Paycheck

Offline-first licensing for indie developers.

Paycheck is a payment flow with cryptographic receipts (signed JWTs) that work offline by default, with optional online features (validation, revocation, device limits) for apps that need them.

Choose Your Path

Hosted (paycheck.dev)

The fastest way to get started. We handle the infrastructure, you focus on your app.

• Quick Start — Sign up and integrate in minutes
• Console Guide — Manage projects, products, and licenses

Self-Hosted

Run Paycheck on your own infrastructure. Full control, same features.

• Deployment Guide — Production deployment instructions

Core Documentation

These apply to both hosted and self-hosted:

• SDK Guide — Integrate licensing into your app
• API Reference — Complete HTTP API documentation
• Core Concepts — How Paycheck works under the hood

How It Works

1. Customer pays via Stripe or LemonSqueezy
2. Webhook creates license with email hash (no PII stored)
3. Customer receives activation code (30 min TTL, sent via email)
4. Customer activates in your app, receives signed JWT
5. Your app validates locally using the public key embedded at build time

No server contact needed after activation. Revocation propagates within the JWT's exp window (typically 1 hour).

Architecture

Payment Provider (Stripe/LemonSqueezy)
        ↓ webhook
    Paycheck API
        ↓ creates
      License → Activation Code → Email
        ↓ activates
    Signed JWT ← Your App validates locally

Each project gets its own Ed25519 key pair. The private key never leaves the server. Embed the public key in your app at build time.