> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bitfield.so/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Account and key flow

> How a customer goes from account portal to paid access, key delivery, and first device activation.

<div className="bf-article">
  <p className="bf-lead">
    The account portal is where a customer creates an account, chooses a plan, pays securely, manages devices, and gets the key needed to run Bitfield.
  </p>

  Somebody reads the docs, presses `Get My Key`, lands on `account.bitfield.so`, chooses the trial or plan, completes checkout, then opens the account page to activate their first device.

  <div className="bf-flow" aria-label="Account and key flow">
    <div className="bf-flow-step">
      <span>1</span>
      <strong>Create account</strong>
      <p>The account portal owns identity, returning login, and recovery.</p>
    </div>

    <div className="bf-flow-arrow">→</div>

    <div className="bf-flow-step">
      <span>2</span>
      <strong>Choose access</strong>
      <p>The checkout surface shows trial, plan, runtime/device range, and cadence.</p>
    </div>

    <div className="bf-flow-arrow">→</div>

    <div className="bf-flow-step">
      <span>3</span>
      <strong>Pay securely</strong>
      <p>The payment provider receives only an accepted checkout request from the account portal.</p>
    </div>

    <div className="bf-flow-arrow">→</div>

    <div className="bf-flow-step">
      <span>4</span>
      <strong>Get key</strong>
      <p>The account page is the place to manage account state, key access, and devices.</p>
    </div>
  </div>

  The account portal is the live place for account access. The marketing site explains the path; local files are not the account-management surface.

  ## What happens where

  | Customer job                                                    | Place                                |
  | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
  | Create or open account                                          | `account.bitfield.so`                |
  | Choose trial, Personal, Builder, or larger runtime/device range | Checkout surface                     |
  | Complete secure payment                                         | Checkout flow                        |
  | Land after successful checkout                                  | Account page                         |
  | Manage devices and key access                                   | Account page                         |
  | Recover access                                                  | Account portal session/recovery flow |

  ## Key delivery rule

  Treat the key as account-owned access. The docs should never tell a customer to invent a key, paste a random token into local state, or edit activation files by hand.

  Local activation state can exist on the device after authorization, but the customer-facing control point is still the account portal.

  ## Common failures

  | Symptom                                        | Likely cause                                             | Fix                                                                       |
  | ---------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
  | Customer paid but does not know where to go    | Checkout did not return them to the account page clearly | Send them to `account.bitfield.so/account` and show key/device next steps |
  | Customer tries to edit local files             | Key delivery language made local state sound user-owned  | Point them back to account portal activation                              |
  | Payment provider error leaks raw provider text | Provider failure is not translated into product language | Show a clean checkout-unavailable message and support route               |
  | Returning customer cannot access account       | Session or recovery path is unclear                      | Use account portal login/recovery, not local key edits                    |

  ## Verify

  The flow is clear when a new customer can answer:

  * Where do I create the account?
  * Where do I pick the trial or plan?
  * Where do I pay?
  * Where do I get the key?
  * Where do I activate or replace a device?

  ## Next

  Read [Active devices](/activation/active-devices), then [Trials and billing](/activation/trials-and-billing).
</div>