Licensing a library
Hi, I'm working on an Android / iOS library that I want to licence. Has anyone here developed a library / dependency that they managed to monetise? If so what mechanism did you use to licence it?
I was thinking something like e.g. Google Maps where you need a key from Google to increase the number of allowed API calls. My library works offline but I could add a check to validate a key on startup.
Hey @Reactivemobile
There are two options I can think of right now:
An IndieHacker friend @ezekg runs keygen.sh which is a service that you can use to manage licensing from the product level. I've tagged him here in case he'd like to elaborate or in case you'd like to ask him questions. They have an API for managing licenses and it is really flexible.
I run repobox.io which integrates with github and package managers like npm and composer that allows you to sell your libraries online. Your users purchase on stripe (or you make an API call to us) and we generate a key. User can then use that key to run 'npm install' or 'composer install' and update their packages as normal. Maven and cocoa pods are on the roadmap.
Hope this helps!
-- Jimmy
Great info, thanks Jimmy. Repobox looks great, any idea when maven support will be added?
Hey Donal,
I'm working on getting the first early access customers onboarded and supported, so you're looking at 2.5-3 weeks (first week of September) for Maven integration. Happy to reach out if you want to do some testing and kick the tires a bit.
-- Jimmy
Great, I've signed up and will keep a look out for updates. Thanks!
Thanks Donal! I will cherish and respect your email! 🔐
But you will also be the first to know when mvn support is ready for testing and we'll get you set up so we can squash bugs!