Tiered Licensing with License Variables

License variables let you attach per-user metadata to each license key. By setting a plan variable (and feature-specific limits), you can gate functionality in your application based on the customer’s subscription tier.

Architecture

flowchart LR
    A["Stripe Payment"] --> B["Your Server"]
    B --> C["AuthForge API: Create License"]
    B --> D["AuthForge API: Set License Variables"]
    D --> E["SDK reads licenseVariables"]
    E --> F["App enables tier features"]

Step 1: Define your tiers

Decide what each tier includes:

This maps to license variables:

// Basic
{ "plan": "basic", "maxProjects": 3 }

// Pro
{ "plan": "pro", "maxProjects": 10, "features": "export,api" }

// Enterprise
{ "plan": "enterprise", "maxProjects": 50, "features": "export,api,priority-support,sso" }

Step 2: Create licenses with tier variables

When a customer subscribes, create a license and set the variables:

const PLAN_PRESETS = {
  basic: { plan: "basic", maxProjects: 3 },
  pro: { plan: "pro", maxProjects: 10, features: "export,api" },
  enterprise: {
    plan: "enterprise",
    maxProjects: 50,
    features: "export,api,priority-support,sso",
  },
};

async function createTieredLicense(appId, plan, label) {
  // Create the license
  const createRes = await fetch("https://api.authforge.cc/v1/licenses", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.AUTHFORGE_API_KEY}`,
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      appId,
      quantity: 1,
      maxHwidSlots: plan === "enterprise" ? 5 : 1,
      label,
    }),
  });

  const { licenses } = await createRes.json();
  const licenseKey = licenses[0].licenseKey;

  // Set tier variables
  await fetch(
    `https://api.authforge.cc/v1/licenses/${licenseKey}/variables`,
    {
      method: "PUT",
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.AUTHFORGE_API_KEY}`,
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
      },
      body: JSON.stringify(PLAN_PRESETS[plan]),
    }
  );

  return licenseKey;
}

Step 3: Read tier variables in the SDK

if client.login(license_key):
    plan = client.license_variables.get("plan", "basic")
    max_projects = int(client.license_variables.get("maxProjects", 3))
    features = client.license_variables.get("features", "").split(",")

    print(f"Plan: {plan} | Max projects: {max_projects}")

    if "export" in features:
        enable_export()

    if "api" in features:
        enable_api_access()

    if "sso" in features:
        enable_sso()

if (client.Login(licenseKey))
{
    var vars = client.LicenseVariables;
    var plan = vars.GetValueOrDefault("plan", "basic")?.ToString() ?? "basic";
    var maxProjects = int.Parse(vars.GetValueOrDefault("maxProjects", "3")?.ToString() ?? "3");
    var features = (vars.GetValueOrDefault("features", "")?.ToString() ?? "").Split(',');

    Console.WriteLine($"Plan: {plan} | Max projects: {maxProjects}");

    if (features.Contains("export")) EnableExport();
    if (features.Contains("api")) EnableApiAccess();
    if (features.Contains("sso")) EnableSso();
}

Step 4: Handle plan upgrades

When a customer upgrades (e.g., Basic → Pro), update their license variables:

async function upgradePlan(licenseKey, newPlan) {
  await fetch(
    `https://api.authforge.cc/v1/licenses/${licenseKey}/variables`,
    {
      method: "PUT",
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.AUTHFORGE_API_KEY}`,
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
      },
      body: JSON.stringify(PLAN_PRESETS[newPlan]),
    }
  );
}

The user picks up the new plan the next time they authenticate.

Stripe integration

Map Stripe price IDs to plan tiers:

const PRICE_TO_PLAN = {
  price_basic_monthly: "basic",
  price_basic_yearly: "basic",
  price_pro_monthly: "pro",
  price_pro_yearly: "pro",
  price_enterprise_monthly: "enterprise",
  price_enterprise_yearly: "enterprise",
};

async function handleCheckoutCompleted(session) {
  const lineItems = await stripe.checkout.sessions.listLineItems(session.id);
  const priceId = lineItems.data[0].price.id;
  const plan = PRICE_TO_PLAN[priceId] || "basic";

  const licenseKey = await createTieredLicense(
    process.env.AUTHFORGE_APP_ID,
    plan,
    `Stripe ${session.id}`
  );

  await db.saveSubscription({
    customerId: session.customer,
    subscriptionId: session.subscription,
    licenseKey,
    plan,
  });

  await sendLicenseEmail(session.customer_details.email, licenseKey);
}

Displaying tier info in the app

Show users what their plan includes and offer upgrade prompts:

if client.login(license_key):
    plan = client.license_variables.get("plan", "basic")

    if plan == "basic":
        show_upgrade_banner(
            "Upgrade to Pro for export, API access, and 10 projects.",
            url="https://yoursite.com/upgrade"
        )

Next steps

• App & License Variables; Variable documentation
• Commerce; Sell tiers through Stripe with product mappings
• Custom Stripe webhooks; Self-hosted Stripe integration when you need it
• Subscription Lifecycle; Managing subscription state