Licenses and credentials: what's the difference
Every customer install needs a license. Installs that go online also get a credential. They are easy to mix up, so this page puts them side by side.
In one sentence: the license says what the customer may use. The credential is the key an install uses to reach Chandler over the internet.
Think of a building pass and a door key. The pass says who you are and what you may do; anyone can check it. The key only opens the door to fetch things. Losing the key doesn't cancel the pass, and a new key doesn't change it.
Side by side
| License | Credential | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Our permission for one customer to use one product, such as Trawler, for a period of time. | A long secret code for one install of the product. |
| What it lets the customer do | Run the product. The product checks the license file by itself, even without internet. | Reach Chandler over the internet: check the license, pick up a renewed license file by itself, and download updates. |
| What the customer gets | A small license file ending in .lic. |
A code starting with chn_ and the product name, such as chn_trawler_…. |
| How many | One per customer per product. | One per install. A customer with three sites has one license and three credentials. |
| Is it a secret? | No. It holds no password. Still, share it only with that customer. | Yes. Treat it like a password. Chandler shows it only once. |
| Needed by an install without internet | Yes. Send the license file. | No. |
| Needed by an install with internet | Yes, but the install fetches it by itself with its credential. | Yes. |
| If it's lost | Download the file again at any time. | Rotate it to get a new code. |
| Who can change it | A license admin: renew, suspend, resume, revoke. | A license admin: create, rotate, revoke. |
Which one do I send the customer
An install with internet
- Create a credential on the license page.
- Give the secret code to the person installing the product. Use your team's secure sharing tool. See Saving the secret.
- That's all. The install fetches its license file by itself. After a renewal it picks up the new file on its own too.
You don't need to send a license file.
An install without internet
- Click Download license file on the license page.
- Send the file to the customer. See Sending a license file.
- After every renewal, send the new file. An offline install can't fetch it.
Offline installs don't need a credential. They get updates as offline packages instead. See Offline packages.
A customer with both kinds
Do both. Give each online install its own credential, and send the license file to the offline ones. It is still one license.
What happens when you change one
| You… | Installs with internet | Installs without internet |
|---|---|---|
| Renew the license | They pick up the new license file by themselves the next time they check. | Nothing changes until you send them the new file. |
| Suspend the license | They keep running until the end date. When they check, Chandler answers "suspended". They can't download updates. | They keep running until the end date on their file. |
| Resume the license | Everything works again. | Nothing to do. |
| Revoke the license | All its credentials stop working at once. The installs can't check or download anymore. | They keep running until the end date on their file. This can't be stopped from Chandler. |
| Issue a replacement | The replacement needs its own new credentials. | Send the replacement's license file. |
| Rotate a credential | The old code stops at once. Put the new code into that install. The license doesn't change. | Not affected. |
| Revoke a credential | That one install can't check or download anymore. The license and the other installs are not affected. | Not affected. |
Two things to remember:
- Revoking a credential never cancels the license. To stop a customer, suspend or revoke the license.
- Revoking the license stops every one of its credentials. You don't need to revoke them one by one.
Common questions
A customer's install stopped getting updates. Where do I look?
Open the license and check, in this order:
- The status. Updates only download while the license is Active.
- The update coverage date. New versions released after it aren't offered. See Update coverage.
- The install's credential. If it was rotated or revoked, that install needs the new code.
The customer lost their secret code
Rotate the credential. The old code stops working and you get a new one to give them. Nothing else changes.
Can one credential be shared by several installs?
It works, but please don't. With one credential per install, you can switch off a single site without touching the others.
Is the license file safe to email?
It holds no password, and nobody can change it without breaking it. Ordinary email is fine. Never put a credential's secret code in email.