Last updated: October 25, 2026
The elstar app collects no telemetry, no analytics, no usage data, no tracking. elstar 1.1.0 has four features that can contact a server: automatic trial issuance, license validation, a daily update check, and elstar feedback — which only runs when you run it. Each is described below.
The elstar app sends no telemetry, analytics, or usage data — ever. It does not automatically upload source files, captured network traffic or crash-report contents. Feedback reports are stored so we can investigate and respond; do not include sensitive information in your report.
The four channels are described below. Cached trial verification works offline.
When you activate a subscription, elstar sends your license key and a machine identifier to Lemon Squeezy, our licensing provider, to confirm your license is valid — on activation, and about once a day while the app is used. This is required to run a licensed copy; it transmits nothing about your work. A paid license is required after the seven-day trial.
About once a day, elstar asks GitHub's public releases API whether a newer version exists. This is an anonymous read of a public page: no account, no license key, no machine identifier, and nothing about you or your project is sent. Normal CLI update notices are skipped with --json or --quiet and in MCP tool subprocesses. The MCP server can check for updates at startup.
The elstar feedback command sends a bug report or suggestion to us. It runs only when you request it. Interactive use shows the report and diagnostic bundle before asking for confirmation. An explicit --yes or MCP feedback request can send without a separate prompt. It transmits:
--no-diagnose, a diagnostic bundle: toolchain and SDK versions, which simulator is booted, the bundle identifier of the app in the foreground, and the filenames of any recent simulator crash reports — never their contents. Hook configuration is summarized as counts, without raw commands, matchers or environment values.Diagnostic paths replace your home directory with ~; source files are not included automatically. Your report text is supplied by you. Use --no-diagnose or the MCP tool's no_diagnose option to omit diagnostics. Run elstar feedback "…" --dry-run to print the exact report that would be sent, without sending it.
The seven-day trial needs an internet connection on first use, or to recover a missing trial receipt. It sends a SHA-256 hash derived from your Mac’s machine identifier, the elstar product identifier, a protocol version and a random request nonce to feedback.elstar.dev. The server returns a signed receipt; everyday trial checks verify that receipt locally and work offline. If the trial appears to have ended, or the local receipt looks restored or altered, elstar asks the service once more (at most every five minutes while it cannot be reached) with the same fields as first use and stores the answer; license status, help and MCP discovery never contact it. No signup, email address or payment card is required.
We retain the pseudonymous machine hash and original trial start and expiry while the trial program operates so deleting local files does not grant another trial. To limit abuse, the trial service also retains hashes of client IP addresses and their enrollment counts for the trial program's lifetime. Short-term request and daily enrollment counters are removed on later requests after their applicable windows. Hashing does not make these identifiers anonymous. Hosting infrastructure may process connection metadata separately. Trial requests do not contain your source code, app data, command history or feedback, and are not forwarded to our feedback inbox.
In elstar 1.1.0, network capture masks recognized credentials, cookies, API keys, card numbers and email addresses in displayed output, HAR and cURL exports, and your coding agent's captures by default. Secrets a server echoes back inside a response, such as a password in an echoed request body or an API key in a returned URL, are masked too. mock record masks the same data in saved recordings, which only you can read. Redaction is best-effort: other sensitive data can remain, so review captures before sharing them.
The explicit --no-redact option disables this masking, and the MCP net_capture and mock tools accept a matching no_redact option. Default redaction is not a restriction on what an authorized agent can capture.
Purchases are processed by Lemon Squeezy, our merchant of record. Lemon Squeezy collects the payment and billing information necessary to complete your purchase and manage your subscription. This is governed by Lemon Squeezy's privacy policy. The Developer does not store credit card numbers or payment details. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime via the Lemon Squeezy customer portal.
elstar.dev runs no analytics scripts and sets no cookies. The server that hosts it keeps request statistics so we can see how much the site is used and find broken pages: the page requested, the response status, size and time, and an approximate location derived from your IP address. Your IP address is shortened before it is stored (to its first three parts for IPv4, its first 48 bits for IPv6), so it does not identify your connection; the shortened form is used to count unique visitors.
Hourly statistics are kept for 30 days and daily statistics for 395 days, then deleted. We use them only to run this website, on the basis of our legitimate interest in operating it securely and reliably. They are not shared, sold, or combined with any other data, including anything elstar the app sends.
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Questions about this policy: hello@elstar.dev