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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.authforge.cc/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

AuthForge is a credit-based software licensing platform. You create apps, generate license keys, and the AuthForge SDK handles authentication, HWID binding, and heartbeat verification automatically.

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What AuthForge does

  • License key authentication: Generate keys in the dashboard or via the Developer API. End users enter a key, and the SDK validates it against the AuthForge server.
  • Hardware binding (HWID): Each license is bound to the user’s machine fingerprint (CPU, MAC address, disk serial). Configure how many devices a single key can activate.
  • Background heartbeats: After login, the SDK periodically verifies the license is still valid. Revoke a key from the dashboard and it takes effect on the next heartbeat.
  • Cryptographic verification: Every /auth/validate and /auth/heartbeat success response is Ed25519-signed with your app’s private signing key. SDKs verify the signature on every response; /auth/validate additionally enforces nonce matching to prevent replay and tampering.

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How licensing works

  1. Create an app in the AuthForge dashboard. You get an App ID and App Secret.
  2. Generate license keys: one per customer, or in bulk via the Developer API.
  3. Integrate the SDK into your application. Pass your App ID and App Secret to the client constructor.
  4. End users authenticate by entering their license key. The SDK collects a hardware fingerprint, sends it to the API, and the server binds the key to that machine.
  5. Heartbeats run in the background to keep the session alive and catch revocations.

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Credit model

AuthForge uses a credit-based billing model:
ActionCredit cost
Successful license validation (/auth/validate)1 credit
10 successful heartbeats1 credit
Credits are purchased in the dashboard. Set up auto-refill to avoid running out.

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Next steps

Quick Start

Get your first app protected in 5 minutes.

SDKs

Official packages for Python, C#, C++, Rust, Go, and Node.js (CMake + GitHub for C++).

Developer API

Automate license management from your backend.

Core Concepts

Understand how AuthForge works under the hood.