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>.

License Key entitlement form with activation limit, duration, and instructions

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.

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);

client.licenses.activate(
    license_key="PRO-AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD",
    name="Device Name",
)

curl -X POST https://test.dodopayments.com/licenses/activate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "license_key": "PRO-AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD",
    "name": "Device Name"
  }'

Validate a license

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

console.log(response.valid);

curl -X POST https://test.dodopayments.com/licenses/validate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "license_key": "PRO-AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD" }'

Deactivate an activation instance

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

Manage Keys

जब कोई ग्राहक मैनुअल-मोड उत्पाद खरीदता है, तो अनुदान pending स्थिति में बिना किसी कुंजी के बनता है और एक entitlement_grant.created webhook फायर करता है integration_type: "license_key" और status: "pending" के साथ। आप उस webhook पर प्रतिक्रिया कर सकते हैं, या integration_type और status फ़िल्टर के साथ List Customer Grants endpoint को पोल कर सकते हैं:

const pending = await client.customers.listEntitlementGrants('customer_id', {
  integration_type: 'license_key',
  status: 'Pending',
});

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 imported keys differ from auto-generated keys

Field	Auto-generated key	Imported key
`source`	`"auto"`	`"import"`
`payment_id`	Set to the originating payment	`null` (no Dodo Payments transaction)
`subscription_id`	Set if the key was issued via a subscription	`null` unless explicitly linked
Customer email notification	Sent on issuance	Not sent — handle separately

Use the source field on GET /license_keys responses to distinguish migrated inventory 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.

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);
}

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.

अपने रिटर्न पेज पर license_key पैरामीटर को पार्स करें ताकि कुंजी तुरंत दिखाई जा सके, जिससे खरीद के बाद का अनुभव सुधर सके।

API प्रबंधन

Lifecycle Operations (Public Endpoints)

सक्रियकरण, निष्क्रियता, और प्रमाणीकरण सार्वजनिक हैं; API कुंजी की आवश्यकता नहीं है।

Activate License

लाइसेंस कुंजी के लिए एक सक्रियण उदाहरण बनाएं या रिकॉर्ड करें।

Deactivate License

क्षमता खाली करने के लिए पिछला सक्रियण रद्द करें।

Validate License

पहुँच देने से पहले प्रामाणिकता, स्थिति, और प्रतिबंध जाँचें।

License Key Management

व्यक्तिगत लाइसेंस कुंजी रिकॉर्ड बनाएं, सूचीबद्ध करें, पुनः प्राप्त करें, और अपडेट करें। मौजूदा कुंजियों को आयात करने या उपयोग विवरण प्राप्त करने के लिए इनका उपयोग करें।

Create License Key

एक नई लाइसेंस कुंजी बनाएं या मौजूदा को आयात करें।

List License Keys

स्थिति और उपयोग विवरण के साथ सभी कुंजियों को ब्राउज़ करें।

Get License Key

किसी विशेष कुंजी और उसके मेटाडेटा को पुनः प्राप्त करें।

Update License Key

समाप्ति, सक्रियता सीमाएं संशोधित करें, या कुंजी को सक्षम/निष्क्रिय करें।

Entitlement Management

लाइसेंस कुंजी अधिकार स्वयं प्रबंधित करें: इसकी सक्रियता सीमा, अवधि, और निर्देश।

Create Entitlement

लाइसेंस कुंजी अधिकार बनाएं।

Update Entitlement

अधिकार के कॉन्फ़िगरेशन को अपडेट करें।

List Grants

अधिकार के लिए जारी कुंजियों की सूची बनाएं।

Revoke Grant

ग्राहक की कुंजी को मैन्युअल रूप से रद्द करें।

Webhooks

लाइसेंस-कुंजी वितरण और रद्दीकरण चार entitlement_grant.* webhook इवेंट्स को ट्रिगर करते हैं। अनुदान पेलोड में कुंजी, समाप्ति, उपयोग की गई सक्रियता, और सीमा के साथ एक भरा हुआ license_key ऑब्जेक्ट शामिल होता है। विरासत license_key.* इवेंट्स (license_key.created) अंतर्निहित लाइसेंस-कुंजी रिकॉर्ड जीवनचक्र के लिए फायर होते रहते हैं; देखें लाइसेंस कुंजी webhook पेलोड पेज।

