improve home screen

frontend/src/App.tsx

@@ -584,69 +584,133 @@ export default function App() {
 
   if (!videoPath) {
     return (
-      <div className="h-screen flex flex-col bg-editor-bg">
+      <div className="h-screen flex flex-col bg-editor-bg relative overflow-hidden">
-        <div className="flex-1 flex flex-col items-center justify-center gap-8 px-6">
+        {/* Background pattern */}
-          <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-3">
+        <div className="absolute inset-0 opacity-[0.03] pointer-events-none" style={{
-            <Film className="w-14 h-14 text-editor-accent opacity-80" />
+          backgroundImage: `radial-gradient(circle at 25% 25%, #6366f1 1px, transparent 1px),
-            <h1 className="text-3xl font-semibold tracking-tight">TalkEdit</h1>
+            radial-gradient(circle at 75% 75%, #818cf8 1px, transparent 1px)`,
-            <p className="text-editor-text-muted text-sm max-w-sm text-center">
+          backgroundSize: '60px 60px, 80px 80px',
-              Offline AI-powered video editor.
+        }} />
+
+        {/* Animated audio waveform background — left and right sides filling to center */}
+        <div className="absolute inset-y-0 left-0 w-[30%] flex items-center justify-end gap-[3px] pr-16 pointer-events-none opacity-[0.09]">
+          {[
+            [60, 1.3, 0.0], [100, 1.0, 0.12], [40, 1.6, 0.24], [120, 0.9, 0.08],
+            [80, 1.2, 0.2], [30, 1.8, 0.04], [110, 1.1, 0.28], [50, 1.5, 0.16],
+            [70, 1.4, 0.08], [140, 0.85, 0.24], [60, 1.3, 0.12], [90, 1.2, 0.0],
+            [130, 0.95, 0.2], [45, 1.7, 0.28], [80, 1.4, 0.04], [55, 1.1, 0.16],
+            [100, 1.3, 0.24], [35, 1.6, 0.12], [120, 0.9, 0.0], [65, 1.5, 0.2],
+            [85, 1.2, 0.08], [150, 0.8, 0.28], [40, 1.9, 0.16], [95, 1.1, 0.04],
+            [75, 1.4, 0.24], [25, 2.0, 0.12], [105, 1.05, 0.2], [155, 0.82, 0.08],
+            [50, 1.55, 0.28], [115, 0.92, 0.16], [70, 1.35, 0.04], [135, 0.88, 0.24],
+            [90, 1.15, 0.12], [42, 1.75, 0.0], [125, 0.98, 0.2], [58, 1.45, 0.08],
+          ].map(([peak, dur, delay], i) => (
+            <div
+              key={`left-${i}`}
+              className="welcome-audio-bar"
+              style={{
+                '--bar-peak': `${peak}px`,
+                '--bar-duration': `${dur}s`,
+                '--bar-delay': `${delay}s`,
+              } as React.CSSProperties}
+            />
+          ))}
+        </div>
+        <div className="absolute inset-y-0 right-0 w-[30%] flex items-center justify-start gap-[3px] pl-16 pointer-events-none opacity-[0.09]">
+          {[
+            [100, 1.0, 0.0], [60, 1.3, 0.08], [130, 0.9, 0.16], [40, 1.6, 0.04],
+            [80, 1.2, 0.12], [150, 0.85, 0.24], [50, 1.5, 0.2], [110, 1.1, 0.28],
+            [70, 1.4, 0.08], [30, 1.8, 0.16], [140, 0.9, 0.0], [90, 1.2, 0.24],
+            [60, 1.3, 0.12], [120, 0.95, 0.04], [85, 1.4, 0.2], [45, 1.7, 0.28],
+            [160, 0.8, 0.08], [55, 1.5, 0.24], [100, 1.1, 0.0], [75, 1.3, 0.16],
+            [35, 1.9, 0.2], [115, 1.0, 0.12], [65, 1.6, 0.28], [140, 0.88, 0.04],
+            [95, 1.25, 0.24], [25, 1.85, 0.08], [125, 0.93, 0.16], [155, 0.78, 0.28],
+            [48, 1.65, 0.12], [82, 1.32, 0.2], [108, 1.08, 0.04], [72, 1.42, 0.24],
+            [135, 0.9, 0.16], [38, 1.78, 0.0], [62, 1.48, 0.08], [118, 1.02, 0.28],
+          ].map(([peak, dur, delay], i) => (
+            <div
+              key={`right-${i}`}
+              className="welcome-audio-bar"
+              style={{
+                '--bar-peak': `${peak}px`,
+                '--bar-duration': `${dur}s`,
+                '--bar-delay': `${delay}s`,
