> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.hellgate.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Plans & Access

> Link editions — Bundled and Standalone — environment tiers, and how to obtain an instance.

Link is delivered as **single-tenant managed infrastructure** — each instance is dedicated to one organization
and serves one contract, with no multi-tenancy inside an instance. It comes in two **editions** that differ in
what the instance is allowed to serve.

## Editions

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Bundled" icon="lock">
    Provisioned together with a [Specter](/products/specter/overview) instance and locked to serving that
    instance's backends. It scales automatically with the connected Specter and is billed as part of it — there
    is no separate Link contract.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Standalone" icon="lock-open">
    The full open runtime. Run any Hellgate-curated protocol, import **your own** protocols that conform to the
    [Link protocol schema](/products/link/concepts/protocol-schema), and put other load through the instance —
    independent of Specter.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

| Edition        | Serves                                                        | Best for                                                         |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Bundled**    | The connected Specter instance's backends only                | Specter customers who only need backends for decisioning         |
| **Standalone** | Any Hellgate-curated protocol, your own protocols, other load | Teams using Link beyond Specter, or defining their own protocols |

<Info>
  **Unlocking.** A Bundled instance is dedicated to its Specter instance. To run other protocols or send other
  load through it, unlock it into a **Standalone** instance — contact your account representative.
</Info>

<Note>
  **Managed backends.** You operate your own backends on either edition. If you'd rather not, Hellgate can operate
  backends on your behalf — ask your account representative.
</Note>

## Tiers

Each edition runs on two environment tiers, each a separate instance:

* **Production** — your live environment for real provider traffic.
* **Test** — an environment for development, integration testing, and quality assurance, including mock backends
  that need no external provider.

<Info>
  Each tier is a distinct instance with its own configuration. Protocols and backends registered in Test are not
  shared with Production.
</Info>

## Getting access

To request a Link instance, contact your account representative or reach out via
[hellgate.io/demo](https://hellgate.io/demo). For plan and pricing details, see
[hellgate.io/cpa/link](https://hellgate.io/cpa/link#pricing) or contact your account representative.

Once your instance is provisioned, Hellgate Support provides:

* Your instance URL — `https://{instance-name}.{env}.on-hellgate.cloud`, where `{env}` is currently `eu1` and `{instance-name}` is your unique slug
* Client credentials (client ID and secret) to request access tokens

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Authentication" icon="lock" href="/products/link/authentication">
    Authenticate to your instance, and the scopes that gate each endpoint.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Protocol schema" icon="file-code" href="/products/link/concepts/protocol-schema">
    Author your own protocols on a Standalone instance.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>