नई एकीकरणों के लिए, entitlement_grant.delivered को सुनें बजाय license_key.created के। अधिकार घटना आपको बताती है कि सभी उत्पाद एकीकरणों में वितरण पूरा हो चुका है, न कि केवल लाइसेंस कुंजी।

पुरानी लाइसेंस कुंजियाँ

पुराने license_key_enabled ध्वज के साथ बनाए गए उत्पाद स्वतः माइग्रेट हो गए हैं लाइसेंस कुंजी अधिकार में। माइग्रेशन पारदर्शी है: मौजूदा ग्राहकों की कुंजियाँ बिना बदले काम करती रहती हैं, सार्वजनिक /licenses/activate, /licenses/validate, /licenses/deactivate एंडपॉइंट्स चालू रहते हैं, और /license_keys/* API एंडपॉइंट्स उसी कुंजी स्टोर को पढ़ते और लिखते रहते हैं।स्वतंत्र लाइसेंस कुंजियाँ डैशबोर्ड अनुभाग हर जारी की गई कुंजी की एक समतल सूची के रूप में उपलब्ध रहता है, जो ऑडिट और खोज के लिए उपयोगी है। नई कॉन्फ़िगरेशन (सक्रियता सीमाएं, अवधि, या निर्देश बदलना) अधिकारों के तहत माइग्रेटेड लाइसेंस कुंजी अधिकार को संपादित करके किया जाना चाहिए।

सर्वोत्तम प्रथाएँ

सक्रियता सीमाएं स्पष्ट रखें: उचित डिफ़ॉल्ट चुनें (एकल-उपयोगकर्ता ऐप्स के लिए 1, टीम लाइसेंस के लिए 3-5) और उन्हें दस्तावेज करें।
सटीक सक्रियता निर्देश प्रदान करें: ग्राहक इन्हें अपने ईमेल से कॉपी करते हैं, इसलिए सटीक पथ और कमांड समर्थन टिकट बचाते हैं।
कुंजियों को सर्वर-साइड सत्यापित करें: नेटवर्क से जुड़े उत्पादों के लिए, इसे लोकल सक्रियता कैश करने के बजाय /licenses/validate के माध्यम से सत्यापित करें।
रद्दीकरण के लिए webhooks का उपयोग करें: entitlement_grant.revoked को सुनें जब ग्राहक रद्द करते हैं या धनवापसी करते हैं तो ऐप फीचर्स को तुरंत अक्षम करने के लिए।
सदस्यताओं और एकबारगी के साथ परीक्षण करें: लाइसेंस कुंजी का व्यवहार दोनों के बीच मामूली रूप से भिन्न होता है, इसलिए लाइव जाने से पहले दोनों का परीक्षण करें।

​What are License Keys?

​Create a License Key Entitlement

​Attach to Products

​How Keys Are Issued

​Quantity behavior

​Activation, Validation, Deactivation

​Activate a license

​Validate a license

​Deactivate an activation instance

​Manage Keys

​Import Existing License Keys via API

​How imported keys differ from auto-generated keys

​License Keys in Return URL

​API Management

Activate License

Deactivate License

Validate License

Create License Key

Get License Key

Update License Key

Create Entitlement

Update Entitlement

List Grants

Revoke Grant

​Webhooks

​Legacy License Keys

​Best Practices

​API प्रबंधन

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

​पुरानी लाइसेंस कुंजियाँ

​सर्वोत्तम प्रथाएँ

What are License Keys?

Create a License Key Entitlement

Attach to Products

How Keys Are Issued

Quantity behavior

Activation, Validation, Deactivation

Activate a license

Validate a license

Deactivate an activation instance

Manage Keys

Import Existing License Keys via API

How imported keys differ from auto-generated keys

License Keys in Return URL

API Management

Webhooks

Legacy License Keys

Best Practices

API प्रबंधन

Webhooks

पुरानी लाइसेंस कुंजियाँ

सर्वोत्तम प्रथाएँ