Accounts, registry tokens, and upgrades

Free is a package licensing classification; an account is a way to prepare registry access and manage subscriptions. Public npm remains the intended account-free channel for Free packages. Neither a Free badge nor a generated token proves that a particular package/version is published. Check package availability first.

Prepare a Free account

When a dashboard is available for your preview environment, use the sign-in or create-account links on Pricing. If those links are absent, request preview access there instead; no public dashboard or checkout availability is implied.

1. Register and verify your email, then select the account that owns the project.
2. Open Packages. Verified account owners/admins can create an ordinary read-only registry token without purchasing a subscription.
3. Copy the secret when shown and store it in your development environment or CI secret store. Use the dashboard's registry URL and package-manager configuration for that environment.
4. Reference the token through an environment variable in your package-manager configuration. Never commit the literal token, include it in browser code, bake it into an image layer, or print it in build logs. Use separate revocable tokens for separate deployments.

An ordinary Free token can read assigned Free shared packages when published and not withdrawn. It grants no paid access, private package ownership, or access to unknown/pending classifications. Account suspension, membership policy, expiry, and revocation still apply.

Upgrade the same account

The account owner opens Subscription and chooses an available offer. Existing subscribers manage their plan through the billing portal rather than starting a second checkout. Plus remains planned with no exclusive packages; only configured, enabled offers can be purchased.

Paid authorization is checked against the account's current entitlement and release eligibility, not permanently embedded in an ordinary token. The same token can gain access after upgrade; it need not be regenerated solely for a plan change. A checkout success redirect is not proof of access: the verified provider webhook and registry projection must complete. If the dashboard still shows pending or unavailable billing, do not repeat an uncertain purchase automatically.

Eligible paid releases remain installable after a subscription ends under the release policy; newer paid releases require renewed eligibility. Withdrawal, suspension, and revoked credentials still deny access. A separately approved operator deployment-token exception is not an ordinary Free account benefit.

Personal email preferences

Account Settings → Your email preferences records your optional choice to receive product updates and occasional early-access invitations. It is personal across your accounts and off by default. Registration, token creation, and purchase do not opt you in or grant special package access. This preference is separate from the site's pricing/release list and from required account-security messages; recording a choice does not itself activate marketing delivery.

Read the privacy note for the service's data categories. For the reusable package mechanics rather than this dashboard's product policy, see Registry and API keys.