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PermitCore
PermitCore

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Why a licensing API is only half of the product

#showdev #saas #webdev #security

When we first looked at software licensing, the problem seemed straightforward: create a license key, validate it inside the application, and manage activations.

Then we reached the part where somebody actually has to buy the license.

That turns licensing into a much larger project. You need a product page, pricing, checkout, payment verification, customers, orders, subscriptions, license fulfillment, delivery, and somewhere for the customer to find what they purchased. The license API may be ready, but the commercial workflow is still another product to build and maintain.

That is the gap we are trying to close with PermitCore.

Create → implement → sell

PermitCore connects the full workflow:

  1. Create a product and define its license rules.
  2. Add validation with the REST API or one of eight official SDKs: .NET, Node.js, Python, Java, C++, PHP, Go, and Unity.
  3. Publish the product in a customer-facing Store under your own brand.
  4. Accept payment through your connected Stripe account.
  5. Generate and deliver the working license automatically after checkout.

Products, prices, orders, customers, subscriptions, entitlements, and licenses stay connected instead of being split across a licensing dashboard, a custom checkout service, and several webhook handlers.

Why we made the Store part of licensing

Many licensing platforms treat commerce as an integration boundary.

For example, Keygen documents a Stripe flow where Stripe communicates with the licensing service through webhooks. LicenseSpring connects license fulfillment to services such as Stripe, FastSpring, and Shopify. Those are valid approaches, especially if a team already has a mature commerce stack.

But for an indie developer or a small software team, the missing checkout and fulfillment layer can become a second application. It has its own security work, failure states, support burden, and maintenance cost.

PermitCore takes a different approach: the Store is part of the licensing product. A vendor can go from defining a license to publishing the product for sale without building a separate commerce backend.

Your Stripe account, 0% PermitCore commission

Payments go directly through the vendor's connected Stripe account. PermitCore does not take a percentage of software sales.

That means the Store removes integration work without becoming a marketplace that sits between the vendor and the customer. Stripe still handles the payment relationship, while PermitCore connects a successful checkout to the correct order, entitlement, and license delivery.

When a separate commerce platform still makes sense

The built-in Store will not be the right answer for every business. If you already run a large Shopify, WooCommerce, or custom commerce operation, keeping that system and connecting fulfillment may make more sense.

Our goal is to give developers a complete default path when they do not want to build that entire layer themselves.

We are still a startup and continuing to produce documentation and videos, so our social channels are smaller than the product today. If you need anything while evaluating PermitCore, use the Contact Us page and we will help directly.

How are you handling this in your own products: a custom checkout, an external commerce platform, or one connected licensing and sales workflow?

🙂🚀

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