One license. Connect to the cloud, add AI.
Build for free. Pay once per device when it connects to Tuya Cloud.
Pick the tier your device needs
Every tier shares the same open-source framework, build tools, and chip support. You only pay when your device talks to Tuya Cloud.
For makers, students, and local-only or offline products.
- Open-source IoT OS for Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / audio / camera
- Develop on Tuya T-series, ESP32, BK7231N, LN882H, Raspberry Pi
- GPIO / PWM / ADC / IยฒC / SPI drivers and local LAN control
- Call any third-party API (OpenAI, your own HTTP)
- tos.py build tools, Arduino & docs
- Community support
Bring your device online and control it from the Tuya app.
- Connect to Tuya Cloud over MQTT
- Remote control via the Tuya Smart Life app
- Data-point (DP) model: report & control device state
- Bluetooth / Wi-Fi pairing and device binding
- Over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates
- Custom IoT products & mass-flash / pre-flashed modules
Everything IoT, plus a full multimodal AI agent on-device.
- Wake-word, cloud ASR & TTS voice pipeline
- Top LLMs: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Qwen, Doubao, DeepSeekโฆ
- Vision: upload camera frames for visual Q&A
- MCP โ let the AI call your sensors & actuators
- AI Agent platform: prompts, skills, emotions, roles
- Ready-to-flash demos: your_chat_bot, robots, desk emoji
Each device gets a fixed free allowance of AI usage per day โ LLM tokens, ASR minutes and TTS characters. Most prototypes and light workloads stay inside it, and usage beyond it is charged per use.
See the AI billing rules โEnterprise, startup & education
Volume licensing, OEM/ODM services, and custom pricing for startups, education and production at scale on the commercial Tuya framework โ trusted by 5,800+ customers across 200M+ connected devices. Talk to us about a plan that fits your volume.
2 starter licenses, on us
Every developer can claim 2 free device licenses from the Tuya Developer Platform โ enough to build, pair, and test a full cloud or AI project end to end before you buy a single production code.
- Full AI + IoT capabilities for development & debugging
- No credit card โ claim them with a Tuya account
- Upgrade to $0.69 / $1.67 production licenses only when you ship
- The daily free AI allowance applies to these too
A license is one credential, written once
No accounts to keep alive, no monthly bills. Here is what a TuyaOpen license actually is, when you need one, and what comes with it.
UUID + AuthKey
A license is a 20-character UUID and a 32-character AuthKey, issued by Tuya and bound to your product. Together they are the deviceโs cloud identity.
Only for Tuya Cloud
You only need a license when a device connects to Tuya Cloud. Local, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and third-party-API projects stay completely free.
One device, one UUID
Each UUID brings one device online. The AuthKey can be reused on another board only after you unpair the first one from the app.
Written once, it stays
On MCUs the license lives in a protected key-value area โ it survives firmware updates and is only lost on a full flash erase.
A free AI allowance each day
Every licensed device gets a fixed free allowance of AI usage per day โ LLM tokens, ASR minutes, TTS characters. Stay inside it and there is nothing more to pay; usage beyond it is charged per use.
Start free, scale as you grow
The same open-source framework at every tier โ pay per device only when it connects to Tuya Cloud, with a free AI allowance every day.
