Licensing

Archivist is free to use with its included AI model. An optional paid license unlocks the ability to upload your own AI models, giving you access to larger, more specialized, or newer models as they become available.

What's Free

The free version of Archivist includes everything you need:

Full document processing and upload pipeline
AI-powered chat with your documents
Voice input
All file management and organization features
All search and retrieval settings
No time limits, usage caps, or watermarks

What the License Unlocks

A paid license adds one feature: the ability to upload your own AI models in GGUF format.

This means you can:

Use larger, more powerful models for better answers
Use models specialized for your field (medical, legal, technical, etc.)
Upgrade to the latest models as AI technology improves
Tailor the AI to your specific needs

The license is perpetual — you pay once and it never expires. You can use it on up to 3 computers.

Purchasing a License

Go to the Help & Licensing tab.
Click Purchase License. This opens a secure payment page.
After payment, you'll receive a license key.

Activating Your License

Go to the Help & Licensing tab.
Enter your license key in the License Key field. The format is XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXX.
Click Activate License.

Once activated, you'll see a green banner confirming your license is active.

Uploading Custom Models

After activating your license, the Upload New Model button in AI Settings becomes available. Archivist accepts models in GGUF format, which is a widely used format for local AI models.

Note

Not sure where to find models? Sites like Hugging Face host thousands of free, open-source AI models in GGUF format that you can download and use with Archivist.

Deactivating Your License

If you need to move your license to a different computer, you can deactivate it first to free up a machine slot:

Go to the Help & Licensing tab.
Click Deactivate License.
Confirm the deactivation.

You can then activate the same license key on another computer.

Downloading AI Models

The Help & Licensing tab also shows the download status of the AI models that Archivist needs to function:

Language Model — Powers the chat feature
Embedding Model — Processes documents for search
Voice Model — Enables speech-to-text input

If any models are missing, click Download AI Models to download them. This is the same ~1.7 GB download from the first-time setup.