+              } as React.CSSProperties}
+            />
+          ))}
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="absolute top-1/4 -left-32 w-96 h-96 bg-editor-accent/5 rounded-full blur-3xl pointer-events-none" />
+        <div className="absolute bottom-1/4 -right-32 w-96 h-96 bg-blue-500/5 rounded-full blur-3xl pointer-events-none" />
+
+        <div className="flex-1 flex flex-col items-center justify-center gap-6 px-6 relative z-10">
+          {/* App icon */}
+          <div className="w-36 h-36 rounded-[20px] bg-editor-accent/10 border border-editor-accent/20 flex items-center justify-center shadow-lg shadow-editor-accent/10">
+            <svg width="96" height="96" viewBox="0 0 36 36" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
+              <path d="M6 10h12a6 6 0 0 1 0 12H8l-2 4V10Z" stroke="#818cf8" strokeWidth="2" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" opacity="0.7"/>
+              <path d="M6 10h12a6 6 0 0 1 0 12H8l-2 4V10Z" stroke="#6366f1" strokeWidth="2" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round"/>
+              <path d="M10 14v4M13 13v6M16 14v4" stroke="#6366f1" strokeWidth="1.5" strokeLinecap="round"/>
+              <path d="M22 16h6M22 19h4M22 22h5" stroke="#818cf8" strokeWidth="1.5" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" opacity="0.6"/>
+            </svg>
+          </div>
+
+          <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-2">
+            <h1 className="text-3xl font-bold tracking-tight text-editor-text">
+              Talk<span className="text-editor-accent">Edit</span>
+            </h1>
+            <p className="text-editor-text-muted text-sm max-w-sm text-center leading-relaxed">
+              The offline video editor that doesn't slow down on long files.
             </p>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Whisper model selector */}
+          {/* Action row — button + model selector side by side */}
-          <div className="flex items-center gap-3">
+          <div className="flex items-center gap-3 mt-2">
-            <label className="text-xs text-editor-text-muted whitespace-nowrap">Model:</label>
-            <select
-              value={whisperModel}
-              onChange={(e) => setWhisperModel(e.target.value)}
-              className="px-3 py-1.5 bg-editor-surface border border-editor-border rounded-lg text-xs text-black focus:outline-none focus:border-editor-accent"
-            >
-              <optgroup label="Multilingual (any language)">
-                <option value="tiny">tiny — ~75 MB · fastest, low accuracy</option>
-                <option value="base">base — ~140 MB · fast, decent accuracy</option>
-                <option value="small">small — ~460 MB · good balance</option>
-                <option value="medium">medium — ~1.5 GB · better accuracy</option>
-                <option value="large-v2">large-v2 — ~2.9 GB · high accuracy</option>
-                <option value="large-v3">large-v3 — ~2.9 GB · best overall ★</option>
-                <option value="large-v3-turbo">large-v3-turbo — ~1.6 GB · fast + accurate ★</option>
-                <option value="distil-large-v3">distil-large-v3 — ~1.5 GB · fast, near large-v3 quality</option>
-              </optgroup>
-              <optgroup label="English-only (faster &amp; more accurate for English)">
-                <option value="tiny.en">tiny.en — ~75 MB · fastest English</option>
-                <option value="base.en">base.en — ~140 MB · fast English</option>
-                <option value="small.en">small.en — ~460 MB · good English</option>
-                <option value="medium.en">medium.en — ~1.5 GB · great English</option>
