Guide 13.9
Beginner, 4 min read. Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on .
In short
Scalpel checks your licence with scalpeltrade.com at every start and every 12 hours. If it cannot reach the site, it keeps running on its last good check for 72 hours, so an outage at the open never locks you out. It only stops at the licence screen when it has never checked on this computer, or the 72 hours have run out. Fix the connection to scalpeltrade.com, then click Try again.
Each good check leaves a signed pass on your computer that is valid for 72 hours from that check. Without the internet, Scalpel verifies that pass offline. Your market data and orders never go through scalpeltrade.com: they go straight to TWS or IB Gateway, so a site outage does not touch your trading.
You see this on the licence screen when the check failed and there is no valid pass on this computer: usually the very first activation, or a check that failed after the pass was lost.
This one means the last good check is more than 72 hours old. At launch it shows on the licence screen. If it happens while Scalpel is already running, you get a banner instead, ending "Scalpel keeps running until you quit". Scalpel never locks you out in the middle of a session: the cockpit, your orders and your app-managed stops keep working until you close it.
Open Settings (Ctrl+,) and pick About. Under Licence, a normal check reads "Licensed (SCLP-****-****-****-W8RB)." An offline one adds how long is left:
If the page does not load, the computer has no internet or something blocks the site. Fix that first. If it loads, the block is specific to the app: carry on.
Scalpel talks to scalpeltrade.com over HTTPS (port 443). A firewall rule, an antivirus "web shield" that inspects HTTPS, a work proxy or a VPN that blocks unknown apps can all stop the check. Allow the Scalpel program, or try once with the VPN off.
The 72-hour pass is checked against your computer's clock. A clock that is days out can make a good pass look expired. Set the time automatically in Windows (Settings > Time and language) or macOS (System Settings > General > Date and time).
On the licence screen, click Try again. A good check unlocks the cockpit and renews the pass for another 72 hours.