Keygen
Web and SaaS
software licensing api
SHOW HN2017
190points
90comments
#180of 2,242 in 2017
Top 9%of 2017 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
9 positive, 18 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 18 critical, out of 47 comments about the project. Thread score -0.16.
Pricing: 1 for, 8 againstIdea: 4 for, 5 againstDesign: 3 for, 1 againstExecution: 0 for, 3 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Clean, nice-looking website and docs
From 3 comments
This doesn't look like a product I'd use myself (web dev) - but I'm sure a lot of native developers will find it useful. I really like the landing page - particularly the section…
fermion_now on HNLove the website.
tunnuz on HNI'm worried about SMB and corporate firewalls blocking access to your site just because of the presence of the word "keygen". Very, very nice-looking site, though!
brobinson on HN
Useful idea for native developers
From 2 comments
I had this exact same idea but never executed on it. I like everything about this, implementation to web design. I hope you slay with this.
top_post on HNThis doesn't look like a product I'd use myself (web dev) - but I'm sure a lot of native developers will find it useful. I really like the landing page - particularly the section…
fermion_now on HN
Objections
Pricing too high, especially for hobby or weekend projects
From 3 comments
Since I know you are figuring this all out, here’s some pricing feedback for you: I’m a weekender - building a desktop app (OS X & Win) for individuals and small businesses. I…
rrosen326 on HNThere are two issues, for me. Firstly, a monthly price in dollars can be annoying for very small projects, as it's quite possible there will be a relatively large flat currency…
MatthewWilkes on HNIf I sell 200 licenses for my desktop app in one year at $10/pop, that's $2,000 in my pocket. Your license server costs $288/year. I'll need to continue using it as long as my…
sjs382 on HN
Licensing can be bypassed or cracked
From 2 comments
The hard part with software licensing is making it resistant to cracking. This doesn't attempt to make things difficult, it would take under an hour to crack any app that uses…
r1ch on HNNot to sound too negative, but NOPing out the invocation bypasses the licensing. At least in the native version. I like approaches where parts of the app are downloaded after…
KenanSulayman on HN
Name 'keygen' has negative or malware associations
From 2 comments
The developer(s) of this may really want to rethink the name. Not only is it pretty un-googleable due to other, older results likely taking priority, it's also likely that a…
beefhash on HN> Years from now, you might search ”keygen for X” and be shown pages of results related to this product instead of pirated software. Care to bet money on that? That's rather…
TylerE on HN
Conflicts with App Store rules and the 30% cut claim
From 1 comment
I'm not sure how this holds up to the promise of "Sell outside the app store and pocket that extra 30%." If you're selling iOS apps, you have no choice but the app store. You…
ianamartin on HN
Requests
Free or low-cost tier for testing and small projects
From 2 comments
Appreciate that hosting isn't free, but having some sort of $0 plan would greatly drive adoption, at fairly little cost. I personally would be unlikely to launch a product that…
jfindley on HNI agree. I think that the pricing is fair for when you have paying customers on the system (at least for my business model), but the 7 day trial isn't really enough time to do a…
gol706 on HN
Per-activation or per-license pricing
From 2 comments
I would charge per successful activation.
sjg007 on HNIf I sell 200 licenses for my desktop app in one year at $10/pop, that's $2,000 in my pocket. Your license server costs $288/year. I'll need to continue using it as long as my…
sjs382 on HN
Offline mode
From 1 comment
Offline mode still not available?
dgudkov on HN
Questions
How the product handles app store sales and the 30% fee
From 1 comment
I'm not sure how this holds up to the promise of "Sell outside the app store and pocket that extra 30%." If you're selling iOS apps, you have no choice but the app store. You…
ianamartin on HN
Tech stack and backend language
From 2 comments
I'm curious about the tech stack you are using for this service.
Walkman on HNWhat language did you use for the backend?
eopkg on HN
Alternatives named
Rolling your own licensing solution
From 1 comment
These are all fair points, as is the one about not comparing a product with an open source project. But my DO droplet, which runs all my websites, costs $10/month. All the other…
rrosen326 on HN
CocoaFob open source license validation
From 1 comment
Definitely a popular choice. There are open source libararies for public/private key license validation (CocoaFob is a popular one for macOS), and I don't really think this…
ezekg on HN