# HoneyMesh Node evaluation guide

Updated 4 November 2026. These paths are for **noncritical evaluation**, not general production use. Choose the application-only SDK or the paid Linux host pilot before installing anything.

| Plan | Current price | Runs where | Current scope |
| --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Node Guard Free | Free; no checkout or license | Persistent Node.js 20+ application process with a trusted client-IP source | Application observation and temporary request limits within one process; no root, host agent, or XDP |
| Node Pro | $10/month per Linux host | Noncritical Ubuntu 24.04 AMD64 host with a dedicated UID for each protected app | Signed pilot bundle with an authenticated local agent bridge; begin in TEST/observe |

## Node Guard Free

1. In your application directory, run `npm install @network-decode/node-guard@0.2.0-alpha.11`. This pins the published npm alpha. The default npm `latest` tag may point to an earlier alpha.
2. Run `npx nodeguard init`, `npx nodeguard doctor nodeguard.policy.json`, and `npx nodeguard policy validate nodeguard.policy.json`.
3. Follow the [application setup path](https://network-decode.com/get-started#node-guard). Identify your trusted proxy before using a forwarded client address. Start in OBSERVE, test normal requests, and protect management sources before enabling application limits.

Node Guard Free needs no HoneyMesh account, Stripe checkout, JSON license, or signed host bundle. Its restrictions are process-local and clear on restart; multiple workers do not share counters in this alpha.

## Node Pro paid host pilot

1. Select the number of Linux hosts at [pricing](https://network-decode.com/pricing). Each paid host receives a distinct signed JSON license by email after its paid invoice. Orders above nine hosts arrive as a ZIP containing the separate license files.
2. Verify the billing email at [Node Pro downloads](https://network-decode.com/node-pilots), then download the matching signed host bundle. Compare its SHA-256 with the value shown there. The public npm SDK is not a substitute for the Node Pro host bundle.
3. Extract the bundle and follow its `CUSTOMER_INSTALL.md` to verify the publisher signatures and internal checksums before installing. Keep the license outside the web root and assign one license to each purchased host.
4. Follow the [Node Pro host setup path](https://network-decode.com/get-started#node-pro) to register each app under its own Linux UID, configure protected secrets and the host entitlement, and start in TEST. Confirm ordinary traffic, app identity rejection, and a separate recovery path before a scoped enforcement canary.
5. Release the test restriction, return to TEST/observe, and repeat the control request. Stop if ordinary traffic is affected or recovery fails.

Node Pro's scoped app-grant path has limited VM evidence; customer workloads, broader attack detection, production reliability, four-producer distributed enforcement, and Exchange coordination remain unqualified. A Node Pro subscription does not include a separate Infrastructure Pro subscription. For billing or license recovery, contact `Admin@Network-Decode.com` with the Stripe invoice number, never a key or secret.