License Keys - Dodo Payments Documentation

License keys are the License Key entitlement type. Create a License Key entitlement once with the activation limit, expiry, and instructions you want, attach it to any product, and Dodo Payments generates and delivers a key per purchase or subscription seat, automatically.

What are License Keys?

License keys are unique tokens that authorize access to your product. They’re ideal for:

Software licensing: Desktop apps, plugins, and CLIs
Per-seat controls: Limit activations per user or device
Digital goods: Gate downloads, updates, or premium features

Inside Dodo Payments, license keys are managed through the Entitlements system, meaning the lifecycle of every key (creation, expiry, revocation, regrant) is driven by the same payment and subscription events as your other deliverables.

Create a License Key Entitlement

Open Entitlements

Go to Entitlements in your Dodo Payments dashboard and click + to create a new entitlement.

Choose License Key

Select License Key as the integration. Configure how each issued key behaves:

Activations Limit: Maximum concurrent activations per key (e.g., 1 for single-user, 5 for team licenses, leave blank for unlimited).
Duration: How long the key stays valid after issuance (e.g., 30 days, 1 year). For subscription-issued keys, leave blank; keys remain valid as long as the subscription is active.
Activation Instructions: Customer-facing instructions emailed with the key. Examples: Paste the key in Settings → License or Run: mycli activate <key>.

New License Key entitlement form with name, fulfillment mode, license length, activations limit, and activation message

Save the entitlement

Save. The entitlement is now available to attach to any product.

Attach to Products

Open a product, expand Advanced Settings → Entitlements & Credits, and select your License Key entitlement. A single product can deliver a license key alongside other entitlements (Discord access, file downloads, GitHub repo access, etc.) on the same purchase.

Product entitlements panel with License Key selected

How Keys Are Issued

Key issuance follows the standard grant lifecycle:

Event	Behavior
`payment.succeeded` (one-time)	Generate one key per `quantity` purchased. Key expiry honors the entitlement’s duration.
`subscription.active`	Generate one key per subscription `quantity` (seat). Key has no expiry; validity is tied to subscription status.
`subscription.renewed`	No-op. Existing keys persist.
`subscription.on_hold`	Disable the keys. They reactivate when the subscription comes off hold.
`subscription.cancelled` / `expired`	Disable the keys permanently.
`subscription.plan_changed`	Disable the old keys; issue new ones for the new plan.
`refund.succeeded` (one-time)	Disable the keys.
Manual revoke via API/dashboard	Disable the keys with `revocation_reason: manual`. These are not auto-regranted on subscription renewal.
License key disabled directly	Revoke the grant with `revocation_reason: license_key_disabled`. Re-enabling the key re-activates the grant automatically.

Quantity behavior

Subscription products issue one key per seat (subscriptions.quantity).
One-time products issue one key per cart line item (product_cart.quantity).
Manual API grants issue exactly one key.

Fulfillment mode

Every License Key entitlement has a fulfillment_mode that controls who supplies the key:

auto (default): Dodo Payments generates and emails the key automatically on payment or subscription. This is the behavior described above and applies when fulfillment_mode is omitted.
manual: The purchase creates a pending grant with no key, and you supply each key value yourself. See Manual Fulfillment below.

Manual Fulfillment

By default, Dodo Payments generates and emails a license key the moment a customer pays. With manual fulfillment you supply the key yourself: the purchase creates a pending grant with no key, notifies you, and waits for you to submit the key value. Use it when keys come from your own system, a third-party vendor, or a finite pool of pre-printed codes.

Looking for a step-by-step build? See the Manual License Key Fulfillment Integration Guide for an end-to-end walkthrough from product creation to delivering the key.

When to use it

Auto fulfillment is the right default for most software licensing. Choose manual fulfillment when Dodo Payments cannot mint the key itself:

Bring-your-own-keys: The key is generated by your application, a desktop product, or your own license server.
Third-party vendors: You resell keys issued by an upstream provider (a game key, an API credential, a partner platform).
Finite inventory: You hand out codes from a pre-allocated pool and want to assign them one at a time.
Human review: You want to vet a purchase before releasing access.