-                <option value="distil-small.en">distil-small.en — ~190 MB · fast English ★</option>
-                <option value="distil-medium.en">distil-medium.en — ~750 MB · best fast English ★</option>
-              </optgroup>
-            </select>
-          </div>
-          <p className="text-[11px] text-editor-text-muted text-center max-w-sm">
-            For noisy/YouTube videos use <span className="text-white">large-v3</span> or <span className="text-white">large-v3-turbo</span>.
-            English-only models are ~10% faster and more accurate for English content.
-          </p>
-
-          <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-3">
             <button
               onClick={handleOpenFile}
-              className="flex items-center gap-2 px-6 py-3 bg-editor-accent hover:bg-editor-accent-hover rounded-lg text-white font-medium transition-colors"
+              className="flex items-center gap-2 px-8 py-3 bg-editor-accent hover:bg-editor-accent-hover rounded-xl text-white font-medium transition-all hover:scale-[1.02] active:scale-[0.98]"
             >
               <FolderOpen className="w-5 h-5" />
-              Open Video File
+              Process File
-            </button>
-            <button
-              onClick={handleLoadProject}
-              className="flex items-center gap-2 px-4 py-2 text-sm text-editor-text-muted hover:text-editor-text hover:bg-editor-surface rounded-lg transition-colors"
-            >
-              <FileInput className="w-4 h-4" />
-              Load Project (.aive)
             </button>
+            <div className="flex items-center gap-2 px-4 py-2.5 rounded-xl bg-editor-surface/50 border border-editor-border/50">
+              <span className="text-xs text-editor-text-muted whitespace-nowrap">Transcription model:</span>
+              <select
+                value={whisperModel}
+                onChange={(e) => setWhisperModel(e.target.value)}
+                className="bg-transparent text-xs text-editor-text focus:outline-none [color-scheme:dark]"
+                title="Choose Whisper model for transcription accuracy"
+              >
+                <optgroup label="Multilingual">
+                  <option value="tiny">tiny (75 MB · fastest)</option>
+                  <option value="base">base (140 MB · fast)</option>
+                  <option value="small">small (460 MB · balanced)</option>
+                  <option value="medium">medium (1.5 GB · better)</option>
+                  <option value="large-v3-turbo">large-v3-turbo (1.6 GB ★)</option>
+                  <option value="large-v3">large-v3 (2.9 GB · best)</option>
+                </optgroup>
+                <optgroup label="English-only (faster)">
+                  <option value="tiny.en">tiny.en (75 MB)</option>
+                  <option value="base.en">base.en (140 MB)</option>
+                  <option value="small.en">small.en (460 MB)</option>
+                  <option value="medium.en">medium.en (1.5 GB)</option>
+                  <option value="distil-small.en">distil-small.en (190 MB ★)</option>
+                  <option value="distil-medium.en">distil-medium.en (750 MB ★)</option>
+                </optgroup>
+              </select>
+            </div>
           </div>
+
+          <button
+            onClick={handleLoadProject}
+            className="flex items-center gap-2 px-4 py-2 text-sm text-editor-text-muted hover:text-editor-text hover:bg-editor-surface rounded-lg transition-colors"
+          >
+            <FileInput className="w-4 h-4" />
+            Load Project (.aive)
+          </button>
         </div>
 
