Frequently asked questions

Buying and licensing

Is it a subscription?

The Mac plugin is a one-time purchase. Your licence includes all future updates, including new major versions, at no extra cost. See Pricing.

Who charges me?

Link, Stripe’s payment service, is the seller of record. It collects your payment and any applicable VAT or sales tax, then sends your receipt. The charge appears as LINK.COM on your statement.

Does the price include VAT?

The price shown excludes VAT. Checkout calculates any applicable VAT for your country and shows the total before you pay.

Do I need an account?

Yes. Your Ashigrain account brings together your purchase, downloads and Mac activation. Sign in to your account to manage them.

How many Macs can I use it on?

Each licence covers one user on one Mac at a time. You can transfer it when you change computers. See the EULA.

Does one licence cover all my host applications?

Yes. Activate once on your Mac and use Ashigrain in all your compatible applications, including DaVinci Resolve, Nuke and Fusion Studio. Activation is tied to the Mac and your macOS user account.

Can I use it on a render farm?

Yes, with a separate licence and activation for each render Mac. This includes Background Reactor machines and Nuke render Macs. An unactivated render node adds the “ASHIGRAIN TRIAL” watermark. See Activate your licence.

How do I move to a new Mac?

Install Ashigrain on the new Mac and select Activate in the plugin’s About section. Confirm the activation in your browser to transfer the licence. The previous Mac returns to trial mode at its next licence check.

You can transfer your licence as often as you need, without contacting support. To deactivate the previous Mac first, select Deactivate in the plugin or on your account page. See Move to another Mac.

Does the plugin need an internet connection?

Connect to activate the plugin, then at least once every 30 days to renew the licence. Renewal runs in the background when your editing application loads Ashigrain. Rendering does not wait for the connection.

What happens when I work offline?

You can work offline for up to 30 days after the last licence renewal. The renewal deadline appears under License in the About section.

After that deadline, renders carry the trial watermark. Reconnect your Mac and restart your editing application to renew the licence and remove it. You do not need to activate again.

What does the plugin send to you?

For activation, the plugin sends a one-way hash of your Mac’s hardware UUID, its computer name and the plugin version. We never receive the hardware UUID itself. Renewal sends the machine hash, activation ID and renewal secret.

Your images and project data stay on your Mac. The plugin sends no usage statistics. See the Privacy Policy for details.

How do I reset my password?

Open Forgot password to request a reset link by email. After choosing a new password, sign in again in each browser you use. Your Mac activation stays in place.

Can I download without my purchase email?

Yes. Sign in and download the installer from your account. To activate, open the plugin and follow the on-screen steps. There is no licence key to find or copy.

Can I get a refund?

Yes. You have a 14-day money-back guarantee. Within 14 days of purchase, write to [email protected] from your account email address. No explanation is needed. Link returns the payment to your original payment method.

A refund cancels the licence and download access. The plugin returns to trial mode at its next online check, no later than 30 days after its last renewal. See the Refund Policy.

Using Ashigrain

Why is there a watermark?

The watermark indicates that the plugin is running in trial mode. Activate your licence to remove it. If you have already activated this Mac, follow the watermark troubleshooting steps.

Which computers does Ashigrain support?

The plugin runs on Macs with Apple silicon. Windows and Intel Macs are not supported. See the full system requirements.

Can I use it in Nuke, Fusion or Flame?

Ashigrain runs in compatible OpenFX applications on Apple silicon Macs. DaVinci Resolve is the primary host used for development and testing. Nuke, Fusion Studio and SCRATCH are also supported, with fixes for reported issues.

Flame, Baselight and Natron have best-effort compatibility. Silhouette and Nuke Non-Commercial are not supported. The compatibility table lists versions, support levels and application-specific details. See what support includes, or contact us about your setup.

What affects rendering speed in Nuke or Flame?

GPU rendering through Metal is faster than CPU rendering. Flame and Natron use the CPU because they do not offer Metal to plugins. Nuke uses the CPU unless it provides Metal. Frame size, settings and your Mac also affect render times. See CPU rendering.

Does it work in the free version of DaVinci Resolve?

Yes. Both DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio are supported from version 20 onwards. See the system requirements.

Where should Ashigrain go in my node tree?

Placement depends on your output mode and colour management. The workflow guide includes setups for each mode and supported application.

How can I fix an unexpected result?

Start with the troubleshooting guide for colour, grain, installation and activation issues.