# Integrating Keysat licensing into your software This document is the complete instruction set for adding Keysat-based licensing to any application. It covers Node/TypeScript, Python, and Rust. Hand it to an LLM (or a developer) along with your codebase and ask them to wire it up — they should have everything they need. ## How to use this document Drop `KEYSAT_INTEGRATION.md` into a fresh session against the target codebase, then prompt: > Read this `KEYSAT_INTEGRATION.md`. Then add Keysat licensing to this > codebase. Ask the software creator how they would like to license, > monetize and/or gate their software, including how unlicensed software > should operate. Use the creator's Keysat public key which can be found > in the Keysat admin UI. After wiring, summarize what you changed. > **Reading this as an LLM?** Your job is to add license-key reading, > signature verification, and entitlement-based feature gating to the > target application. Before you write any code, ask the software creator > the questions in section 0. Then read sections 1–6, then jump to the > language section (7a/7b/7c) that matches your target codebase. The > "Worked example" in section 14 is the canonical pattern to mimic. --- ## 0. Questions to ask the software creator before writing code Don't write any code until you have answers. The whole licensing model hangs on these: 1. **What's the operator's Keysat instance URL?** (e.g. `https://licensing.example.com`. Used for online validation and the in-app purchase flow.) 2. **What's the operator's product slug?** (Short string the operator chose when creating the product in their Keysat admin. License keys are scoped to this slug.) 3. **What's the operator's signing public key?** (PEM-formatted Ed25519 public key. Get it from the Keysat admin Overview tab → "Embed your public key" → Copy. The operator pastes it; you embed it.) 4. **How should unlicensed users experience the app?** Three legitimate patterns; pick whichever fits the operator's business model. **None is "wrong."** - **Hard gate** — the app downloads freely from the Start9 registry, but won't function without a paid license. The binary is essentially a locked installer until the buyer activates. Common for closed-source paid apps and for open-source apps that the operator chooses to monetize through the registry distribution. See section 8 for the two flavors of hard gating (refuse-to-start vs. activate-screen-only). - **Soft gate** — the app runs and provides basic functionality unlicensed; specific paid features return 402 with an "Upgrade to unlock" message. Recommended for free → paid migrations and for freemium products. - **Nag mode** — no enforcement; just a "support development" banner when unlicensed. Pure honor system. Useful when the app is fundamentally free-to-use but the operator wants a tip-jar. Nudge the operator if their answer doesn't match their business reality. Closed-source-paid + nag-mode is incoherent; freemium + hard-gate alienates the existing user base. 5. **What are the entitlement strings, and what does each unlock?** The operator decides; ask them. Common patterns: - `["self_host"]` for a free tier — "you can run the app, no premium features" - `["self_host", "export", "ai_features", "team_seats"]` for a paid tier - `["patron"]` extra for a vanity supporter tier Document the mapping (entitlement string → feature unlocked) in your integration so the operator can ship the right policies. 6. **Where should the license key live on disk at runtime?** Default: `/data/license.txt` for server / containerized apps, or `~/.config//license.key` for desktop apps. Operator may override. 7. **Which pricing tiers exist** and roughly what they cost? (Optional for the integration itself, but useful for shaping the "Upgrade" message that shows when an unlicensed user hits a paid feature.) If the creator doesn't know yet, propose sensible defaults from the ranges above and confirm before coding. 8. **Compile a config card before writing code.