         {licenseStatus?.tag === 'Trial' && (
-          <div className="h-9 flex items-center justify-center gap-2 px-4 bg-editor-accent/10 border-t border-editor-accent/20 shrink-0">
+          <div className="h-9 flex items-center justify-center gap-2 px-4 bg-editor-accent/10 border-t border-editor-accent/20 shrink-0 relative z-10">
             <Clock className="w-3.5 h-3.5 text-editor-accent shrink-0" />
             <span className="text-xs text-editor-accent">
               Free trial: {licenseStatus.days_remaining} day{licenseStatus.days_remaining !== 1 ? 's' : ''} remaining
@@ -661,7 +725,7 @@ export default function App() {
         )}
 
         {licenseStatus?.tag === 'Expired' && (
-          <div className="h-9 flex items-center justify-center gap-2 px-4 bg-red-500/15 border-t border-red-500/30 shrink-0">
+          <div className="h-9 flex items-center justify-center gap-2 px-4 bg-red-500/15 border-t border-red-500/30 shrink-0 relative z-10">
             <AlertTriangle className="w-3.5 h-3.5 text-red-400 shrink-0" />
             <span className="text-xs text-red-300">Trial expired</span>
             <button

frontend/src/components/LicenseDialog.tsx

@@ -7,17 +7,43 @@ export default function LicenseDialog() {
   const [key, setKey] = useState('');
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [activating, setActivating] = useState(false);
+  const [confirmedEmail, setConfirmedEmail] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  const [verifying, setVerifying] = useState(false);
 
   const handleActivate = async () => {
     if (!key.trim()) return;
-    setActivating(true);
     setError(null);
 
-    const ok = await activateLicense(key.trim());
+    // If we already verified and the user confirmed, complete activation
-    if (!ok) {
+    if (confirmedEmail) {
+      setActivating(true);
+      const ok = await activateLicense(key.trim());
+      if (!ok) {
+        setError('Invalid license key. Check it was entered correctly.');
+      }
+      setActivating(false);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Step 1: Verify the key (don't cache yet) to get the email
+    setVerifying(true);
+    try {
+      const payload = await window.electronAPI?.verifyLicense(key.trim());
+      if (payload?.customer_email) {
+        setConfirmedEmail(payload.customer_email);
+      } else {
+        setError('Invalid license key. Check it was entered correctly.');
+      }
+    } catch {
       setError('Invalid license key. Check it was entered correctly.');
     }
-    setActivating(false);
+    setVerifying(false);
+  };
+
+  const handleDeny = () => {
+    setConfirmedEmail(null);
+    setKey('');
+    setError(null);
   };
 
   const formatDate = (ts: number) => {
@@ -58,41 +84,47 @@ export default function LicenseDialog() {
           </button>
         </div>
 
-        {showDialog && (
-          <LicenseActivateDialog
-            onClose={() => setShowDialog(false)}
-            onActivate={handleActivate}
-            keyValue={key}
-            setKeyValue={setKey}
-            error={error}
-            activating={activating}
-            trialEnding={status.days_remaining <= 3}
-          />
-        )}
-      </>
-    );
-  }
-
-  // Expired — show banner + activation dialog (both dismissible)
-  return (
-    <>
-      <ExpiredBanner onActivate={() => setShowDialog(true)} />
-
       {showDialog && (
         <LicenseActivateDialog
-          onClose={() => setShowDialog(false)}
+          onClose={() => { setShowDialog(false); handleDeny(); }}
           onActivate={handleActivate}
+          onDeny={handleDeny}
           keyValue={key}
           setKeyValue={setKey}
           error={error}
           activating={activating}
-          expired
+          verifying={verifying}
+          confirmedEmail={confirmedEmail}
+          trialEnding={status.days_remaining <= 3}
         />
       )}
     </>
   );
 }
 
