Archangel Documentation
The fully managed licensing and authentication platform for software protection.
What is Archangel
Archangel is a licensing and authentication platform that protects your software with license keys, hardware binding, and server-side session management. Every response from the platform is cryptographically signed with Ed25519, so authentication decisions cannot be forged or tampered with. All decisions happen on the server, and you stay in control of every user, license, and session in real time.
How It Works
- Create an application. Each application receives its own Ed25519 signing keypair, generated automatically by the platform.
- Generate license keys. Create keys with expiration, device limits, and product assignments, then distribute them to your customers.
- Connect your application. Your software talks to Archangel over a simple POST-only API and embeds nothing more sensitive than the application public key.
- Users authenticate. When the application launches, it authenticates with Archangel and verifies the signed response locally before unlocking anything.
- Manage in real time. Monitor users, sessions, and licenses from the dashboard. Revoke access, reset hardware locks, or adjust license parameters at any time.
Core Concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| Applications | Each software project is registered as an application with its own Ed25519 keys and configuration. |
| License Keys | Generated per application and distributed to customers. Keys are bound to hardware on first activation. |
| Users | Created when a license is first activated or when someone registers with a key. Each user belongs to a single application. |
| Sessions | Authenticated state maintained through periodic heartbeats, with a 24-hour expiry and configurable per-user concurrency limits. |
| HWID Binding | Licenses lock to a hardware fingerprint on activation, preventing reuse on other machines. |
| Signed Responses | Every API response carries an Ed25519 signature that client applications verify locally to detect tampering. |
Platform Features
Beyond licensing and authentication, Archangel provides a complete toolset for managing software distribution and access control:
- File hosting and distribution for delivering updates and binaries
- Global and application-scoped variables
- Products with independent subscriptions and expiry
- Webhook integrations for external event handling
- IP and hardware blacklisting
- Anomaly detection for suspicious activity
- Team management with reseller and manager roles
- Native crypto payments with a direct to wallet gateway and 0% fees
See Features for detailed documentation on each capability.