🪪 Licensing

#Which Jars Are Licensed

Plugin	Licensed	Not licensed	What Lite limits
Phoenix Crates	Premium	Lite	Lite vs Premium
Phoenix Duels	Premium	Lite	Lite vs Premium
Phoenix Shop	Premium	Lite	Lite and Premium
Phoenix Lobby	Every lobby server	The same jar on BungeeCord or Velocity	No Lite version

#Your License Key

Every jar downloaded from our website is stamped with the license of the account that downloaded it, so in almost every case there is nothing to fill in. The key lives in the plugin's config.yml:

product-license: 'your-license-key'

Each plugin has its own key, so a Phoenix Crates key does not work for Phoenix Duels. To set one by hand, copy it from My Licenses, paste it exactly as it appears and restart the server.

If we issue you a new key, the old one stops working and you get an email with the new one. Paste it on every server that uses the license, or download the jar again, which already carries it.

#Sessions

Every running server that validates counts as one session. A license allows 5 sessions at once by default, enough for a main server, the servers behind its proxy and a test server. A proxy running Phoenix Lobby does not count, since it never validates.

A license covers one server or one network. Running it on a second, separate network needs its own license.

A clean shutdown frees the session straight away. A server that crashes and is started again on the same machine takes its own session back. A crashed server that is never started again holds its slot for up to 4 hours.

If you need more sessions at once, contact us on Discord.

#Moving to Another Machine

Stop the old server first so its session is freed, copy the plugin folder across and start the new one. The key stays the same. If the old machine crashed and cannot be started again, its session clears by itself within 4 hours.

#Renewal

A license does not expire, so there is nothing to renew or pay again. While the server runs, the plugin renews its session with our servers in the background, and nothing needs restarting for it.

#What Happens on Startup

On every start the plugin prints Validating license... and contacts our servers. Once the check passes you will see:

Great news! Your license is valid and active.
Plugin loaded successfully!

#When Validation Fails

A failed validation never shuts the server down. The jar stays enabled but the plugin does not load. Fix the cause and restart.

A license that is disabled while servers run it, including one whose purchase was refunded or disputed, stops the plugin on those servers at their next renewal. No restart is needed for that.

Plugin	While the license is invalid
Phoenix Crates	Every PhoenixCrates command is blocked, and players who run one are told why.
Phoenix Duels	No arenas, modes or queues load. Every PhoenixDuels command is blocked, and players who run one are told why.
Phoenix Lobby	No modules, NPCs, holograms or hotbar items load. Block breaking, placing and damage are cancelled so the lobby cannot be griefed, and the lobby commands are blocked.
Phoenix Shop	No shop loads or opens.

#The License Is Refused

Our servers reached the license and turned it down, and the console prints the reason:

Reason	Cause and fix
Unknown key, or a key for another product	The key has a typo, a stray space or a newline, or it belongs to another plugin of ours.
"Maximum concurrent sessions"	The license is already running on as many servers as it allows. See Sessions.
"This license is disabled"	Contact us on Discord.

A server that hits the session limit or a disabled license while it runs unloads the plugin.

#"HttpResponseCode: 429"

Too many validation requests arrived from your license in a short window. This is not a problem with your key. A server restarting in a loop, or a whole network booting at the same moment, is the usual cause.

Stop the server, leave it down for a few minutes, then start it once. The limit clears on its own. A plugin that cannot validate retries every 5 minutes, so a rate limited server left running keeps the limit up.

#Other "HttpResponseCode" numbers

Code	What it usually means
400	The key is empty. Fill it in or download the jar again.
404	A very old build. Update the plugin.
5xx	Our side is having a problem. Try again later.

#"connect timed out" or "UnknownHostException"

The server never reached api.phoenixplugins.com. Check that outbound HTTPS is allowed. Some budget hosts block outbound connections by default and open them on a support ticket.

#"Authentication expiration time already expired. Is your clock with right time?"

The machine's clock is wrong. Sync it with NTP and restart.

#"Signature is invalid."

The saved validation file in plugins/PhoenixPlugins is corrupt or was edited. Delete the *_auth.json file of that plugin and restart with a working connection.

#Grace Period

The grace period covers temporary connection problems for up to 2 days. If the plugin validated in the last 2 days and our servers cannot be reached now, it keeps working and tells you how long is left:

Oh no! Apparently there was an error contacting our server.
But don't worry, the grace period has been activated.
Grace period will expire in 23h 41m, so contact us before that happens!

Fix the connection before the grace period runs out.

#Paid Add-ons

Phoenix Crates, Phoenix Duels and Phoenix Shop check each paid add-on against your license on startup and on every reload. One you do not own does not load, and the console names it and says why. The rest of the plugin keeps running. If our servers cannot confirm it, the add-on is skipped until the next restart or reload.

Free and third-party add-ons are never checked. A Lite jar loads no add-ons at all.

Plugin	Lists installed add-ons
Phoenix Crates	/crates addons
Phoenix Duels	/pduels addons
Phoenix Shop	/pshop addons

#Version Notices

The same check tells the plugin which version is current, so the console reports whether a newer build is out. Phoenix Crates, Phoenix Duels and Phoenix Lobby also tell admins on join, which notify-if-new-version in config.yml turns off.

Plugin	Join notice permission
Phoenix Crates	phoenixcrates.admin
Phoenix Duels	phoenixduels.admin
Phoenix Lobby	phoenixlobby.admin
Phoenix Shop	Console only