Open Source Free | IoT $0.69 / device | AI + IoT $1.67 / device | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Framework & tooling | |||
| Open-source C/C++ SDK | โ | โ | โ |
| tos.py build / config / flash | โ | โ | โ |
| Arduino, Lua & MicroPython | โ | โ | โ |
| 11+ chips (T-series, ESP32, Piโฆ) | โ | โ | โ |
| Serial debug & tyutool flashing | โ | โ | โ |
| TuyaOpen IDE for development | โ | โ | โ |
| Connectivity & peripherals | |||
| Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / Ethernet | โ | โ | โ |
| Local LAN control | โ | โ | โ |
| Camera, microphone, speaker, display | โ | โ | โ |
| GPIO / PWM / ADC / IยฒC / SPI | โ | โ | โ |
| Third-party API calls | โ | โ | โ |
| Tuya Cloud (IoT) | |||
| Tuya Cloud connection (MQTT) | โ | โ | โ |
| Tuya Smart Life app control | โ | โ | โ |
| Data-point report & control | โ | โ | โ |
| Device pairing & binding | โ | โ | โ |
| OTA firmware updates | โ | โ | โ |
| Custom IoT products | โ | โ | โ |
| Custom mini-app control panel | โ | โ | โ |
| Multimodal AI | |||
| Wake-word detection | โ | โ | โ |
| Cloud ASR / TTS voice | โ | โ | โ |
| LLM chat (ChatGPT, Claude, Qwenโฆ) | โ | โ | โ |
| Vision / visual Q&A | โ | โ | โ |
| MCP device tool-calling | โ | โ | โ |
| AI Agent platform (skills, emotions) | โ | โ | โ |
| Customizable AI agent (prompts, roles) | โ | โ | โ |
| Production & support | |||
| Free developer test licenses | โ | Starter free license | Starter free license |
| Per-device production license | โ | $0.69 | $1.67 |
| Daily free AI allowance | โ | โ | Included, then pay per use |
| Mass-flash & pre-flashed modules | โ | โ | โ |
| Commercial production ready | โ | โ | โ |
| Community support | โ | โ | โ |
From zero to cloud in three steps
Claim a free license to test, write it to your device, and verify it came online.
Get a license
Create a product on the Tuya Developer Platform and claim 2 free developer licenses to start. Buy $0.69 / $1.67 production licenses when you ship. Every device carries a free AI allowance each day.
# Tuya Developer Platform
1. Create a product (pick any category)
2. Select the T5 module + dummy firmware
3. Claim 2 free authorization codes
4. Copy your UUID + AuthKeyWrite it to the device
Bake the license into your build via tuya_config.h, or write it over serial with the auth command (or tyutool / the web tool).
// tuya_config.h
#define TUYA_OPENSDK_UUID "uuidxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
#define TUYA_OPENSDK_AUTHKEY "keyxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
# โฆor over serial:
tos.py monitor -b 115200
auth uuid9f6a6... cGuDnU2Yxj...Verify & go online
Read the stored license back, reboot, then pair the device in the Tuya app. It activates against the cloud with your credentials.
tuya> auth-read
uuid9f6a6xxxxxxxxxxx
cGuDnU2YxjHJldjxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
# reboot โ pair in the Tuya app โCommon questions
A license (UUID + AuthKey) is the deviceโs identity for secure access to Tuya Cloud. It is bought once per device, and each device carries its own unique license.
Local-only or offline applications need no license. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, simple apps, and third-party API calls all run on the free open-source framework.
No. The $0.69 / $1.67 license is a one-time purchase per connected device, with no recurring fee. On the $1.67 tier, each device also gets a free AI allowance every day, with usage beyond it charged per use. See the AI billing rules.
The $0.69 IoT license connects your device to Tuya Cloud for app control, DP data, and OTA. The $1.67 AI + IoT license adds the full multimodal AI agent โ wake-word, ASR/TTS, LLMs, vision, and MCP tool-calling โ together with a free AI allowance for every device, every day.
Each UUID brings one device online at a time. You can reuse the AuthKey on a new board only after unpairing the original device from the Tuya Smart Life app.
Yes, a fixed allowance each day. Every $1.67 device comes with a free daily allowance of AI usage โ LLM tokens, ASR minutes and TTS characters โ which covers prototyping and light workloads outright, with usage beyond it charged per use. Current allowances and rates are in the AI billing rules.
No. TuyaOpen requires TuyaOpen-specific licenses. TuyaOS authorization codes cannot connect within the TuyaOpen framework.
Yes. We offer custom and volume pricing for enterprise, startups, education and bulk deployments โ both for licenses and for AI usage. Contact service@tuya.com for a quote.
Ready to bring your device online?
Claim two free developer licenses, or read the guide to write your first one.