License

The license product type lets you create and manage software licenses that your application can validate against FOSSBilling over the API.

Tip

This is included with FOSSBilling but needs to be enabled from Extensions first.

How It Works

1. Customer purchases a license product
2. FOSSBilling generates a unique license key
3. Your application calls FOSSBilling's API to validate the license
4. FOSSBilling checks the license against your rules (IP, hostname, path, version)
5. Your application grants or denies access based on the response

Setting Up License Products

1. Enable the Extension

Go to Extensions and install "Service License".

2. Create a License Product

When creating the product, configure these options:

Option	Description
plugin	Which validation plugin to use (default: Simple)
prefix	Optional prefix for license keys (e.g., MYAPP-)
length	Length of the generated key (default: 25)
validate_ip	Check the IP address
validate_host	Check the hostname
validate_path	Check the installation path
validate_version	Check the software version

3. Distribute and Validate

Give customers their license key, then have your application validate it using the API.

API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Access	Description
/admin/servicelicense/plugin_get_pairs	GET/POST	Admin	List available license plugins
/admin/servicelicense/update	POST	Admin	Update license validation rules
/admin/servicelicense/reset	POST	Admin	Reset license to defaults
/guest/servicelicense/check	POST	Guest	Validate a license

Validating a License

Use a POST request with a JSON body to /api/guest/servicelicense/check. The endpoint requires no authentication.

Caution

Always send parameters in the request body. Query string parameters on a POST request are ignored.

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
license	Yes	string	The license key to validate
host	Yes	string	Hostname of the installation (e.g., example.com)
version	Yes	string	Software version (e.g., 1.0.0)
path	Yes	string	Installation path (e.g., /var/www/app)

The client's IP address is detected automatically from the request and does not need to be sent.

Tip

If you disabled validation for certain fields (like host or version), you can send dummy values for them.

Examples

curl

curl -X POST "https://example.com/api/guest/servicelicense/check" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "license": "MYAPP-ABCD1-EFGH2-IJKL3-MNOP4",
    "host": "customer-site.com",
    "version": "1.2.3",
    "path": "/var/www/myapp"
  }'

Python

import requests

url = "https://example.com/api/guest/servicelicense/check"
payload = {
    "license": "MYAPP-ABCD1-EFGH2-IJKL3-MNOP4",
    "host": "customer-site.com",
    "version": "1.2.3",
    "path": "/var/www/myapp"
}

response = requests.post(url, json=payload)
print(response.json())

Success Response

{
  "result": {
    "licensed_to": "Client Name",
    "created_at": "2025-01-01 12:00:00",
    "expires_at": null,
    "valid": true
  },
  "error": null
}

Field	Type	Description
licensed_to	string	Name of the license owner
created_at	string	License creation date (ISO 8601)
expires_at	string or null	Expiry date in ISO 8601, or null if no expiry
valid	bool	Whether the license passed all validation checks

Error Codes

Code	Message
1000	Invalid request. Parameters missing?
1001	License key is not present in call
1002	Host key is not present in call
1003	Version key is not present in call
1004	Path key is not present in call
1005	Your license key is invalid
1006	License is not active
1007	IP address is not allowed for this license
1008	Host is not allowed for this license
1009	Version is invalid for this license
1010	Software install path is invalid for this license
1020	Plugin-specific validation failure

Custom License Plugins

You can create your own license generation and validation logic.

Creating a Plugin

Place your plugin in /modules/Servicelicense/Plugin/YourPlugin.php:

class License_YourPlugin
{
    public function generate(array $data): string
    {
        return 'YOUR-KEY-HERE';
    }

    public function validate(\Model_ServiceLicense $service, array $data): array
    {
        if (empty($data['host'])) {
            throw new \LogicException('Host is required', 1020);
        }

        return ['host' => $data['host']];
    }
}

Plugin Requirements

• Class name must be License_PluginName
• File must be PluginName.php in the Plugin/ directory
• Must implement a generate() method
• Optional: implement a validate() method for custom rules

The Simple Plugin (Built-in)

The default Simple plugin generates keys like:

MYAPP-ABCD1-EFGH2-IJKL3-MNOP4

• 25 characters by default
• Optional prefix
• Dashes every 5 characters
• Uppercase letters and digits 1–9

See src/modules/Servicelicense/Plugin/Simple.php for the implementation.