Library

What’s a serial number and how do I get one?

We use serial numbers to keep track of software licenses. Your serial number is a license key that is issued to via email you when you purchase an app from panic.com.

Downloaded from our website, your copy of Nova or Transmit includes a full-featured trial period - 30 days for Nova, 7 days for Transmit. After the trial period expires, Nova will require you to register the app to continue. For Transmit, the Favorites feature is disabled, and a session time limit is imposed. Check the upper right corner of the app window to see how long is left on your trial.

To unlock an expired trial, you’ll need your serial number.

Note: If you purchased one of our apps from the Mac App Store, you were not issued a serial number as App Store apps don’t need them. More info below.

Find your serial number

You’ll find your serial number in the email receipt we sent when you purchased your license.

If you’ve lost your original email receipt, enter the email address you used to purchase your license into the Serial Number Lookup tool and look for an automated reminder message.

If you no longer have access to the email address you used to purchase your license, send us a message and we can assist.

Unlock the app

In the email receipt is a button you can use to unlock the software without having to type or copy/paste your serial number by hand. For this magic button to work, you will need to have already downloaded and installed the demo version, and launched it at least once.

To enter your serial number manually, click Purchase in the menu bar, choose Unlock, then type or paste in your serial number.

What to do when you can’t activate your license

  1. Make sure you’re connected to the internet. If you’re not connected, your license can’t be validated.
  2. Make sure you’re using the correct version for your serial number. (Example: A Transmit 4 serial number won’t work for Transmit 5 or vice-versa.) Check your email confirmation to find the correct version for your serial number. A full list of app downloads can be found here.
  3. When you unlock one of our apps, the app will reach out to our website to validate the license. If you’re on a corporate or university network with an aggressive firewall, make sure the following addresses can be reached. Your network administrator can temporarily whitelist any of the following addresses as needed. If not, you will need to connect your Mac to another network temporarily in order to activate your license.

  • Nova: https://circle.panic.com/api/v1/activate/nova/

  • Transmit 5: https://circle.panic.com/api/v1/activate/transmit5/

  • Transmit 4: https://panic.com/transmit/bin/activate.php

  • Coda 2: https://circle.panic.com/api/v1/activate/coda2/

Note: It’s not currently possible to activate a license without an internet connection, or without the app verifying the license via one of the addresses above.

If you’re still having trouble unlocking one of our apps after following the tips above, please send us a message and we can assist.

Mac App Store

Applications purchased in the Mac App Store use your Apple ID to keep track of licensing, and no serial numbers are issued. Contact Apple with questions about downloading and installing applications purchased in the Mac App Store.

If you know that you purchased one of our apps from the App Store, but the app is asking you for your serial number, you’ve got the wrong version. Delete the copy you’ve got in /Applications, then re-download the app from your App Store purchases list.

Special note for Coda 2 users: If you purchased Coda from the Mac App Store, you will need to migrate your license to get continued updates and support. First, download and install Coda 2.0.14 from the Purchases pane of the Mac App Store. (If you don’t see Coda listed in your Purchases, contact Apple to make sure the purchase isn’t hidden.) Launch Coda 2.0.14 at least once.

Now download and install the latest version of Coda from our website, and follow the prompts. Provide your email address and we’ll send you a personalized Coda 2 serial you can use to unlock the app now, and in the future.

Removing the serial number and un-licensing Transmit, Nova, or Coda

Nova

To remove the license and serial number from Nova, launch the app and then, from the menu bar, choose Nova > About Nova.

In the window that opens, click the button to Remove License.

Transmit 5

To remove the license and serial number from Transmit 5, launch the app and then, from the menu bar, choose Transmit > License….

In the window that opens, click the button to Remove License.

Transmit 4 and Coda 2

If ever you want to remove the serial number from Coda 2 or Transmit 4, here’s how you’d do it.

Be sure to Quit the app, then launch Terminal, located in /Applications/Utilities and run one of the following commands:

To remove Transmit’s serial number:

`defaults delete com.panic.Transmit SerialNumber2`

To remove Coda’s serial number:

`defaults delete com.panic.Coda2 SerialNumber`