** After answering 1–7, produce a short summary the operator can paste into the Keysat admin without re-deriving anything. This is the single highest-leverage step for avoiding "wait, what entitlements did we agree on?" churn later. The card has three parts: - **Product**: the slug from question 2. - **Policies**: each policy's name and the entitlement set it issues. Treat this as the operator's pricing menu — one policy per tier. - **Behavior matrix**: caller state → what happens. Lets the operator sanity-check the gating model (question 4) against the policy set. Show the card to the operator, get explicit confirmation, *then* write code. Example for a two-tier hard-gate-flavor-2 freemium app: ``` Product slug: youtube-summarizer Policies to create in Keysat admin: • Core → entitlements: ["core"] • Pro → entitlements: ["core", "subscriptions", "history", "library"] Entitlement → unlocks: core — past the activation screen; basic summarize subscriptions — channel subscriptions, auto-queue history — saved summary library library — bulk import/export Behavior matrix: no license → 402 license_required everywhere Core license → summarize works; subs/history/library = 402 feature_not_in_tier Pro license → all features available ``` Without this card, mid-implementation drift is near-certain — the LLM gates on `library_io`, the operator creates a policy with `library`, and the buyer sees a "feature not in tier" error on a feature they thought they paid for. --- ## 1. What Keysat does, in one paragraph Keysat lets independent software creators sell their work on their own terms. The operator (the creator) runs a Keysat instance — typically on a Start9 box — and Keysat handles the buy page, the Bitcoin payment via BTCPay, and issuing each buyer a signed license key in `LIC1-…-…` form. **Your software's job** is to read that key from somewhere on disk (a file, an env var, a config setting) and verify its signature against the operator's public key. What happens after verification is up to the creator: maybe the app refuses to function without a license (one-time purchase model), maybe specific features unlock (free + paid tiers), maybe nothing changes and the verified license is just used to show a "thanks for supporting development" badge. You never talk to a Keysat server at runtime unless you want to — verification is offline, fast (~1ms), and doesn't depend on the network. --- ## 2. The whole integration in 30 seconds ``` 1. Install the Keysat SDK in your language. 2. Embed the operator's PUBLIC key into your app at build time. 3. On startup, read the license key from disk; verify it; populate an `entitlements` set. 4. Throughout your code, gate paid features with `if entitlements.has("X")`. 5. (Optional) On a timer, also call /v1/validate to catch revocations. ``` Everything else is polish. --- ## 3. Prerequisites — three things you need from the operator 1. **A Keysat instance reachable on the public internet.** Typically something like `https://licensing.example.com`. The operator already has this; you don't need to install one. 2. **A product slug** the operator created in their Keysat. This is a short string (`acme-paint-pro`, `myapp`, etc.). Licenses issued for one slug won't validate against another — this is intentional and stops a customer from buying a cheap product and using its key to unlock an expensive one. 3. **The operator's signing public key in PEM form.** This is what you embed in source. Get it from: - The admin Overview tab → "Embed your public key" tip card → Copy - Or `curl https://licensing.example.com/v1/issuer/public-key | jq -r .public_key_pem` The PEM is non-secret — **anyone with the public key can verify licenses but not mint them.** It's safe to commit to source control and ship in your binary. 4. **The public buy URL for your product.** Each product on a Keysat instance has a buyer-facing page at `/buy/`. Use this for "Buy a key" / "Upgrade to Pro" links in your app's activation screen, settings, and per-feature upsell tiles. Compute it from the same constants you've already embedded — don't hard-code a separate URL that can drift: ```ts const buyUrl = `${KEYSAT_BASE_URL.replace(/\/$/, "")}/buy/${PRODUCT_SLUG}` ``` The simpler "link to a buy page" path (this URL) is fine for most apps. If you want a more integrated checkout, see section 11 for `client.startPurchase()`. --- ## 4. The wire format you'll be reading License keys look like: ``` LIC1-AIAMCWOS5JVHSQE2UMP6PNKXODHSIPHM5O3XQQ2J6CE4XV6WVNMA3BIAAAAA… ``` A `LIC1-` prefix, then two base32 segments separated by `-`. The first segment is a binary payload; the second is an Ed25519 signature over the payload. The SDK parses and verifies in one call. You should never need to handle the encoding manually. The signed payload contains: - `product_id` (UUID) — for matching against your product slug - `license_id` (UUID) — useful for logging - `issued_at` (Unix seconds) - `expires_at` (Unix seconds; 0 means perpetual) - `flags` (bitfield; `FLAG_TRIAL=1`) - `entitlements: string[]` — **this is the array you gate features on** - `fingerprint_hash` (32 bytes; for online machine-binding) Your software reads `entitlements` and decides what to unlock. --- ## 5. Where to read the license from There's no one-size-fits-all answer; pick one based on how your users interact with your app. **Recommended order**: 1. **A file in the user's data directory.