> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.instapods.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Free Trial Pod
> Deploy through an AI assistant without a payment method, then keep the pod by adding a card.
Creating a pod on InstaPods normally requires a payment method on file. There is one exception: when
you ask an AI assistant to deploy something through the [InstaPods connector](/mcp/overview) and you
have no card yet, InstaPods can hand you a **free trial pod** instead of refusing.
The pod is real. It gets a live HTTPS URL, runs your code, and behaves like any other pod. It is
deleted automatically after **90 minutes** unless you claim it.
A trial is granted only through the MCP connector. The dashboard wizard, the CLI, ZIP upload,
GitHub import and repo deploy all keep the ordinary card gate - they have no way to show you a
pod that lives in the trial account, so granting one there would spend your trial on a pod you
could not see or use.
## What You Get
| | |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Plan** | Launch, always. A bigger plan asked for in the same request is ignored, not refused |
| **Runtimes** | `static`, `nodejs`, `python`, `php`, `go` |
| **Lifetime** | 90 minutes from the moment it is granted |
| **URL** | A real `*.instapods.app` HTTPS URL, same as any pod |
| **Region** | Whichever you ask for, or the closest one automatically |
| **How many** | One per person, ever |
**1-Click Apps are not available on a trial.** They declare minimum plans above Launch, so asking for
one returns:
```
1-Click apps aren't available on a trial pod - add a payment method to deploy one
```
A trial pod also skips the warm pool, so it takes roughly 30 seconds to create rather than being
near-instant. That capacity is reserved for paying customers.
## How the Assistant Tells You
A trial pod is created silently at the point the card gate would have refused you, so the tools that
can return one say so explicitly. `create_pod`, `get_pod` and `deploy_pod` all include these fields
when the pod they are reporting on is an unclaimed trial:
| Field | What it carries |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `trial` | `true` |
| `trial_expires_at` | The deletion deadline, RFC3339 |
| `trial_minutes_left` | Minutes remaining, rounded down |
| `trial_urgency` | `notice` above 30 minutes, `warning` at 30 or below, `urgent` at 10 or below |
| `trial_claim_url` | The claim page for this specific pod |
| `trial_note` | The deadline in words, e.g. `deleted at 2026-08-13T15:14:53Z - 1 hour 30 minutes from now` |
These fields are absent for any pod you are paying for. As the deadline gets closer the assistant is
told to lead with it rather than mention it in passing, so expect to be reminded.
`list_pods` includes your trial pod even though it is not technically in your team yet - it is
prepended to the list, so "what have I got running?" answers correctly.
Two tools are locked on an unclaimed trial and point you at the claim page instead of running:
**`change_plan`** (a trial is fixed on Launch) and **`exec_command`**. Everything else works:
`deploy_pod`, `write_file`, `read_file`, `list_files`, `get_logs`, `manage_pod` and `delete_pod`.
Until you claim it, the pod is reachable **only through the connector**. It lives in an
InstaPods-owned account, so it does not show up in your dashboard pod list, and the dashboard,
the CLI and the REST API all answer `access denied: pod belongs to another team`. Custom domains,
backups and SSH become available once the pod is yours.
## Keeping the Pod
**Adding a payment method claims it.** There is no separate confirm step - the moment your card is
saved, the pod moves into your own account and keeps running.
Every trial pod has its own claim page at:
```
https://app.instapods.com/dashboard/claim/
```
The page names the pod, links its live URL, shows the deadline ticking down, and takes the card. It
tells you what you are keeping before you pay, which the generic billing page could not.
Once claimed:
* The pod keeps its **name, URL, files and data**. Nothing is rebuilt or moved.
* It becomes an ordinary Launch pod at **\$3/mo**, billed to your team from that day.
* **Nothing is charged the moment you add the card.** Your first payment method also grants a
one-time **\$10 credit**, which covers the first few months of a Launch pod.
* Every tool works on it normally, and it appears in your dashboard, the CLI and the API like any
other pod.
The claim URL is a pointer, not a key. It only works for the signed-in account that was granted
the trial - anyone else who opens it is sent to the ordinary billing page and is told nothing
about the pod. Sharing the link does not share the pod.
## When It Expires
At 90 minutes the pod is deleted: the container, its files and its URL all go. **Nothing is charged**,
because there was never a card. InstaPods emails you to say the pod was removed and what it would
cost to run it for real.
There is no way to recover a reaped trial pod or its files, and no extension. If you want the app
back, deploy it again on a paid pod.
## Refusals You Might See
The trial is deliberately narrow, and an assistant may report any of these instead of a pod.
| Situation | Message |
| ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| You already had your one trial | `you've already used your free trial pod - add a payment method to keep deploying (nothing is charged when you add a card, and your first card grants a one-time $10 credit)` |
| Every trial slot is currently in use | `free trial pods are all in use right now - add a payment method to deploy straight away, or try again shortly` |
| You asked for a 1-Click App | `1-Click apps aren't available on a trial pod - add a payment method to deploy one` |
Asking from anywhere other than the connector is not a trial refusal at all - you simply get the
ordinary card gate:
```
Payment method is required before creating a pod.
```
The one-per-person rule is keyed to your email address in canonical form, so `you+test@example.com`
and `you@example.com` count as the same person.
Adding a payment method resolves all of them, and still charges nothing on the day you add it.