner or admin to review the existing host before preparing a replacement. CLI daemon setup continues to require an appropriate CLI host key.

A running host keeps its installed credential. Losing your copied text does not remove that credential, but the key remains sensitive and continues to be used by the host.

If registration stops after creating or claiming a host

A failed activation does not necessarily mean the host operation failed. If the desktop says the host was created or claimed and offers Try again, use that action before restarting or signing in again. It retries activation of the same host without creating or claiming another one.

If the retry expires or fails again, or the server’s result is unknown, follow the browser renewal instructions and inspect the host list before creating anything else. See Activation failures.

Security

Treat host keys as credentials before and after activation. Hosts retain their keys for ongoing authentication and encryption setup; activation does not make a leaked key harmless.

If a key is exposed, ask an owner or admin to revoke the affected host and review its replacement. Do not include host keys, authorization codes, or complete sign-in links in support messages.