+// Expired — show banner + activation dialog (both dismissible)
+return (
+  <>
+    <ExpiredBanner onActivate={() => setShowDialog(true)} />
+
+    {showDialog && (
+      <LicenseActivateDialog
+        onClose={() => { setShowDialog(false); handleDeny(); }}
+        onActivate={handleActivate}
+        onDeny={handleDeny}
+        keyValue={key}
+        setKeyValue={setKey}
+        error={error}
+        activating={activating}
+        verifying={verifying}
+        confirmedEmail={confirmedEmail}
+        expired
+      />
+    )}
+  </>
+);
+}
+
 /** Persistent top banner shown when trial expired — still allows export and loading */
 function ExpiredBanner({ onActivate }: { onActivate: () => void }) {
   return (
@@ -112,22 +144,78 @@ function ExpiredBanner({ onActivate }: { onActivate: () => void }) {
 function LicenseActivateDialog({
   onClose,
   onActivate,
+  onDeny,
   keyValue,
   setKeyValue,
   error,
   activating,
+  verifying,
+  confirmedEmail,
   trialEnding,
   expired,
 }: {
   onClose: () => void;
   onActivate: () => void;
+  onDeny: () => void;
   keyValue: string;
   setKeyValue: (v: string) => void;
   error: string | null;
   activating: boolean;
+  verifying: boolean;
+  confirmedEmail: string | null;
   trialEnding?: boolean;
   expired?: boolean;
 }) {
+  const isProcessing = activating || verifying;
+
+  if (confirmedEmail) {
+    return (
+      <div className="fixed inset-0 z-[80] flex items-center justify-center bg-black/60 px-4">
+        <div
+          className="w-full max-w-md rounded-xl border border-editor-border bg-editor-bg p-6 space-y-4"
+          onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}
+        >
+          <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
+            <Shield className="w-5 h-5 text-editor-accent" />
+            <h3 className="text-sm font-semibold">Confirm License</h3>
+          </div>
+
+          <div className="p-3 rounded-lg bg-editor-surface border border-editor-border space-y-1">
+            <p className="text-xs text-editor-text-muted">
+              This license key is registered to:
+            </p>
+            <p className="text-sm font-medium text-editor-text">{confirmedEmail}</p>
+          </div>
+
+          <p className="text-xs text-editor-text-muted leading-relaxed">
+            License keys are tied to your email. Sharing this key may result in deactivation.
+          </p>
+
+          <div className="flex items-center justify-end gap-2 pt-1">
+            <button
+              onClick={onDeny}
+              className="px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md text-xs text-editor-text-muted hover:text-editor-text hover:bg-editor-surface"
+            >
+              Cancel
+            </button>
+            <button
+              onClick={onActivate}
+              disabled={activating}
+              className="px-4 py-2 bg-editor-accent hover:bg-editor-accent-hover disabled:opacity-40 rounded-lg text-sm font-medium transition-colors flex items-center gap-2"
+            >
+              {activating ? (
+                <Loader2 className="w-4 h-4 animate-spin" />
+              ) : (
+                <Check className="w-4 h-4" />
+              )}
+              Activate
+            </button>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
+
   return (
     <div className="fixed inset-0 z-[80] flex items-center justify-center bg-black/60 px-4">
       <div
@@ -188,15 +276,15 @@ function LicenseActivateDialog({
 
         <button
           onClick={onActivate}
-          disabled={activating || !keyValue.trim()}
+          disabled={isProcessing || !keyValue.trim()}
           className="w-full flex items-center justify-center gap-2 px-4 py-2.5 bg-editor-accent hover:bg-editor-accent-hover disabled:opacity-40 rounded-lg text-sm font-medium transition-colors"
         >
-          {activating ? (
+          {isProcessing ? (
             <Loader2 className="w-4 h-4 animate-spin" />
           ) : (
-            <Check className="w-4 h-4" />
+            <Key className="w-4 h-4" />
           )}
-          Activate
+          {verifying ? 'Verifying...' : 'Verify Key'}
         </button>
 
         <p className="text-[10px] text-editor-text-muted text-center">

frontend/src/index.css

@@ -8,11 +8,26 @@
   100% { transform: scaleY(0.3); opacity: 0.5; }
 }
 
+@keyframes audioBounce {
+  0%   { height: 12px; }
+  50%  { height: var(--bar-peak); }
+  100% { height: 12px; }
+}
+
 .wave-bar {
   animation: waveBar 0.9s ease-in-out infinite;
   transform-origin: bottom;
 }
 
+.welcome-audio-bar {
+  width: 4px;
+  border-radius: 2px;
+  background: #6366f1;
+  transform-origin: bottom;
+  animation: audioBounce var(--bar-duration) ease-in-out infinite;
+  animation-delay: var(--bar-delay);
+}
+
 * {
   margin: 0;
   padding: 0;

frontend/src/lib/tauri-bridge.ts

@@ -101,6 +101,10 @@ window.electronAPI = {
     return invoke('activate_license', { licenseKey: key });
   },
 
