Getting a license
Purchasing a license
To get a license, you need to purchase the application. To purchase a copy of Broadcast, you can click on the button below:
Finding your license key
Once you have purchased a license, you will receive an email to create an account on here to access your customer dashboard under the Licenses section.
When you click on View Details, you will see a screen like this:
You will need the license key to activate your license during the installation process.
Broadcast also checks the license key against our license server in order to check for software updates.
Activating a license
The license key is activated during the installation process.
When this happens, the installation software will ask what domain you want to use the license on.
Depending on the license type you purchased, you may have a different number of domains available.
Deactivating a license
If you need to deactivate a license on a domain, go back to the license details screen. Under Servers, click Remove next to that domain name and confirm. Removing a domain frees one server slot on the license, which you can then use for a different domain.
License problems
The installer checks your key with the license server at https://sendbroadcast.net/license/check before it changes anything on the server. It sends the key and the domain you entered. The messages below come from the installer.
“That does not look like a license key”
That does not look like a license key. Copy it from https://sendbroadcast.net/dashboard
If you pass the key in the BROADCAST_LICENSE environment variable, the same problem reads:
Error: BROADCAST_LICENSE contains characters a license key never has. Copy it again from https://sendbroadcast.net/dashboard
Cause: the key contains a character other than letters, digits, ., _ or -. This is usually a quote mark or another character picked up during copy and paste.
Fix: copy the key again from the license details screen in your customer dashboard, and paste only the key.
“The license server did not accept this key”
When you type the key at the prompt:
The license server did not accept this key for mail.example.com. Please check the key and try again.
When the key comes from BROADCAST_LICENSE and you type the domain at the prompt, the installer shows the same line and then stops:
The license server did not accept this key for mail.example.com. Please check the key and try again. Error: BROADCAST_LICENSE was rejected. Nothing was changed.
When both BROADCAST_DOMAIN and BROADCAST_LICENSE are set, the installer asks nothing and shows:
Error: the license server did not accept this license key for mail.example.com. Nothing was changed. Check the key and the domain on https://sendbroadcast.net/dashboard, then run the installer again.
A second check, before the installer downloads anything, can fail for the same reasons:
Invalid license key. Aborted. Error: the license key was not accepted for mail.example.com. Nothing was installed.
Causes: the license server refuses the key in three cases:
- No license has this key.
- The license is not active.
- The domain is new to this license, and every server slot is already in use. The current installer names this case, see the next section; an older one shows the messages above.
The license server matches the domain exactly. If you installed on mail.example.com before, news.example.com is a new domain and needs a free slot.
Fix: open the license details screen. Compare the key there with the key you entered. Check Server Usage: if it shows Server limit reached, remove a domain you no longer use under Servers, or upgrade to a license with more servers. Then run the installer again. If the key is correct and a slot is free, email support, because the license may not be active.
“This license key is already used on every server it allows”
The current installer tells a full license apart from a wrong key. When you type the key at the prompt:
This license key is already used on every server it allows (1 of 1). Remove a server from it on https://sendbroadcast.net/dashboard, or enter another key.
When the key comes from BROADCAST_LICENSE and you type the domain at the prompt, the installer shows that line and then stops with Error: BROADCAST_LICENSE is already used on every server it allows (1 of 1). Nothing was changed.
When both BROADCAST_DOMAIN and BROADCAST_LICENSE are set:
Error: this license key is already used on every server it allows (1 of 1). Nothing was changed. Remove a server from the license on https://sendbroadcast.net/dashboard, or use another key, then run the installer again.
./broadcast.sh validate_license shows This license key is already used on every server it allows (1 of 1). Aborted.
Cause: the key is valid and active, but the domain is new to this license, and every server slot is in use.
Fix: remove a domain you no longer use under Servers on the license details screen (see Deactivating a license), or upgrade to a license with more servers. Then run the installer again.
“Unexpected HTTP response”
Unexpected HTTP response (429) during license validation. Aborted.
Cause: the license server answered with something other than an accept or a refusal. The code in brackets tells you which. 429 means the license server received more than 10 checks in one minute from your server. 000 means the request did not reach the license server at all.
Fix: for 429, wait one minute and run the installer again. For 000, make sure the server can make outbound HTTPS requests to sendbroadcast.net.
“We couldn’t verify your license”
This message appears in the Broadcast dashboard after you send an error report:
We couldn't verify your license Your report was not sent, because the license key on this installation was not recognised.
Cause: sendbroadcast.net found no license with the key stored on your installation, so it dropped the report.
Fix: compare the key on Application → License Key in your Broadcast dashboard with the key in your customer dashboard. Email simon@sendbroadcast.net with the error details, because the report itself did not arrive.
What your license covers
Broadcast is currently on the 2.x series. A license covers unlimited subscribers, every feature, and all 2.x updates: there is nothing further to pay while 2.x is current.
Broadcast is built on Ruby on Rails 8.x and follows its release cycle, which is anticipated to be supported until 2028 or 2029.
If you hold a v1.x license, it covers updates for the whole of the v1.x series. Moving to 2.x requires a new license, available to existing customers at a discounted upgrade price.
