API and Integrations

Overview

shookout includes several integration features that allow sellers to connect their products to external systems — automating licence validation, update checks, and buyer onboarding. These features are configured per-product during submission or in the creator panel.

License Key API

The License Key API allows your software to programmatically activate, validate, and inspect per-purchase licence keys issued by shookout. It is enabled per-software in the product settings and exposes a standalone PHP endpoint.

API endpoint

Actions

Example requests

Common parameters

Parameter	Required for	Description
key	All actions	The licence key string
identifier	All actions (when identifier mode is set)	The value used to bind and validate the licence
usage_id	check, updateExtra	The activation record ID returned by activate
setIdentifier=1	activate (first-time manual binding only)	Binds the identifier on first activation
extra	activate, updateExtra	URL-encoded JSON payload stored on the activation record

Error codes

Code	Meaning
1101	Bad key or identifier
1102	Inactive key
1103	Expired key
1201	Maximum uses reached
1301	Bad usage ID
1302	Bad IP
1901	Bad method
1902	API disabled
1903	Internal error

Licence key types

• Standard — segmented alphanumeric key (e.g. ABCD-EFGH-IJKL-MNOP-QRST). Segment count (2–10) and length (4–8 characters) are configurable in the ACP.
• MD5 — MD5-based key format for compatibility with systems that expect a hash-style key.

Licence identifier modes

The identifier mode controls how the API validates which buyer is activating a key:

• None — no identifier required. Key alone is sufficient to activate.
• Manual binding via API — the client sets an identifier on first activation using setIdentifier=1. Subsequent checks must match this value.
• Email, Name, and Username — the identifier is resolved from the buyer's shookout account details.
• Purchase ID — the identifier is the shookout purchase ID for this product.
• Install URL — the identifier is the buyer's registered Install URL (see below).

Update Check Endpoint

The Update Check endpoint is a public, unauthenticated JSON endpoint your software can poll to detect whether a newer version is available on shookout. The response format is compatible with the IPS update-check task.

Endpoint

Response format

Use case

Include the Update Check URL in your software's settings or configuration file. On each launch, your software can call this endpoint and compare the returned longversion with its own installed version number. If the remote value is higher, prompt the user to download the new release from shookout.

Install URL

Install URL is a feature that requires buyers to register the URL of the website where they will install your software before they can download it. It can also serve as the licence identifier when used with the License Key API.

How it works for buyers

1. After purchasing, when the buyer clicks Download, a form appears asking for their website URL
2. They enter a valid HTTP or HTTPS URL (e.g. https://example.com)
3. The URL is stored against the purchase and shared only with the seller
4. If the seller has locked the Install URL, it cannot be changed after initial submission

How it works for sellers

• Enable Require Install URL Before Download in the product's ACP settings
• Optionally customise the label text shown to buyers on the URL input form
• Optionally add a privacy notice explaining how the URL will be used
• Choose whether buyers can edit their URL after initial submission
• View submitted Install URLs per-purchase in Store Manager → Customers

External Purchase

External Purchase replaces shookout's file delivery with a redirect to a URL you control. When enabled, buyers who click Buy Now or Download are sent to your external URL instead of receiving files from shookout.

Use cases

• Products hosted on your own server or CDN
• Software delivered via your own licensing or download portal
• Services or access-based products with no downloadable file
• Products that require account creation on an external system before delivery

How to set it up

1. In the product submission wizard, go to Step 2 — Upload & Version
2. For the file type, select External Purchase instead of Uploaded file
3. Enter the external URL buyers will be sent to
4. The URL is shown as a button on the product page after purchase

Prerequisites

Prerequisites allow you to require that buyers already own one or more other shookout products before they can purchase or download your product. This is enforced on both the purchase action and the download action.

Configuration

Set up prerequisites in the product's Prerequisites tab in the creator panel:

• Select one or more required marketplace products
• Choose the match rule:
  • Require all — buyer must own every selected product
  • Require any — buyer must own at least one of the selected products

What buyers see

• On the product page, missing prerequisites are listed with their status (Requirement met / Requirement missing)
• The Buy Now and Download buttons are replaced with a Prerequisites Required button when requirements are not met
• Signed-out visitors see a prompt to sign in to check their prerequisite status

Frequently Asked Questions