Enable manual fulfillment

Set fulfillment_mode: "manual" on the License Key entitlement’s integration config:

const entitlement = await client.entitlements.create({
  name: 'Pro License (Manual)',
  integration_type: 'license_key',
  integration_config: {
    fulfillment_mode: 'manual',
    activations_limit: 5,
    duration_count: 1,
    duration_interval: 'Year',
  },
});

fulfillment_mode is backward compatible. Entitlements created before this setting existed have no fulfillment_mode and continue to behave as auto. Switching to manual only affects grants created after the change; keys already delivered are untouched.

Find grants awaiting fulfillment

When a customer buys a manual-mode product, the grant is created in pending status with no key and an entitlement_grant.created webhook fires with integration_type: "license_key" and status: "pending". You can react to that webhook, or poll the List Grants endpoint with the integration_type and status filters:

const pending = await client.entitlements.grants.list('ent_license_key_id', {
  integration_type: 'license_key',
  status: 'pending',
});

Deliver the key

Submit the key with the Fulfill License Key Grant endpoint. The grant moves to delivered and the customer is sent the key automatically — the same email they would receive under auto fulfillment.

cURL

curl -X POST https://test.dodopayments.com/grants/grant_8VbC6JDZ/license-key \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DODO_PAYMENTS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "key": "PRO-AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD",
    "activations_limit": 5,
    "expires_at": "2027-05-01T00:00:00Z"
  }'

activations_limit and expires_at are optional and fall back to the entitlement config when omitted. Each grant can be fulfilled once; retrying an already-fulfilled grant returns 409 rather than issuing a second key.

You do not need to email the key yourself — delivery happens automatically when the grant is fulfilled. This differs from importing keys via POST /license_keys, which intentionally does not notify the customer.

Activation, Validation, Deactivation

The activation/validation/deactivation API endpoints are public and require no API key. Use them directly from desktop software, CLIs, or browser-based clients to verify keys at runtime.

Public Endpoints: The activate, deactivate, and validate license endpoints are public and do not require an API key. Call them directly from your client applications without exposing your API credentials.

Activate a license

import DodoPayments from 'dodopayments';

// No API key needed for public license endpoints
const client = new DodoPayments();

const response = await client.licenses.activate({
  license_key: 'PRO-AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD',
  name: 'Device Name',
});

console.log(response.id);

Validate a license

const response = await client.licenses.validate({
  license_key: 'PRO-AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD',
});

console.log(response.valid);

Deactivate an activation instance

await client.licenses.deactivate({
  license_key: 'PRO-AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD',
  license_key_instance_id: 'instance_abc123',
});

Manage Keys

Open the License Key entitlement from your dashboard to see every grant (one row per customer key) with delivery date, activation count, and a revoke action. Each grant detail surfaces the underlying license key, expiry, activations used, and the activations limit. You can also list grants programmatically:

const grants = await client.entitlements.grants.list('ent_license_key_id', {
  status: 'delivered',
});

for (const grant of grants.items) {
  console.log(grant.license_key.key, grant.license_key.activations_used);
}

Import Existing License Keys via API

Already have license keys in another system? Use the Create License Key API to import them into Dodo Payments. This lets you migrate existing keys without disrupting your customers — they continue to activate, validate, and deactivate against the same key strings without re-issuance.

License keys created or updated through the API do not trigger email notifications to customers. If you need to notify customers about an imported key, handle that separately in your application.

const licenseKey = await client.licenseKeys.create({
  customer_id: 'cus_abc123',
  product_id: 'prod_456',
  key: 'YOUR-EXISTING-LICENSE-KEY',
  activations_limit: 5,
  expires_at: '2026-12-31T23:59:59Z',
});

How keys differ by source

Field	Auto-generated key	Manually fulfilled key	Imported key
`source`	`"auto"`	`"manual"`	`"import"`
Origin	Generated by Dodo Payments on payment	Supplied by you against a pending grant	Created/migrated via `POST /license_keys`
`payment_id`	Set to the originating payment	Resolved from the grant or its subscription	`null` (no Dodo Payments transaction)
`subscription_id`	Set if issued via a subscription	Set if the grant came from a subscription	`null` unless explicitly linked
Customer email notification	Sent on issuance	Sent on fulfillment	Not sent — handle separately

Use the source field on GET /license_keys responses to distinguish migrated inventory and manually fulfilled keys from organically issued keys when reconciling or auditing.

Migrating from Polar.sh or Lemon Squeezy? The dodo-migrate CLI automates bulk imports of products, customers, discounts, and license keys in a single command and maps external IDs to Dodo IDs automatically.