** On Linux this is typically `~/.config//license.key`, or `/data/license.txt` for server software running in a container. The file contains exactly one line: the raw `LIC1-…` string. This is the most common pattern. 2. **An environment variable** like `MYAPP_LICENSE_KEY`. Useful for server-side software, CLIs, Docker Compose, and systemd. Easy to set, but users forget they set it and lose track. 3. **A "paste your license key" UI** in your app's settings, with the value persisted to localStorage / OS keychain / your own config. Most familiar to users coming from commercial software. 4. **Multiple of the above.** A common pattern is: "env var first, then file, then UI prompt." All three give you a license string either way; the SDK doesn't care where it came from. For Start9 packages: there's a [activate-license-template](./activate-license-template/) that wires this up for you using StartOS Actions and the package store. Copy that template, replace the slug, and you've got Pattern 1 + a StartOS Actions UI for buyers to paste keys into. --- ## 6. The canonical integration pattern Every integration follows the same shape regardless of language and regardless of which enforcement model from question 4 the operator picked. The verify-once-at-startup primitive is the same; what you do with the result is what changes. ``` on startup: raw_key = read_license_string() # file, env, or UI value license_state = {state: 'unlicensed', entitlements: []} if raw_key is not None: result = verify(raw_key, ISSUER_PEM) # SDK call if result.is_valid: license_state = { state: 'licensed', entitlements: result.entitlements, license_id: result.license_id, expires_at: result.expires_at, } else: log("license rejected: " + result.reason) # Then — depending on the operator's chosen model: # # HARD GATE : if not licensed, exit (Flavor 1) or block all # business endpoints (Flavor 2). See section 7d. # # SOFT GATE : run normally; specific feature handlers consult # license_state.entitlements before unlocking. # See section 7a/7b/7c. # # NAG MODE : run normally; show a "support development" banner # in the UI when license_state.state != 'licensed'. ``` The verify-and-populate-state step is identical for all three models. The doc is structured the same way: section 7 covers the verify primitive in each language; section 7d covers the hard-gate enforcement flavors; the worked examples in section 14 show soft-gate; the patterns are mix-and-match. **One universal rule across all three models:** never hard-fail on *network* errors during the optional online `validate()` call (section 9). That's separate from refusing to start when no license is present — which is fine for hard-gate Flavor 1. The thing to avoid is making your app's uptime depend on the operator's licensing server being reachable. **Don't forget background workers.** HTTP middleware gates only catch incoming requests. If you have in-process timers, schedulers, queue consumers, or other background jobs that exercise gated features, add an explicit early-return at the top of each one: ```js async function checkSubscriptionsBackground() { if (!LIC.entitlements.has("subscriptions")) return // skip silently // … existing work } ``` Otherwise an unlicensed (or insufficient-tier) instance will keep doing work the buyer didn't pay for — wasting bandwidth, API quota, and server CPU, and producing stale state in the UI when entitlements are later restored. This bites people because the server returns 402 to direct callers but the timer keeps humming along. --- ## 7. Language-specific implementations ### 7a. TypeScript / Node **Install (preferred, once published):** ```bash npm install @keysat/licensing-client ``` **GitHub fallback** (if the npm package isn't published yet). Several prerequisites must be met for this path to work end-to-end: 1. The `keysat-xyz/keysat-client-ts` repo must be **public** on GitHub. Private repos require credentials, which fails inside hermetic build environments (Docker, CI, fresh dev machines without an SSH key). If the repo flips public temporarily for one build, every future build re-hits this wall — prefer publishing to npm if at all possible. 2. The repo must include a `prepare` script in `package.json` that builds `dist/` on git-install. This is fixed as of this doc; if you see `Cannot find module '...dist/index.cjs'` after install, the SDK you're pulling pre-dates the fix and you need a newer commit. 