Account

The Mel terminal itself needs no account — download it and everything local works immediately. An account exists for one thing: access to the Mel agent. Signing up is self-serve and free — no waitlist.

Signing in

Sign-in happens inside an agent conversation:

1. Start a conversation (ctrl+enter in the prompt).
2. Type /signin (or /login). A sign-in panel appears in place of the conversation.
3. Enter your email and password. On success your session token is stored locally and every later agent request uses it automatically.

If you try to use the agent while signed out and the backend requires auth, Mel shows the same sign-in panel automatically — you don't have to remember the command.

Your session token is saved at ~/.local/share/mel/auth_token with owner-only permissions, and your email is kept beside it so the app can show who's signed in. See Privacy for the full local-data picture.

Signing up

The sign-in panel has a sign-up mode. Signing up creates a free Mel account instantly and signs you in — there's no waitlist and nothing to wait for. Your session token is stored locally and used automatically for later agent requests.

On the Free plan the agent has a daily request trial on the hosted models; bring your own provider key for unlimited use, or upgrade to Pro to remove the daily limit. If you hit the daily limit, the app tells you and points you at your options — see Billing and usage.

Where your account shows up

• Titlebar avatar menu — your email appears at the top when signed in; Log out is at the bottom. The menu also links to Settings, the shortcuts reference, Billing and usage, and updates.
• Settings → Account — shows your email with a Log out button (or a "Not signed in" hint pointing you at /signin), plus the app version. See the Settings overview.

Useful commands

All of these run inside an agent conversation and are handled locally:

Related

• Billing and usage — what's free, what's metered
• Updates