License Your Python Desktop App with Keymint in 5 Minutes

Python desktop apps, CLI tools, and data science pipelines all need licensing if you want to sell them. The Keymint Python SDK gives you license creation, activation, and device-locked verification with type hints and a clean API.

Installation

pip install keymint

Quick Start

from keymint import KeyMint

admin = KeyMint(api_key="YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY")
client = KeyMint(api_key="YOUR_CLIENT_API_KEY")
product_id = "YOUR_PRODUCT_ID"

Creating a License Key

result = admin.create_key({
    "productId": product_id,
    "allowedHosts": ["workstation-1", "workstation-2"],
})

license_key = result["key"]

Activating on a Device

result = client.activate_key({
    "productId": product_id,
    "licenseKey": "T8XTR-AI21B-2990H-85SB5",
    "hostId": "workstation-1",
})

print(result["message"])  # "License valid"
# licenseeName is masked and only present when a customer is assigned
print(result.get("licenseeName"))

Call activate_key on every launch — it validates the key and confirms the machine is authorized. If the key is expired or blocked, the host isn't allowed, or activations are exhausted, it raises KeyMintApiError (see Error Handling).

Deactivating a Machine

client.deactivate_key({
    "productId": product_id,
    "licenseKey": "T8XTR-AI21B-2990H-85SB5",
    "hostId": "workstation-1",
})

This frees up an activation slot so the user can move their license to another machine.

Retrieving Key Info

Detailed key lookup requires a read-only or admin API key. Use this from your backend, not from distributed client code.

info = admin.get_key({
    "productId": product_id,
    "licenseKey": "T8XTR-AI21B-2990H-85SB5",
})
# info["data"]["license"]["expirationDate"]
# info["data"]["license"]["maxActivations"]

Error Handling

The SDK raises KeyMintApiError for every non-2xx response, with the HTTP status and Keymint code. A 401, 402 or 403 means the license was rejected; anything else (no network, 429, 5xx) is temporary and shouldn't lock the user out:

from keymint import KeyMintApiError

try:
    result = client.activate_key({...})
except KeyMintApiError as e:
    if e.status in (401, 402, 403):
        print(f"License rejected: {e.message}")
    else:
        print(f"Couldn't reach Keymint, try again later: {e.message}")

What's Next

The Python SDK also supports block_key, unblock_key, and full customer management (create_customer, get_customer_by_id, update_customer, etc.). Those management calls require an admin API key; detailed get_key lookup requires read-only or admin.

Install it with pip install keymint and check the Python SDK docs for the complete reference.