# FAQ

## Do I need to know how to code?
No. That's the whole point — Maestro and your AI crew do the coding; you steer and approve.

 
## Do I bring my own AI?
Yes — connect Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and more on the [Connect A.I.](/connect) page. Not sure which? The Concierge picks one for you.

 
## What does it cost?
Free to watch and tinker. Paid plans, single-Pod à la carte, and one-time Launch Passes — all on the [pricing page](/pricing). Live meters, cancel anytime.

 
## Can I sell what I build?
Yes. You own what you build — ship your project and run it however you like.

 
## Is my work safe?
Your keys live in a locked, server-side vault. Care Plans add monitoring, backups & patches. Best-effort — not an SLA.

 
## How do I get help?
Reach us any time through the [Contact page](/contact), or ask the Maestro guide right inside any build room.

## Long builds, models and budgets

**Does a long build cost me more?** The AI runs on your subscription or key, so the vendor bills you as usual — Program Podz does not meter dollars on a subscription. What we cap is **build time**: each plan has a ceiling of working minutes per long build. When it is reached the build pauses cleanly at the last save point and tells you.

**Can I go back to the old way?** Yes — Long Build is per project, one click on and one click back. Existing projects stay on the old path until you opt in.

**Which AI will build mine?** "Best available" picks from the AIs you have connected, using what has actually been measured — or pin one yourself in the project.

**What if it gets stuck?** The watchdog pauses a build only after real minutes with no change, then asks you; your save points are kept.

## Mods, ports and mashups

**Can I mod a game I bought?** Yes — you confirm you own it, name the engine and version, and Maestro works beside it on your computer. The game folder stays read-only to Maestro.

**Can I decompile a game to learn how it works?** Read-only inspectors (AssetRipper, ILSpy and friends) run on your PC and write into a work folder of yours. Maestro sees an inventory of what came out, not the game's files, and nothing is uploaded.

**Can I merge two games?** You can merge what is yours, and re-implement the mechanics you love from another game in your own words. The other game's art, music, code and names never move — Maestro plans it that way from the first line.

**Why was my package refused?** It carried files that belong to the base game. Ship your code, your instructions and your original assets; tell players the game is required. That is the rule that survives takedowns.

**Where do big builds run?** Light work runs on your computer. Unreal builds, big asset bakes and game servers go to a Private Home when production compute is on; until then Maestro tells you plainly that they run on your PC.