FAQ

What is BYOK?

Bring Your Own Key. The AI features use Claude (Anthropic), but Kestrel doesn't bundle the AI bill into your subscription. You create your own free Anthropic account, generate an API key, paste it into Kestrel's Settings > AI panel, and Anthropic charges you directly for the AI calls. Typical cost for a 50-PDF project is well under £1. Each AI feature has its own on/off toggle and auto/manual mode, so you control exactly when AI fires.

Why no Mac yet?

A Mac build is on the way. Windows came first because that's where most of our beta testers are. Mac support lands during the beta - if you're a Mac user keen to test, email us and we'll let you know when it's ready.

Does my project data leave my machine?

Your drawings, measurements, finishes and exports stay on your machine. The only things that leave are:

• Activation + refresh pings to our Cloudflare licence Worker (your email + machine fingerprint, no project data)
• Anonymised crash reports via Sentry (stack traces, no project data)
• The page of a PDF you opt to send when you enable an AI feature (goes to Anthropic via your own API key, never via Kestrel)

Can I use Kestrel offline?

Yes, for up to 5 days. After that the licence heartbeat needs to reach our Worker to confirm your subscription is still active. If you'll be off-grid longer than that, email us in advance and we'll extend your grace window.

Can I move my licence to a new machine?

Yes. Your licence is bound to one machine at a time. Email info@alvesrowe.com and we'll unbind the old binding so you can re-activate on the new machine.

What does cancelling do?

You keep access until the end of your current billing period. After that, Kestrel drops into a read-only state: you can open existing projects and view your data, but can't create new measurements or export. Re-subscribing at any time restores full access.

Still curious?

Email info@alvesrowe.com - real human, usually replies same-day.