License Keys in Return URL

When a customer completes a purchase for a product with a License Key entitlement, the generated key is automatically appended to your return_url as a query parameter. This lets you display the key immediately on your success page without making an extra API call.

https://yoursite.com/return?payment_id=pay_xxx&status=succeeded&license_key=LK-001&email=customer%40example.com

If the purchase generates multiple keys (quantity > 1), they are comma-separated:

https://yoursite.com/return?payment_id=pay_xxx&status=succeeded&license_key=LK-001,LK-002&email=customer%40example.com

For subscriptions, subscription_id is used instead of payment_id:

https://yoursite.com/return?subscription_id=sub_xxx&status=active&license_key=LK-001&email=customer%40example.com

Parse the license_key parameter on your return page to show the key immediately, improving the post-purchase experience.

API Management

Lifecycle Operations (Public Endpoints)

Activation, deactivation, and validation are public; no API key required.

Activate License

Create or record an activation instance for a license key.

Deactivate License

Revoke a prior activation to free up capacity.

Validate License

Check authenticity, status, and constraints before granting access.

License Key Management

Create, list, retrieve, and update individual license key records. Use these to import existing keys or fetch usage details.

Create License Key

Create a new license key or import an existing one.

List License Keys

Browse all keys with status and usage details.

Get License Key

Retrieve a specific key and its metadata.

Update License Key

Modify expiry, activation limits, or enable/disable a key.

Entitlement Management

Manage the License Key entitlement itself: its activation limit, duration, and instructions.

Create Entitlement

Create a License Key entitlement.

Update Entitlement

Update the entitlement’s configuration.

List Grants

List the keys issued for an entitlement.

Revoke Grant

Manually revoke a customer’s key.

Webhooks

License-key delivery and revocation fire the four entitlement_grant.* webhook events. The grant payload includes a populated license_key object with the key, expiry, activations used, and limit. The legacy license_key.* events (license_key.created) continue to fire for the underlying license-key record lifecycle; see the License Key webhook payload page.

For new integrations, listen to entitlement_grant.delivered rather than license_key.created. The entitlement event tells you delivery is complete across all integrations on the product, not just the license key.

Legacy License Keys

Products created with the older license_key_enabled flag have been automatically migrated to a License Key entitlement. The migration is transparent: existing customers’ keys continue to work unchanged, the public /licenses/activate, /licenses/validate, /licenses/deactivate endpoints continue to function, and the /license_keys/* API endpoints continue to read and write to the same key store.The standalone License Keys dashboard section remains available as a flat list of every key issued, useful for audit and search. New configuration (changing activation limits, durations, or instructions) should be done by editing the migrated License Key entitlement under Entitlements.

Best Practices

Keep activation limits clear: Choose sensible defaults (1 for single-user apps, 3–5 for team licenses) and document them.
Provide precise activation instructions: Customers paste these from their email, so exact paths and commands save support tickets.
Validate keys server-side: For network-connected products, validate via /licenses/validate rather than caching activation locally.
Use webhooks for revocation: Listen to entitlement_grant.revoked to disable in-app features immediately when a customer cancels or refunds.
Test with subscriptions and one-times: License key behavior differs subtly between the two, so test both before going live.

​What are License Keys?

​Create a License Key Entitlement

​Attach to Products

​How Keys Are Issued

​Quantity behavior

​Fulfillment mode

​Manual Fulfillment

​When to use it

​Enable manual fulfillment

​Find grants awaiting fulfillment

​Deliver the key

​Activation, Validation, Deactivation

​Activate a license

​Validate a license

​Deactivate an activation instance

​Manage Keys

​Import Existing License Keys via API

​How keys differ by source

​License Keys in Return URL

​API Management

Activate License

Deactivate License

Validate License

Create License Key

List License Keys

Get License Key

Update License Key

Create Entitlement

Update Entitlement

List Grants

Revoke Grant

​Webhooks

​Legacy License Keys

​Best Practices

What are License Keys?

Create a License Key Entitlement

Attach to Products

How Keys Are Issued

Quantity behavior

Fulfillment mode

Manual Fulfillment

When to use it

Enable manual fulfillment

Find grants awaiting fulfillment

Deliver the key

Activation, Validation, Deactivation

Activate a license

Validate a license

Deactivate an activation instance

Manage Keys

Import Existing License Keys via API

How keys differ by source

License Keys in Return URL

API Management

Webhooks

Legacy License Keys

Best Practices