## Installing the Pro plugin
URL: https://hub.jkdevstudio.com/knowledge-base/installation/install-pro-plugin
Updated: 2026-09-06
Summary: Install the Pro plugin from the package or in one click from the theme dashboard, and why Pro features only appear once the license is active.
The Pro plugin holds the whole premium layer of the theme: the widgets, the premium layouts, the advanced settings and the tools. Integrations are the exception and live as separate plugins of their own.
The model is worth a sentence. The theme is the presentation and works on its own. The Pro plugin is functionality layered on top of it. Pro is not a different theme, it is an addition to the same one.
**This is not the free companion plugin.**
They are different plugins with different jobs, and you do not need the companion once the Pro plugin is installed.
## The normal route: from the theme dashboard
Activate the theme, then [activate your license](/knowledge-base/licensing/activating-your-theme-license). An onboarding banner appears in the admin and a notice appears in the theme dashboard, both carrying an install button.
Clicking it installs the plugin for you, with nothing to download and nothing to unpack. Activate it when the install finishes.
This is the route to prefer, because the panel fetches the build that matches your theme and puts it straight onto the update channel.
## The manual route: from the package
The Pro plugin zip sits next to the theme zip in the premium package, in both the Envato download and the direct one. Use it when the site cannot reach us, or when you are preparing files for a server by hand.
:::steps
### Open the plugin uploader
Go to [[Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin]].
### Choose the plugin zip
Take the Pro plugin archive from the unpacked package. Not the whole package, and not the theme zip.
### Install and activate
Click **Install Now**, then **Activate**.
:::
**The "Installable WordPress file only" download on Envato does not contain the Pro plugin.**
That option is the theme alone. Take the full package, or let the theme dashboard install the plugin for you.
Both routes end in exactly the same place. It is not two different plugins and not two different versions.
## Installed is not the same as unlocked
The single most important sentence on this page: installing and activating the Pro plugin does not switch the Pro features on. An active license does.
So the sequence is:
1. Install the theme
2. Activate the theme
3. Activate the license
4. Install the Pro plugin
While the licence is not active the panel says so directly, and the premium settings stay closed. That state is expected, not a broken install.
## Terms worth knowing
Activating a license means accepting the terms of use and the privacy policy, including sending your domain and the request IP for verification.
One license unit covers one domain. Attempts to work around that binding lead to the license being restricted.
What your license actually covers
## Common questions
Can I install the Pro plugin without the theme?
There would be nothing for it to do, since it extends the theme, so install and activate the theme first.
Do I need to keep the free companion plugin as well?
No, the Pro plugin covers everything the companion provides, and you can remove the companion once Pro is running.
I updated the theme. Do I need to reinstall the plugin?
No, they update separately on their own version lines, and one having an update while the other does not is normal.
The plugin is active but the Pro settings are missing
The licence is not active yet, which the License tab in the theme dashboard states in one line, and activating it opens the settings without touching the plugin again.
The plugin will not install
An upload that fails behaves exactly the way a theme upload does, so the cause is one of three: the file is larger than `upload_max_filesize`, the request timed out, or `wp-content` is not writable. The [installation troubleshooting](/knowledge-base/troubleshooting/installation-problems) article matches each message to its cause.