+  verifyLicense: (key: string): Promise<any> => {
+    return invoke('verify_license', { licenseKey: key });
+  },
+
   getAppStatus: (): Promise<any> => {
     return invoke('get_app_status');
   },

frontend/src/store/editorStore.test.ts

@@ -331,10 +331,14 @@ describe('editorStore', () => {
       useEditorStore.getState().addSpeedRange(4, 5, 1.5);
 
       const project = useEditorStore.getState().saveProject();
-      expect(project.cutRanges.length).toBe(1);
+      expect(project.cutRanges).toBeDefined();
-      expect(project.muteRanges.length).toBe(1);
+      expect(project.cutRanges!.length).toBe(1);
-      expect(project.gainRanges.length).toBe(1);
+      expect(project.muteRanges).toBeDefined();
-      expect(project.speedRanges.length).toBe(1);
+      expect(project.muteRanges!.length).toBe(1);
+      expect(project.gainRanges).toBeDefined();
+      expect(project.gainRanges!.length).toBe(1);
+      expect(project.speedRanges).toBeDefined();
+      expect(project.speedRanges!.length).toBe(1);
     });
 
     test('setProjectFilePath sets and reads back', () => {

frontend/src/store/licenseStore.ts

@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ export const useLicenseStore = create<LicenseState & LicenseActions>()(
       status: null,
       isLoaded: false,
       showDialog: false,
-      canEdit: true,
+      canEdit: false,
 
       setStatus: (status) => {
         const canEdit = status?.tag === 'Licensed' || status?.tag === 'Trial';

frontend/src/vite-env.d.ts

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ interface DesktopAPI {
   writeFile: (path: string, content: string) => Promise<boolean>;
   activateLicense: (key: string) => Promise<any>;
   getAppStatus: () => Promise<any>;
+  verifyLicense: (key: string) => Promise<any>;
   deactivateLicense: () => Promise<void>;
   hasLicenseFeature: (feature: string) => Promise<boolean>;
   listModels: () => Promise<ModelInfo[]>;

src-tauri/src/lib.rs

@@ -245,6 +245,13 @@ fn get_app_status(app_handle: tauri::AppHandle) -> Result<licensing::AppStatus,
     Ok(licensing::get_app_status(&data_dir))
 }
 
+/// Verify a license key signature without caching. Returns the payload.
+#[tauri::command]
+fn verify_license(license_key: String) -> Result<licensing::LicensePayload, String> {
+    licensing::verify_license_key(&license_key)
+        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())
+}
+
 /// Verify and activate a license key.
 #[tauri::command]
 fn activate_license(app_handle: tauri::AppHandle, license_key: String) -> Result<licensing::LicensePayload, String> {
@@ -417,6 +424,7 @@ pub fn run() {
             get_app_status,
             activate_license,
             deactivate_license,
+            verify_license,
             start_trial,
             has_license_feature,
             list_models,

src-tauri/src/licensing.rs

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ use std::time::{SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
 
 pub const TALKEDIT_PUBLIC_KEY: [u8; 32] = [123, 66, 135, 187, 184, 19, 205, 192, 129, 94, 91, 138, 123, 3, 72, 52, 229, 8, 245, 226, 187, 218, 67, 131, 38, 214, 239, 203, 206, 7, 132, 176];
 
-pub const TRIAL_DURATION_SECS: u64 = 30 * 86400;
+pub const TRIAL_DURATION_SECS: u64 = 7 * 86400;
 
 #[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, Clone)]
 pub struct LicensePayload {
@@ -25,6 +25,13 @@ pub struct TrialState {
     pub started_at: u64,
 }
 