3. **Use the explicit `git+https://` URL form**, not the `github:` shorthand: ```jsonc // package.json "@keysat/licensing-client": "git+https://github.com/keysat-xyz/keysat-client-ts.git" ``` The `github:user/repo` shorthand often resolves to `git+ssh://...` on machines with an existing GitHub SSH key, which then breaks for any subsequent integrator without a key (CI, Docker, a fresh laptop). 4. **If you switched from `github:` to `git+https://`, also delete the stale lock-file entry.** `npm install` will keep the previous `resolved: "git+ssh://..."` line in `package-lock.json` even after you change the spec in `package.json`. The fastest fix is: ```bash rm package-lock.json node_modules npm cache clean --force npm install ``` Or hand-edit the `resolved:` field of the offending entry to swap `git+ssh://` → `git+https://`, leaving the commit hash unchanged. When all four are satisfied: ```bash npm install github:keysat-xyz/keysat-client-ts ``` **Embed the public key.** The simplest way is to commit the PEM file to your repo at `assets/issuer.pub` and import it as a raw string: ```ts // in your bundler config (Vite shown) import issuerPem from './assets/issuer.pub?raw' ``` Or in plain Node: ```ts import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs' import * as path from 'node:path' const issuerPem = readFileSync(path.join(__dirname, 'assets/issuer.pub'), 'utf8') ``` **Verify on startup:** ```ts import { Verifier, PublicKey } from '@keysat/licensing-client' import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs' const PRODUCT_SLUG = '' const LICENSE_PATH = process.env.MYAPP_LICENSE_KEY_PATH || '/data/license.txt' function readLicenseKey(): string | null { if (process.env.MYAPP_LICENSE_KEY) return process.env.MYAPP_LICENSE_KEY.trim() try { return readFileSync(LICENSE_PATH, 'utf8').trim() } catch { return null } } const verifier = new Verifier(PublicKey.fromPem(issuerPem)) export interface LicenseState { state: 'licensed' | 'unlicensed' | 'invalid' reason?: string licenseId?: string entitlements: Set expiresAt?: Date isTrial?: boolean } export function checkLicense(): LicenseState { const raw = readLicenseKey() if (!raw) return { state: 'unlicensed', entitlements: new Set() } try { const ok = verifier.verify(raw) // (optional) reject keys for the wrong product slug if (ok.payload.productSlug && ok.payload.productSlug !== PRODUCT_SLUG) { return { state: 'invalid', reason: 'product_mismatch', entitlements: new Set() } } return { state: 'licensed', licenseId: ok.payload.licenseId, entitlements: new Set(ok.payload.entitlements || []), expiresAt: ok.payload.expiresAt ? new Date(ok.payload.expiresAt * 1000) : undefined, isTrial: !!(ok.payload.flags & 1), } } catch (e: any) { return { state: 'invalid', reason: e.message, entitlements: new Set() } } } ``` **Use the state object** wherever a feature is gated: ```ts const lic = checkLicense() console.log(`[license] state=${lic.state} entitlements=[${[...lic.entitlements].join(',')}]`) // In an Express route: app.post('/api/export', (req, res) => { if (!lic.entitlements.has('export')) { return res.status(402).json({ error: 'feature_not_in_tier', message: 'Export requires a paid license. See .', }) } // ... existing export logic }) ``` ### 7b. Python **Install (preferred, once published):** ```bash pip install keysat-licensing-client ``` **GitHub fallback** (if the PyPI package isn't published yet). The `keysat-xyz/keysat-client-python` repo must be **public** on GitHub for this to work in clean environments: ```bash pip install git+https://github.com/keysat-xyz/keysat-client-python.git ``` (Python's pip-from-git path is simpler than npm's — no separate build step is required since pure-Python packages are installable from source.) **Embed the public key** at a path your code can read: ```python # myapp/license.py from pathlib import Path ISSUER_PEM = (Path(__file__).parent / 'assets' / 'issuer.pub').read_text() ``` **Verify on startup:** ```python # myapp/license.py import os from dataclasses import dataclass, field from datetime import datetime from pathlib import Path from typing import Optional from keysat_licensing_client import Verifier PRODUCT_SLUG = '' LICENSE_PATH = os.environ.get('MYAPP_LICENSE_KEY_PATH', '/data/license.txt') ISSUER_PEM = (Path(__file__).parent / 'assets' / 'issuer.pub').read_text() _verifier = Verifier.from_pem(ISSUER_PEM) @dataclass class LicenseState: state: str # 'licensed' | 'unlicensed' | 'invalid' reason: Optional[str] = None license_id: Optional[str] = None entitlements: set = field(default_factory=set) expires_at: Optional[datetime] = None is_trial: bool = False def _read_license_key() -> Optional[str]: if env := os.environ.get('MYAPP_LICENSE_KEY'): return env.strip() try: return Path(LICENSE_PATH).read_text().strip() except (FileNotFoundError, PermissionError): return None def check_license() -> LicenseState: raw = _read_license_key() if not raw: return LicenseState(state='unlicensed') try: ok = _verifier.verify(raw) return LicenseState( state='licensed', license_id=str(ok.payload.license_id), entitlements=set(ok.payload.entitlements or []), expires_at=datetime.fromtimestamp(ok.payload.expires_at) if ok.payload.expires_at else None, is_trial=bool(ok.payload.flags & 1), ) except Exception as e: return LicenseState(state='invalid', reason=str(e)) ``` **Use it:** ```python # myapp/server.py from .license import check_license LIC = check_license() print(f'[license] state={LIC.state} entitlements={LIC.entitlements}') @app.post('/api/export') def export_endpoint(): if 'export' not in LIC.entitlements: abort(402, description={ 'error': 'feature_not_in_tier', 'message': 'Export requires a paid license.', }) # ... do the thing ``` ### 7c. Rust **Install (preferred, once published):** ```toml # Cargo.toml [dependencies] keysat-licensing-client = "0.1" ``` **Git fallback** (if not on crates.io yet). The `keysat-xyz/keysat-client-rust` repo must be **public** on GitHub: ```toml keysat-licensing-client = { git = "https://github.com/keysat-xyz/keysat-client-rust.git" } ``` Cargo builds from source, so no separate build step is required. **Embed the public key:** ```rust const ISSUER_PEM: &str = include_str!("../assets/issuer.pub"); ``` **Verify on startup:** ```rust // src/license.rs use keysat_licensing_client::{Verifier, PublicKeyPem}; use std::collections::HashSet; use std::path::PathBuf; pub const PRODUCT_SLUG: &str = ""; pub const ISSUER_PEM: &str = include_str!("../assets/issuer.pub"); #[derive(Debug, Clone)] pub struct LicenseState { pub state: &'static str, // "licensed" | "unlicensed" | "invalid" pub reason: Option, pub license_id: Option, pub entitlements: HashSet, pub expires_at: Option>, pub is_trial: bool, } impl Default for LicenseState { fn default() -> Self { Self { state: "unlicensed", reason: None, license_id: None, entitlements: HashSet::new(), expires_at: None, is_trial: false, } } } fn read_license_key() -> Option { if let Ok(s) = std::env::var("MYAPP_LICENSE_KEY") { let s = s.trim().to_string(); if !s.is_empty() { return Some(s) } } let path = std::env::var("MYAPP_LICENSE_KEY_PATH") .unwrap_or_else(|_| "/data/license.txt".to_string()); std::fs::read_to_string(PathBuf::from(path)) .ok() .map(|s| s.trim().to_string()) .filter(|s| !s.is_empty()) } pub fn check_license() -> LicenseState { let raw = match read_license_key() { Some(s) => s, None => return LicenseState::default(), }; let pubkey = match PublicKeyPem::from_str(ISSUER_PEM) { Ok(k) => k, Err(e) => return LicenseState { state: "invalid", reason: Some(format!("bad pubkey embedded: {e}")), ..Default::default() }, }; let verifier = Verifier::new(pubkey); match verifier.verify(&raw) { Ok(ok) => LicenseState { state: "licensed", license_id: Some(ok.payload.license_id.to_string()), entitlements: ok.payload.entitlements.into_iter().collect(), expires_at: if ok.payload.expires_at == 0 { None } else { chrono::DateTime::from_timestamp(ok.payload.expires_at, 0) }, is_trial: (ok.payload.flags & 1) != 0, ..Default::default() }, Err(e) => LicenseState { state: "invalid", reason: Some(e.to_string()), ..Default::default() }, } } ``` **Use it:** ```rust let lic = license::check_license(); tracing::info!(state = lic.state, entitlements = ?lic.entitlements, "license loaded"); // At a feature gate: if !lic.entitlements.contains("export") { return Err(MyError::PaymentRequired( "Export requires a paid license.".into() )); } ``` ### 7d. Hard-gate patterns — "the app doesn't function without a license" If the operator chose **hard gate** in the section-0 questions (binary freely downloadable, but locked until activated), use one of these two flavors instead of the entitlements-as-feature-flags pattern above. The verifier helpers from 7a / 7b / 7c are still the right primitive — the difference is what you do with the result. **Flavor 1: Refuse to start.** The daemon exits at boot with a clear log line if there's no valid license. StartOS will show the service as crashing — the operator's README needs to tell buyers "install the license first via Actions → Set license, then start the service." ```ts // TypeScript / Node const lic = checkLicense() if (lic.state !