Description

LicenShield is a complete software license management solution for WordPress developers. Sell your plugins and themes with confidence using secure license key validation, activation limits, and Stripe payments.

Free Features

Unlimited Products & Licenses – No artificial limits
License Key Generation – Create secure, unique license keys automatically or manually
Activation Management – Control how many sites can use each license
Expiration Dates – Set license validity periods
Stripe Payments – Accept one-time payments and auto-generate licenses
REST API – Integrate license validation into any WordPress plugin or theme
Email Notifications – Automatic emails for purchases
Rate Limiting – Protect your API from abuse
Setup Wizard – Get started in minutes

Use Cases

Sell premium WordPress plugins with license protection
Manage theme licenses with activation limits
Protect any digital product with license validation

Developer Friendly

LicenShield provides a simple REST API for license validation:

POST https://yoursite.com/wp-json/ls/v1/validate
{
    "license_key": "LS-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX",
    "site_url": "https://customer-site.com"
}

LicenShield Pro

Take your license business to the next level with Pro features:

Subscription Billing – Monthly and yearly recurring payments
Discount Codes – Create coupons for promotions and sales
Slack Notifications – Get instant alerts for sales and activations
Piracy Detection – Monitor and protect against unauthorized use
Advanced Analytics – Revenue charts, trends, and insights
Webhook Integrations – Connect to Zapier, CRMs, and more
Priority Support – Get help when you need it

Visit licenshield.com for Pro pricing and details.

Privacy Policy

LicenShield stores license keys, customer emails, and site URLs for license validation purposes. This data is stored in your WordPress database and is not shared with third parties except for payment processing via Stripe.

For more information, visit licenshield.com/privacy.

External Services

This plugin connects to third-party services to provide payment functionality:

Stripe

LicenShield integrates with Stripe for payment processing. When a customer purchases a license through your site:

What is sent: Customer email, purchase amount, product details, and payment card information (handled directly by Stripe, never stored locally)
When it is sent: During checkout when a customer initiates a purchase, and when processing webhooks for order fulfillment
Why it is needed: To process credit card payments and automatically generate license keys upon successful payment

Stripe is a PCI-compliant payment processor. All payment data is handled securely by Stripe’s servers.

Screenshots

Dashboard overview showing license statistics
License management with search and filtering
Product configuration with activation limits
Settings page with Stripe integration
License activation in your protected plugin
Customer email notification

Installation

Upload the licenshield folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
Go to LicenShield Settings to configure your options
Create your first product under LicenShield Products
Start generating licenses under LicenShield Licenses

Stripe Setup

Go to LicenShield Settings Stripe
Enter your Stripe API keys (test or live mode)
Configure your webhook endpoint in your Stripe dashboard
Payments will automatically generate licenses

FAQ

How do I validate licenses in my plugin?

Use the REST API endpoint to validate licenses. Example PHP code:

$response = wp_remote_post('https://yoursite.com/wp-json/ls/v1/validate', [
    'body' => [
        'license_key' => $license_key,
        'site_url' => home_url()
    ]
]);

Can I migrate from other license managers?

Yes, you can import licenses via CSV or create them manually in the dashboard.

Does it work with WooCommerce?

LicenShield works alongside WooCommerce but uses Stripe directly for payments. WooCommerce integration is planned for a future release.

How are license keys generated?

Keys use a secure format: LS-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX with cryptographically random characters.

Can customers manage their own licenses?

Customers receive their license key by email after purchase. They can share the key with you to manage activations from the admin dashboard.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“LicenShield” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

parthinian1

Translate “LicenShield” into your language.

Interested in development?

Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.

