1. Agreement to Terms

By accessing or using RENDERWAVE software and services, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you disagree with any part of these terms, you may not use our services.

2. What RENDERWAVE Is

RENDERWAVE is a real-time visual performance application ("VJ software") built for macOS. It renders live shader-based visuals on Apple Silicon using Metal, supports Syphon output, and ships with a library of production-ready shaders. RENDERWAVE is intended for live events, installations, and creative performances.

RENDERWAVE is a single-user desktop application. It is not a cloud service, does not require an internet connection to render, and does not collect data about your performances or visuals.

3. License Grant

Subject to these terms and payment of applicable fees, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use RENDERWAVE software on up to the permitted number of machines per your plan.

Free Tier: Limited features, 1080p output, watermark visible on output.
Studio Subscription: Full features, up to 8K output, no watermark, full shader library. Valid for one user on up to five machines. Updates included while subscribed.
Perpetual: Full features at time of purchase, up to 8K output, no watermark. Includes 12 months of updates from purchase date.
Founder Lifetime: Full features with lifetime updates. Limited to 200 licenses total.

4. System Requirements

RENDERWAVE requires:

macOS 15.0 or later
Apple Silicon (M1 or later)
Metal 3–compatible GPU

RENDERWAVE is built exclusively for Apple Silicon. Versions for Intel Macs or other operating systems are not supported and will not be released.

5. Pricing and Billing

Studio Monthly: $9.99/month, auto-renews on the same calendar day each month.
Studio Annual: $99/year, auto-renews annually. Equivalent to $8.25/month.
Perpetual: $299 one-time payment, includes 12 months of updates.
Founder Lifetime: $499 one-time payment, includes all future updates. Limited to 200 licenses.
All paid plans unlock full Studio features: 8K output, no watermark, full shader library.
Prices are in USD and subject to change with 30 days' notice for renewal customers.

6. No Lock-Out Policy

RENDERWAVE does not lock you out of software you paid for. This applies to all license types:

Canceled subscriptions: Your app continues to work at full features. You simply stop receiving new updates and shaders.
Expired perpetual licenses: Your app continues to work at the version you downloaded. You can still launch and render — you just won't get new releases.
Machine deactivation: You can release and rebind machines at any time through your dashboard. We do not limit the number of deactivations.

7. Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time through the self-service billing portal in your dashboard, or by contacting us. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. No pro-rated refunds are issued for partial periods, but see Section 8 for our money-back guarantee.

To cancel, visit your dashboard and use the cancellation form, or access the Stripe billing portal directly. Subscription status is updated within 24 hours of cancellation.

8. Refund Policy

First-time purchasers of a new license are eligible for a full refund within 30 days of initial purchase, no questions asked. Contact us at [email protected] with your license key or email address to request a refund.

Refunds are not available for: (a) renewal payments after a subscription has been active for more than 30 days from initial purchase, (b) perpetual licenses more than 30 days after purchase, or (c) founder licenses after a major version update if you have already received lifetime updates.

9. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

Share, resell, or redistribute your license key or activation link
Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to extract the Metal shader intermediate representation or proprietary rendering code
Remove, alter, or obscure any proprietary notices, watermarks (in the free tier), or version identifiers
Use RENDERWAVE to generate content for the purpose of training machine learning models without written permission
Use the software for any illegal, harmful, or fraudulent purpose
Circumvent license validation, machine binding, or activation systems
Publicly redistribute shader presets or patches from the included shader library under a separate license

10. Intellectual Property

RENDERWAVE, including all code, Metal shaders, graphics, UI design, documentation, and included shader presets, is owned by RENDERWAVE and protected by copyright, trademark, and trade secret law.

The shader library included with RENDERWAVE is licensed for use in your live performances, installations, and commercial work. You may not extract, repackage, or resell individual shaders from the library. Visuals you create using RENDERWAVE are yours — we claim no rights to them.

11. Your Content and Performances

RENDERWAVE processes all visual data locally on your machine. We do not receive, store, or transmit any visuals, performance recordings, or show data. Any content you create using RENDERWAVE — including live outputs, recordings, and exports — is fully owned by you or your client. We claim no rights to your creative output.

12. Account and Authentication

RENDERWAVE uses Clerk for authentication. Your account is subject to Clerk's terms of service and privacy policy in addition to these terms. You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure.

We may disable or restrict access to your account if we detect fraud, abuse, or a violation of these terms, and will notify you where permitted by law.

13. Software Updates

We release regular updates to RENDERWAVE including new shaders, rendering improvements, macOS compatibility updates, and new features. Subscription customers receive updates while their subscription is active. Perpetual customers receive updates for 12 months from purchase.

We reserve the right to discontinue support for older macOS versions or hardware configurations with reasonable notice. Critical security updates may be applied to all active versions regardless of subscription status.

14. Third-Party Components

RENDERWAVE incorporates the following open-source or third-party components:

Metal 3 (Apple) — GPU rendering framework
Swift (Apple) — application language
Shader library — various authors, see shader attribution within the app

Third-party libraries and frameworks are used under their respective licenses. Full attribution and license notices for open-source components are included in the application bundle.

15. Disclaimer of Warranties

RENDERWAVE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SUITABLE FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. USE IN LIVE PERFORMANCE ENVIRONMENTS — INCLUDING HIGH-STAKES EVENTS, BROADCASTS, AND INSTALLATIONS — IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE RECOMMEND TESTING ALL SETUPS AND BACKUPS IN ADVANCE.

16. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, RENDERWAVE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SOFTWARE, INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, DATA LOSS, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF RENDERWAVE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

17. Termination

Either party may terminate this agreement at any time. We may terminate or suspend your license immediately if you violate these terms. Upon termination: your right to use the software ceases, active subscriptions cancel at period end, and Sections 10 (Intellectual Property), 11 (Your Content), 15 (Disclaimer), 16 (Limitation of Liability), and 19 (Dispute Resolution) survive termination.

18. Dispute Resolution

These terms are governed by the laws of the United States. Any dispute arising from these terms or your use of RENDERWAVE that cannot be resolved informally shall first be attempted through good-faith negotiation. If unresolved within 30 days, either party may pursue legal action.

You acknowledge that RENDERWAVE is offered from the United States and agree that any claim arising under these terms shall be resolved exclusively in the courts of the United States.

19. Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms from time to time to reflect new features, regulatory changes, or clarifications. Material changes will be communicated via email to the address on file and via notice in the application. Continued use of RENDERWAVE after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

20. Contact

Questions about these terms? Contact us at [email protected]