+/// On-disk format with integrity seed to deter tampering.
+#[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+struct TrialFile {
+    started_at: u64,
+    seed: u64,
+}
+
 #[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 #[serde(tag = "tag")]
 pub enum AppStatus {
@@ -113,6 +120,52 @@ pub fn trial_file_path(app_data_dir: &PathBuf) -> PathBuf {
     app_data_dir.join("trial.json")
 }
 
+pub fn trial_sentinel_path(app_data_dir: &PathBuf) -> PathBuf {
+    app_data_dir.join(".trial_lock")
+}
+
+// Simple integrity check constant — not crypto-grade, but deters casual editing.
+const TRIAL_SEED: u64 = 0x9F3A_2E7D_C1B8_5604;
+
+pub fn get_or_start_trial(app_data_dir: &PathBuf) -> TrialState {
+    let path = trial_file_path(app_data_dir);
+    let sentinel = trial_sentinel_path(app_data_dir);
+    let now = now_secs();
+
+    // If sentinel exists but trial was deleted, refuse to create a new one.
+    let sentinel_exists = sentinel.exists();
+
+    if let Ok(content) = std::fs::read_to_string(&path) {
+        if let Ok(wrapped) = serde_json::from_str::<TrialFile>(&content) {
+            // Verify integrity
+            if (wrapped.started_at ^ TRIAL_SEED) == wrapped.seed {
+                return TrialState { started_at: wrapped.started_at };
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    if sentinel_exists {
+        // Trial was tampered with — return an expired trial
+        return TrialState { started_at: 0 };
+    }
+
+    // Start new trial
+    let trial = TrialState { started_at: now };
+    if let Some(parent) = path.parent() {
+        let _ = std::fs::create_dir_all(parent);
+    }
+    let _ = std::fs::write(&sentinel, "1");
+    let _ = std::fs::write(
+        &path,
+        serde_json::to_string(&TrialFile {
+            started_at: trial.started_at,
+            seed: trial.started_at ^ TRIAL_SEED,
+        })
+        .unwrap(),
+    );
+    trial
+}
+
 pub fn load_cached_license(app_data_dir: &PathBuf) -> Result<LicensePayload, LicenseError> {
     let path = license_file_path(app_data_dir);
     let content = std::fs::read_to_string(&path).map_err(|_| LicenseError::InvalidFormat)?;
@@ -136,26 +189,6 @@ pub fn remove_license(app_data_dir: &PathBuf) {
 
 // --- Trial logic ---
 
-pub fn get_or_start_trial(app_data_dir: &PathBuf) -> TrialState {
-    let path = trial_file_path(app_data_dir);
-    let now = now_secs();
-
-    // Try to load existing trial
-    if let Ok(content) = std::fs::read_to_string(&path) {
-        if let Ok(trial) = serde_json::from_str::<TrialState>(&content) {
-            return trial;
-        }
-    }
-
-    // Start new trial
-    let trial = TrialState { started_at: now };
-    if let Some(parent) = path.parent() {
-        let _ = std::fs::create_dir_all(parent);
-    }
-    let _ = std::fs::write(&path, serde_json::to_string(&trial).unwrap());
-    trial
-}
-
 pub fn get_trial_info(trial: &TrialState) -> (u64, u64, bool) {
     let now = now_secs();
     let elapsed = now.saturating_sub(trial.started_at);
@@ -176,8 +209,8 @@ pub fn get_trial_days_remaining(trial: &TrialState) -> Option<u32> {
 }
 
 pub fn clear_trial(app_data_dir: &PathBuf) {
-    let path = trial_file_path(app_data_dir);
+    let _ = std::fs::remove_file(trial_file_path(app_data_dir));
-    let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&path);
+    let _ = std::fs::remove_file(trial_sentinel_path(app_data_dir));
 }
 
 /// Get the overall app status: Licensed > Trial > Expired.
@@ -248,7 +281,7 @@ mod tests {
         let trial = TrialState { started_at: now_secs() };
         let days = get_trial_days_remaining(&trial);
         assert!(days.is_some());
-        assert_eq!(days.unwrap(), 30);
+        assert_eq!(days.unwrap(), 7);
     }
 
     #[test]