Question 1

What is BYOK and how do I get started?

Accepted Answer

BYOK means Bring Your Own API Key. You supply your own key from Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google. Download Tendril, sign up with email or Google or Microsoft, paste your provider's key. Tendril stores it in your OS keychain and never sends it to our servers. All AI costs go directly from your machine to your provider at standard rates.

Question 2

What is the difference between the tiers?

Accepted Answer

Every tier gets every Tendril feature. The difference is monthly and daily token caps. Free is 1M tokens per month and 100k per day, about 15 to 25 pipeline runs. Starter at $12/mo is 4M tokens per month and 400k per day, about 60 to 100 runs — daily project iteration without rationing. Pro at $19/mo founding ($29 standard) is 100M tokens per month and 5M per day — effectively unlimited for any solo dev workflow. Tokens are counted from the usage field your AI provider returns on every API call; we never see your prompts or code.

Question 3

What does the Free tier include?

Accepted Answer

All of Tendril. Tendy chat, the Knowledge Graph, live preview, every pipeline, GitHub push, audit pass, clickable improvement suggestions, analytics dashboard, annotation, MCP servers, BYOK with any provider. The only cap is usage: 1M tokens per month, 100k per day. Enough to run roughly 15 to 25 pipelines, evaluate Tendril, or work on one project at a time. When you hit the cap you can still browse, edit, and review existing work; you selectively resume paused projects after the daily or monthly reset — Tendril does not auto-resume.

Question 4

How does the Knowledge Graph work?

Accepted Answer

The Knowledge Graph is Tendril's memory of your codebase. It remembers architectural decisions, patterns, and context across every run. When you start a new task, the agent already knows your codebase structure and past decisions, so it skips re-discovery and gets to work faster. Cross-project linking lets insights from one project prime planning in every other. The KG runs locally on your machine in a SQLite file.

Question 5

Can I use my Claude Code subscription instead of a raw API key?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Any tier supports Claude Code subscription passthrough. Authenticate with your existing Claude Code account and Tendril routes agent calls through your subscription. One flat fee instead of per-token charges. Token usage still counts against your Tendril cap.

Question 6

How many projects can I run at once?

Accepted Answer

Every tier has unlimited projects and unlimited parallel agents. The only constraint is your machine's CPU/RAM and your API provider's rate limits. Token caps determine total monthly usage, not concurrency.

Question 7

Can I cancel Starter or Pro at any time?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Monthly subscribers can cancel anytime; the subscription stays active through the end of the billing period. Annual subscribers can cancel before renewal. After cancellation, your account reverts to the Free tier cap. All your data, projects, settings, and Knowledge Graph entries are preserved. Founding Pro pricing is locked at $19/mo for life. Once you have it, your renewal stays $19 even after we raise the standard Pro price to $29.

Question 8

Is my code ever sent to Tendril servers?

Accepted Answer

No. Tendril is a local-first desktop application. Your source code is never uploaded to Tendril servers. Agents execute in your local environment and API calls go directly from your machine to your chosen AI provider. Tendril servers handle account auth, the token-usage counter, and Stripe billing. They never see prompts or files.

All features included. Pay only for capacity.

Every tier gets every feature

Pipeline runs per month

Daily token budget

When you hit a cap

Measured in a 120-trial A/B study

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