keygen

Bilingual

How to License and Distribute a Private Ruby Gem
2 months ago
- The blog post is outdated but still useful for S3-compatible distribution; Keygen now offers an official Rubygems engine.
- Keygen can be used to license and distribute private Ruby gems, similar to previous guides for Docker, Node packages, and Electron apps.
- The open-core licensing model (e.g., Sidekiq Pro) is a popular business model for commercial gems.
- Steps to build a Ruby gem: create directory structure, define class, create gemspec, build the gem using `gem build`.
- Generate a private gem source index using `gem generate_index` to produce required files (specs, quick spec, etc.).
- Publish the gem to Keygen using the Keygen CLI: set environment variables, create a release, upload artifacts (gem, index files, quick spec), then publish and tag the release.
- Install the gem by adding a Gemfile source with a license token in the URL (e.g., `https://license:TOKEN@api.keygen.sh/...`).
- The process can be automated with a Rakefile for easy publishing of new gem versions.
Announcing the Portal open beta
2 months ago
- Keygen announces the open beta of Portal, a brand new dashboard replacing the legacy one built in 2016.
- Portal covers the full Keygen API, including previously unsupported features like environments and overrides.
- It simplifies policy creation with a new wizard flow and is designed to reduce licensing complexity.
- Portal is open source under Apache 2.0 and can be self-hosted against Keygen Cloud or self-hosted instances.
- The legacy dashboard will remain available during the beta but will be deprecated after general availability.
- Users are encouraged to report bugs and request features via GitHub or Discord.
Keygen continues the Open Source Pledge
2 months ago
- Keygen renewed its commitment to the Open Source Pledge in 2025, donating $9,541.58 to open source projects, well above its $4,000 minimum.
- The company had 2 employees and donated to 20+ projects, with top recipients including Bevy Engine ($3,000), Ziglang ($3,700), and Electron Builder ($1,200).
- Keygen thanked open source maintainers and encouraged other software companies to join the pledge.
- Keygen also provides free distribution and auto-upgrade services to open source projects like Tabby, estimated at ~$1,000 in egress fees, though not counted as monetary donations.
Keygen joins the Open Source Pledge
2 months ago
- Keygen has been donating to and contributing to open source projects since 2021, both large (Ruby, Rails, Postgres) and small.
- Keygen contributes time (maintaining open source projects like request_migrations, typed_params, union_of), code (open-sourcing core products under DOSP and offering free open source tier), and funds.
- Keygen is joining the Open Source Pledge, committing to donate at least $2,000 per developer per year to open source.
- In 2024, Keygen has already donated $5,428 so far, and overall their donations have increased over the years, now exceeding $5,000 per developer annually.
- The Open Source Pledge is an initiative by Sentry to encourage companies to financially support open source, with a minimum of $2,000 per full-time developer per year.
- Keygen provides a detailed breakdown of donations by year (2021-2024), showing contributions to various maintainers and projects via platforms like GitHub, OpenCollective, and thanks.dev.
- Keygen thanks open source maintainers and encourages other software companies to join in supporting open source.
Upgrading Your Keygen API Integration From v1.0 to v1.1
2 months ago
- Keygen v1.1 introduces backwards-compatible breaking changes via API versioning system inspired by Stripe, allowing older versions to function unaffected.
- The main change in v1.1 refactors the distribution API: releases now have many artifacts instead of a one-to-one relationship, moving attributes from releases to artifacts.
- The new publishing flow involves creating a release (draft state), uploading multiple artifacts, explicitly publishing the release, and optionally tagging it (e.g., 'latest').
- To upgrade app integration, first pin all current API requests to v1.0 using the 'Keygen-Version' header, then upgrade to v1.1, replacing the deprecated upgrade action with the new upgrade endpoint.
- Support for the 'arch' attribute should be introduced incrementally after most users upgrade to v1.1 to avoid breaking upgrades from older clients.
- Finally, upgrade the account's pinned version and webhook endpoints to v1.1, though staying on v1.0 indefinitely is optional.
How to License and Distribute a Private Docker Image
2 months ago
- The blog post explains how to use Keygen to distribute private Docker images to licensed users without managing a full Docker registry.
- It demonstrates building a simple Node.js Express app, packaging it as a Docker image, and saving it as a compressed tarball using 'docker save'.
- The Keygen CLI is used to publish the image as a release, and users download it via authenticated API requests with their license key.
- Keygen automatically restricts access to releases only to users with valid licenses, simplifying timed trials and entitlement management.
How to License and Distribute a Private Node Module
2 months ago
- The blog post describes how to license and distribute a private npm package using Keygen's distribution API, though it is now outdated in favor of an official npm engine.
- Steps include creating a private npm module with a scoped package name (e.g., @demo/hello-world), packing it into a tarball, and publishing it as a release with an artifact on Keygen.
- An npm manifest JSON file must be published to define available versions, pointing to the tarball artifact, and it must be updated additively when new versions are released.
- To install the private module, configure npm to use the private registry for the package scope and authenticate with a license token, which enforces licensing restrictions.
- Keygen enables additional features like entitlement constraints on specific releases, device activation limits, and CI/CD automation for publishing updates.

keygen

How to License and Distribute a Private Ruby Gem

Announcing the Portal open beta

Keygen continues the Open Source Pledge

Keygen joins the Open Source Pledge

Upgrading Your Keygen API Integration From v1.0 to v1.1

How to License and Distribute a Private Docker Image

How to License and Distribute a Private Node Module