== 'licensed') { console.error(`[license] not licensed (${lic.state}): ${lic.reason || ''}`) console.error(`[license] paste a license key into ${LICENSE_PATH} via the StartOS "Set license" action, then restart.`) process.exit(1) } ``` ```python # Python lic = check_license() if lic.state != 'licensed': log.error(f'[license] not licensed ({lic.state}): {lic.reason or ""}') log.error(f'[license] paste a license key, then restart.') raise SystemExit(1) ``` ```rust // Rust let lic = license::check_license(); if lic.state != "licensed" { eprintln!("[license] not licensed ({}): {}", lic.state, lic.reason.unwrap_or_default()); eprintln!("[license] paste a license key, then restart."); std::process::exit(1); } ``` This is the most aggressive option. Use when (a) the app is closed-source and there's no "free version" of the binary anyone could compile, and (b) the operator is OK with StartOS surfacing the service as unhealthy until activated. **Flavor 2: Run, but block all real work behind an "Activate" screen.** The daemon starts normally, but every business endpoint returns 402 until a license is activated. Only the activation endpoint(s) and a status endpoint are open. Buyers see a clean "paste your license to get started" UI on first run; StartOS shows the service as healthy. Generally a better buyer experience than Flavor 1. ```ts // TypeScript / Express — middleware that gates everything except // the activation paths. const ACTIVATION_PATHS = new Set([ '/api/license-status', // for the frontend to render activation UI '/api/activate', // accepts a pasted license key, writes to file, refreshes state '/healthz', // for StartOS / orchestration ]) let LIC = checkLicense() // mutable; refresh after activation app.use((req, res, next) => { if (ACTIVATION_PATHS.has(req.path)) return next() if (LIC.state !== 'licensed') { return res.status(402).json({ error: 'license_required', message: 'This service requires a Keysat license to function.', activate_url: '/activate', // your frontend's activation page state: LIC.state, reason: LIC.reason, }) } next() }) // Activation endpoint — accepts a pasted key, writes it, re-checks. app.post('/api/activate', express.json(), (req, res) => { const key = (req.body.license_key || '').trim() if (!key.startsWith('LIC1-')) { return res.status(400).json({ error: 'bad_format', message: 'Expected a LIC1-… key.' }) } fs.writeFileSync(LICENSE_PATH, key + '\n') LIC = checkLicense() if (LIC.state === 'licensed') { return res.json({ ok: true, state: 'licensed', entitlements: [...LIC.entitlements] }) } return res.status(400).json({ error: 'invalid', state: LIC.state, reason: LIC.reason }) }) ``` ```python # Python / Flask — same idea ACTIVATION_PATHS = {'/api/license-status', '/api/activate', '/healthz'} LIC = check_license() # module-level; reload after activation @app.before_request def license_gate(): if request.path in ACTIVATION_PATHS: return None if LIC.state != 'licensed': return jsonify({ 'error': 'license_required', 'message': 'This service requires a Keysat license to function.', 'state': LIC.state, 'reason': LIC.reason, }), 402 @app.post('/api/activate') def activate(): global LIC key = (request.json or {}).get('license_key', '').strip() if not key.startswith('LIC1-'): return {'error': 'bad_format'}, 400 Path(LICENSE_PATH).write_text(key + '\n') LIC = check_license() if LIC.state == 'licensed': return {'ok': True, 'entitlements': sorted(LIC.entitlements)} return {'error': 'invalid', 'state': LIC.state, 'reason': LIC.reason}, 400 ``` ```rust // Rust / axum — same idea: a middleware layer that guards all admin // routes, plus an /api/activate endpoint that accepts a key and updates // the in-memory state. // // Sketch (full impl follows the existing axum middleware pattern): // Router::new() // .route("/api/license-status", get(license_status)) // .route("/api/activate", post(activate)) // .route("/healthz", get(healthz)) // .nest("/api", api_routes()) // .layer(axum::middleware::from_fn_with_state(state.clone(), license_gate)) // // Inside `license_gate`, return 402 unless the request path is in // ACTIVATION_PATHS or `state.license.read().await.state == "licensed"`. ``` **How would Keysat itself do this?