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Install and activate

Start the TouchDesigner show server, connect an operator client, and license the show machine when required.

Get the two parts

Moonshine has two separate parts:

  • the TouchDesigner show server runs on the Windows machine connected to the projectors;
  • the operator interface runs in the portable Windows client or a trusted browser on the same network.

The public page at download.moonshine.software currently provides the portable Windows client. The TouchDesigner show server is distributed directly to existing customers and pilot teams rather than as a self-serve public download. If your system has not been configured yet, contact hey@tridant.io before following the rest of this guide.

The client is a single executable file. There is no installer, setup wizard or install directory to choose — put it wherever you keep production tools on the operator station and run it from there.

Put it somewhere stable

Because the file is self-contained, it is tempting to leave it in Downloads. Move it somewhere deliberate first — you will be launching it at the start of every session, and on an operator station you want a path you can find in the dark.

Start a session

  1. Start the supplied Moonshine TouchDesigner project on the show computer and wait for its server to become ready.
  2. Launch the configured Windows client, or open the show computer's shared address in a trusted browser.
  3. Sign in. First launch explains the connecting, activation and sign-in screens.

The client does not contain or start TouchDesigner. If it remains on the connecting screen, confirm that the configured show address is correct and that the show server is running on the same reachable network.

Windows may warn you the first time

Current builds are not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen can interrupt the first launch. Choose More info → Run anyway. A copy taken from a USB drive or a local network share usually skips the warning entirely.

The 7-day trial on the show machine

Eligible show-server builds start a 7-day trial the first time Moonshine runs on that show machine. Everything is available during the trial — nothing is watermarked, capped or held back. The portable client itself does not own the trial.

While the trial is running, a strip across the top of the sign-in screen counts it down:

Moonshine trial — N days left · Get a key · ✕

  • Get a key opens moonshine.software in your normal browser for current licensing information and Tridant contact details.
  • ✕ dismisses the strip. It comes back the next time you land on the sign-in screen.

The countdown appears over the sign-in screen only — it never covers the interface while you are working.

The trial is per machine, not per person

The trial belongs to the computer Moonshine is running on. Signing in as a different user does not restart it.

A trial can run out mid-show

Moonshine re-checks the countdown about once a minute while it is running, so a trial that expires during a session puts the activation screen up in front of everyone connected — not at the next launch. If the strip says 1 day left, sort the key out before load-in, not on the day.

Activate with a license key

When a machine needs a key — the trial has run out, or it has never been licensed — Moonshine shows the activation screen before anyone signs in. This is deliberate: a machine can be licensed by whoever is standing in front of it, without needing an account first.

  1. Read the heading. It tells you which case you are in:
  2. Activate Moonshine — the machine has never been licensed.
  3. Your trial has ended — with the line Your Moonshine trial is over. Enter a license key to keep going.

  4. Type or paste your key into the License key field. The field's placeholder shows the shape: a MOON- prefix followed by five groups of five characters, all separated by hyphens — six chunks in total, shown in capitals. Lower-case input is converted to capitals as you type, so a pasted key does not need cleaning up first.

    Keys never contain the letters I, L, O or U. If you are squinting at a key on a screen or a printed card, an ambiguous character is a 1, a 0 or a V, never one of those four. 3. Click Activate. The button reads Activating… while the key is checked. 4. On success the screen simply goes away and Moonshine continues to the sign-in screen. There is nothing to restart and no confirmation to dismiss.

Below the button, Need a key? Get one at moonshine.software opens the Moonshine site in your normal browser. Current license options are handled directly by Tridant.

What the messages mean

What you see What it means What to do
Connecting to server… (amber) and the button reads Offline The application has not finished starting its engine, so the key cannot be checked yet Wait a few seconds; the button becomes Activate on its own
That key is not valid. Check for typos and try again. The key is the wrong shape, has a mistyped character, or belongs to a different product Re-read the key character by character. Remember there are no I, L, O or U characters in it
The license could not be saved on this machine (disk locked or read-only). Try again. The key was accepted, but the machine could not write it down Check that the drive Moonshine is running from is writable, then activate again
Cannot reach server. Check that the backend is running and try again. Activation was attempted while the connection was down Wait for the amber notice to clear, then activate again
Lost connection to server during activation. Please try again. The connection dropped mid-activation Activate again
Activation failed. Please try again. Something went wrong that Moonshine could not name Activate again; if it repeats, check the show computer is healthy on the Monitor tab

The license belongs to the show computer

Activation is decided and stored by the show computer, not by the browser window. That means you can type the key on whichever device is in front of you — including a phone that has joined over the network — and the show computer is what ends up licensed. The moment the key is accepted, the gate lifts on every connected device at once, without anybody reconnecting.

After activating

Nothing else changes. The machine is licensed, the countdown strip disappears, and the next time Moonshine starts it goes straight to sign-in.

Next: First launch — signing in and confirming you are connected.