# Try and Buy

Source: https://kart.bnomei.com/docs/setup/try-and-buy
Updated: 2025-08-08T12:46:15+00:00
Summary: Try Kart plugin free locally, then buy a license for staging & production. Manage your KART_LICENSE_KEY via .env for seamless activation and full features.

## Try for free

You can install and try the Kart plugin for free on your local host development setup. Once you put your code online, you need to [buy](https://buy-kart.bnomei.com) and register a license for the Kart plugin.

## Buy when going online

The Kart plugin requires a license for staging and production environments. You can [buy a license here](https://buy-kart.bnomei.com). The plugin will check your license key with a license server once and permanently activate the license. Without a license, the plugin will limit certain features.

While you could hardcode the license key in your config file, the recommended method is to use a `.env` file. Consider using the [dotenv plugin](https://github.com/bnomei/kirby3-dotenv) or alternativly call your own .env loader within a closure.

Path: .env  
Code (plaintext):  
```
KART_LICENSE_KEY=your-license-key
```

  
Path: config/config.php  
Code (php):  
```
<?php

return [
  'bnomei.kart.license' => fn() => env('KART_LICENSE_KEY'),
  // other options
];
```

  
## Staging Servers

The Kart plugin will perform a license check on all servers besides localhost. You can NOT use it on staging servers without a registered license, but you may use the same license for the staging and production environments.

> Please keep in mind that you need to purchase one license per production URL as stated in the [Kart License](https://kart.bnomei.com/license).