** Keysat already has the `Mode::Enforce` build-time flag in [`license_self.rs`](./licensing-service-startos/licensing-service/src/license_self.rs): when built with `KEYSAT_LICENSE_ENFORCE=1`, missing or invalid licenses cause the daemon to refuse to start (Flavor 1). Default Permissive builds run unlicensed at Creator-tier caps. To switch Keysat to Flavor 2 ("run but block until activated") would mean: keep the existing boot-time license check non-fatal, expose `/admin/login`-style activation endpoints under a hardcoded allowlist, and have an axum middleware return 402 on every other admin/business endpoint until `state.self_tier` flips from `Unlicensed` to `Licensed`. The pieces are all there — it's a few hundred lines of axum middleware + an SPA "Activate" splash screen. ### 7e. Packaging gotchas — Docker, s9pk, hermetic builds Most non-trivial integrations end up packaged in Docker (Start9 s9pk, generic container deploys, CI-built images). The following gotchas together account for ~80% of the "it works locally but the build fails" failure mode: **1. Slim base images don't ship `git`, `ssh`, or `ca-certificates`.** `node:20-slim`, `python:3.11-slim`, etc. are intentionally minimal. If you have a git-URL dependency (e.g. the GitHub fallback above), you'll need at least these in the *builder* stage: ```dockerfile RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \ git ca-certificates \ && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* ``` Without `git`: npm errors with `spawn git ENOENT` when resolving the dependency. Without `ca-certificates`: HTTPS clones fail with `SSL certificate problem: unable to get local issuer certificate`. **2. npm's git resolver tries `ssh://` for github.com URLs first.** Even if your `package.json` spec and `package-lock.json` `resolved` both say `git+https://`, npm internally tries SSH first when the host is github.com. In a container with no SSH client or key, this fails. Force git to silently rewrite SSH URLs to HTTPS: ```dockerfile RUN git config --global --add url."https://github.com/".insteadOf "ssh://git@github.com/" \ && git config --global --add url."https://github.com/".insteadOf "git@github.com:" \ && git config --global --add url."https://github.com/".insteadOf "git://github.com/" ``` The `--add` flag matters — without it, each subsequent invocation overwrites the previous one (they share a key) and only the last rewrite is active. **3. Don't forget to `COPY` your new license module.** If your Dockerfile lists individual server files explicitly: ```dockerfile COPY server/package.json ./server/ COPY server/index.js ./server/ COPY public/ ./public/ COPY assets/ ./assets/ ``` …the build will succeed, the image will start, and then crash at runtime with `Cannot find module './license.js'`. Add a line for the license module: ```dockerfile COPY server/license.js ./server/ # ← easy to miss ``` This is the single most common "package builds, container won't boot" failure when retro-fitting licensing into an existing app. **4. Make's incremental rebuild can mask uncommitted changes.** s9pk build chains often look like `make x86 → start-cli s9pk pack → docker build`. Make may decide nothing's newer than the existing `.s9pk` because its dependencies typically include `.git/index` (which only updates on `git add`). Symptom: you change a source file, rebuild, get an instant "✅ Build Complete!" with the same package as before. Either stage your changes (`git add -A`) so `.git/index` updates, or delete the existing `.s9pk` to force a rebuild: ```bash rm myapp_x86_64.s9pk && make x86 ``` **5. The `--ignore-scripts` flag will skip the SDK's `prepare` build.** If your Dockerfile uses `npm ci --ignore-scripts` (a common security hardening), the SDK won't build its `dist/` and you'll hit the "Cannot find module" runtime error from §7a. Either drop `--ignore-scripts` for the builder stage, or pre-build the SDK elsewhere and vendor `dist/` in. ### 7f. Frontend integration for hard-gate Flavor 2 If you picked hard-gate Flavor 2 (server starts, business endpoints return 402 until activated), **the frontend is half the work** — otherwise unlicensed users see a sea of fetch errors instead of a clean activation screen. The pattern below is framework-agnostic and works in vanilla JS, React, Vue, etc. **Step 1: Fetch license-status before any other API call.** It's the prerequisite for deciding what to render. ```js async function loadLicenseStatus() { const r = await fetch("/api/license-status") return r.json() // { state, entitlements, productSlug, keysatBaseUrl, … } } ``` **Step 2: Render the activation screen as a top-level guard.** If `state !== "licensed"` (or the `core` entitlement is missing), replace the entire app body with the activation card. Don't render the normal UI underneath — every API call would 402 anyway, producing visible broken state. ```jsx if (lic.state !== "licensed" || !lic.entitlements.includes("core")) { return activate(key)} /> } return ``` **Step 3: The activation card needs four things:** - A `