Changelog

1.7.14

Fix: Removed auto-install Pro feature — users install Pro manually per WordPress.org guidelines
Fix: Renamed all PHP prefixes from ls_ to licenshield_ for WordPress.org compliance
Fix: Renamed class prefixes from LS_ to LICENSHIELD_ for WordPress.org compliance
Fix: Download handler now correctly serves files from absolute server paths

1.7.7

Fix: [ls_buy_button] now accepts product slug (e.g. product=”licenshield-pro”) in addition to numeric ID

1.7.6

Fix: Pro tab now correctly shows the Pro settings panel (license status, Slack config) after Pro is activated, instead of the installer form
Fix: LS_Admin no longer double-initializes when LicenShield Pro is active

1.7.3

Fix: Removed “expiration reminders” from feature list — not yet implemented
Fix: Corrected REST API namespace in FAQ example from licenshield/v1 to ls/v1
Fix: Removed inaccurate customer portal claim from FAQ

1.7.2

Fix: Resolved 3 PHPCS errors — unescaped $upgrade_url outputs in class-ls-upsell.php now use esc_url()
Fix: Resolved UnescapedDBParameter warnings in class-ls-tier.php — table names now passed via wpdb->prepare() with %i placeholder
Fix: Added phpcs:ignore with justification comments to unavoidable direct DB queries in class-ls-stripe.php and class-ls-api.php (webhook handlers and transactional inserts have no WP API equivalent)
Fix: Added file-level phpcs:disable in class-ls-analytics.php — all queries are real-time aggregations where caching would produce stale reports

1.7.1

Fix: Dashboard revenue and license charts now render correctly (scripts were not enqueued)
Fix: Removed stale “LicenShield API (Optional)” section from readme — self-licensing was removed in 1.7.0
Fix: Removed orphan discount database table that had no corresponding UI or code
Fix: Removed duplicate /checkout/create REST endpoint (use /checkout instead)
Fix: Removed stale license_key_input tooltip referencing removed license tab
Improved: REST API endpoints now have inline comments explaining why __return_true is intentional
Improved: Get Pro button on dashboard now shows what Pro features include

1.7.0

Redesign: Pro features now displayed as WPForms-style muted cards — clearly visible but not functional in the free version
Removed: Self-licensing system (LS_Self_License) — no longer gating any features behind a license key
Removed: License settings tab with key activation form
Removed: Upsell modal and all JavaScript gating
Added: Dedicated “Pro Features” settings tab showing all Pro capabilities with links to licenshield.com
Simplified: LS_Tier is now a pure display helper with no feature blocking
Free plan: Unlimited products and licenses — no artificial limits

1.6.1

Fix: Removed subscription billing restriction — all billing cycles now available to all users
Fix: Added missing LS_Tier helper methods (format_limit, get_usage_percentage, can_activate)
Fix: Updated constant prefix to LICENSHIELD_ for WordPress.org compliance
Fix: Replaced locked UI elements with plain Pro feature callouts
Fix: Slack settings tab now links to licenshield.com/pricing instead of opening a modal

1.5.1

Fixed: Version constant mismatch issue
Fixed: SQL injection vulnerabilities in analytics queries
Fixed: Path traversal security vulnerability in download endpoint
Improved: Rate limiting now enforced on all validation endpoints
Improved: Download endpoint security with file type validation
Improved: Added security headers to download responses
Security: Enhanced input validation and sanitization

1.4.3

New: Hover tooltips on all admin pages
New: Guided tour system for first-time users
Tooltips explain field labels, stats, table columns, and settings
Tours auto-start on first visit, can be replayed via “Take Tour” button
Dashboard, Licenses, Products, Orders, and Settings pages all supported

1.4.2

New: Setup Wizard for easy onboarding
Wizard guides through Stripe setup, product creation, and SDK integration
Auto-detection of completed setup steps
Progress tracking sidebar
Copy-to-clipboard for API URLs and code snippets

1.4.1

Added self-licensing capability
Improved license verification UI
Enhanced plan limits display
Security improvements

1.4.0

Stripe Payment Sheet integration
HTML email templates
Rate limiting for API endpoints
Contact form on website

1.3.0

REST API for license validation
Webhook support
Improved dashboard UI

1.2.0

Email notifications for purchases and expirations
Customer portal improvements
Bug fixes

1.1.0

Stripe integration
Automatic license generation on purchase
Expiration date management

1.0.0

Initial release
License key generation
Activation management
Basic dashboard