WordPress for Cowork’s per-seat cap is 2 devices. This article explains how that’s enforced, what you see when you hit the cap, and how to manage your slots.
What machine ID is
A short identifier Cowork generates on each device — based on stable hardware properties — that lets our license server tell two devices apart without storing anything personally identifying. Machine ID isn’t a serial number, MAC address, or hostname — it’s a deterministic hash that survives reinstalls but changes across distinct machines.
How the cap works
When you run /wp-setup on a new device:
- Cowork sends your license key plus this device’s machine ID to wpfc.com’s license server.
- The server looks at your license’s current device slots.
- If you have 0 or 1 slots claimed → the new machine ID gets a fresh slot.
/wp-setupsucceeds. - If you have 2 slots claimed → the server returns
device_limit_reached (HTTP 409)./wp-setupfails with a clear message and a link to/my-account/devices/.
Managing your slots
Visit /my-account/devices/. You’ll see your active slots with the device label (set during /wp-setup) and the IP/time of the last heartbeat. Click Remove on any slot to free it for a new device.
What counts as “the same device”
Same physical machine, same OS install → same machine ID. New OS install / new machine → new machine ID. Restoring from a backup typically keeps the machine ID (depends on what your OS preserves).
Heartbeat and rate limiting
Each tools/call sends a heartbeat to wpfc.com (one round-trip, lightweight). The heartbeat lets us notice if the same license is heartbeating from many distinct subnets in a 24-hour window — a sign of license sharing. Threshold is 5 distinct subnets; above that, we’ll email you.
If you genuinely need more than 2 devices per seat
Two paths: (a) buy a higher tier with more seats — Agency gets you 5 × 2 = 10 device slots — or (b) email [email protected] and explain the use case. We can issue extra slots case-by-case.