LicenseChain

LicenseChain Architecture

LicenseChain uses a unified architecture where all components share the same database and API, ensuring data consistency across the entire ecosystem.

🏗️ System Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    LicenseChain Ecosystem                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
        ┌─────────────────────┼─────────────────────┐
        │                     │                     │
        ▼                     ▼                     ▼
┌──────────────┐      ┌──────────────┐      ┌──────────────┐
│   Website    │      │  Dashboard   │      │     API      │
│  (Marketing) │      │  (Admin UI)  │      │  (Backend)   │
│              │      │              │      │              │
│ - Blog       │      │ - Admin UI   │      │ - REST API   │
│ - Help       │      │ - Analytics  │      │ - Auth       │
│ - Careers    │      │ - Management │      │ - Validation │
└──────┬───────┘      └──────┬───────┘      └──────┬───────┘
       │                     │                     │
       └─────────────────────┼─────────────────────┘
                             │
                             │ 
                             │
                             ▼
                    ┌────────────────┐
                    │   PostgreSQL   │
                    │                │
                    │ - Users        │
                    │ - Licenses     │
                    │ - Apps         │
                    │ - Products     │
                    │ - Webhooks     │
                    │ - Analytics    │
                    │ - Verification │
                    │   Rules        │
                    └────────────────┘
                             ▲
                             │
        ┌─────────────────────┼─────────────────────┐
        │                     │                     │
        ▼                     ▼                     ▼
┌──────────────┐      ┌────────────────┐      ┌──────────────┐
│   27+ SDKs   │      │  Integrations  │      │   Webhooks   │
│  (All Langs) │      │  (Stripe, etc) │      │   (Events)   │
│              │      │                │      │              │
│ - NodeJS     │      │ - Stripe       │      │ - Events     │
│ - Python     │      │ - Resend       │      │ - Callbacks  │
│ - Go         │      │ - Cloudflare   │      │ - Logs       │
│ - Rust       │      │                │      │              │
│ - ...        │      │                │      │              │
└──────────────┘      └────────────────┘      └──────────────┘

🗄️ Database Architecture

Shared Database

All three main components (API, Dashboard, Website) connect to the same PostgreSQL database:

  • Single Source of Truth: One database for all data
  • Unified Schema: All components use identical Prisma schema
  • Data Consistency: Changes are immediately visible across all apps
  • Coordinated Migrations: Schema changes must be synchronized

Schema Structure

Shared Models (All Repos)

  • User - Central user model with authentication
  • License - License keys and management

Dashboard Models

  • Account - NextAuth OAuth accounts
  • Session - NextAuth sessions
  • App - Dashboard applications
  • ApiUsageLog - API usage tracking

API Models

  • Product - API products for sale
  • Webhook - Webhook configurations
  • WebhookLog - Webhook delivery logs
  • VerificationRule - Custom verification rules for Enterprise tier

Website Models

  • BlogPost - Blog content
  • HelpArticle - Help center articles
  • CareerPosition - Job postings
  • FAQ - Frequently asked questions

🔗 API Architecture

RESTful API

The LicenseChain API is a RESTful service built with Fastify:

  • Base URL: https://api.licensechain.app
  • Version: All endpoints prefixed with /v1
  • Authentication: JWT tokens or API keys
  • Format: JSON request/response
  • Rate Limiting: Built-in rate limiting
  • CORS: Configured for cross-origin requests

SDK Connection

All SDKs connect to the API: 

SDK → https://api.licensechain.app/v1 → API → Database

Example:
  SDK calls: client.licenses.verify('KEY')
  SDK sends: POST /v1/licenses/verify
  API processes: Validates against database
  API returns: License status

🔄 Data Flow

License Creation Flow

1. User creates license via Dashboard
   ↓
2. Dashboard calls API: POST /v1/licenses
   ↓
3. API validates request and creates license in database
   ↓
4. License available to:
   - Dashboard (via API or direct DB access)
   - SDKs (via API)
   - Website (via API, if public)

License Validation Flow

1. SDK calls: POST /v1/licenses/verify
   ↓
2. API validates license key against database
   ↓
3. API checks:
   - License exists
   - License is active
   - License not expired
   - Hardware ID matches (if required)
   ↓
4. API returns license status and details

🔐 Authentication Flow

SDK → API

  1. SDK makes request to /v1/auth/login
  2. API validates credentials against database
  3. API returns JWT token
  4. SDK includes token in Authorization: Bearer <token> header
  5. API validates token on subsequent requests

Dashboard → Database

  1. User logs in via NextAuth
  2. NextAuth creates session in database
  3. Dashboard reads user data from database
  4. Dashboard can also call API endpoints

📊 Deployment Architecture

Production

  • Hosting: DigitalOcean App Platform
  • CDN: Cloudflare
  • Database: PostgreSQL (Managed)
  • Email: Resend.com
  • Payments: Stripe

CI/CD

  • Version Control: GitHub
  • CI/CD: GitHub Actions
  • Deployment: Automatic on push
  • Testing: Automated tests in CI

🛠️ Technology Stack

Backend

  • Fastify (Node.js)
  • TypeScript
  • Prisma ORM
  • PostgreSQL
  • JWT Authentication

Frontend

  • Next.js
  • React
  • TypeScript
  • Tailwind CSS
  • NextAuth.js

Infrastructure

  • DigitalOcean
  • Cloudflare
  • GitHub Actions
  • Docker
  • Vercel (Docs)

⚠️ Important Notes

  • All SDKs automatically prepend /v1 to API endpoints
  • API endpoints are versioned for backward compatibility