I’ve been working with Cryptlex for a few months now and things have been running smoothly for the most part. However, I’ve recently run into a situation where I need to better support offline users — specifically, users in environments without internet access who still need to activate and periodically validate their licenses.
I’ve already reviewed the documentation for offline activations and the use of the CLI and API to generate request and response files. The process seems straightforward in theory, but I’m curious about how others are managing this in practice.
Some questions I’d love input on:
How are you handling the initial activation flow for offline users? Do you have an automated or semi-automated way to generate the request files and return responses?
What’s your strategy for enforcing license expiration or validation periods in offline mode?
Are you using LexActivator directly, or wrapping it in your own layer to handle the offline workflow more elegantly?
Have you run into issues with tampering or clock rollback when using offline activations? If so, how did you mitigate them?
I’d really appreciate any suggestions, best practices, or even gotchas others have encountered. My goal is to keep the user experience simple while maintaining strong licensing enforcement. As someone who has also managed software logistics in contexts like tableau training in bangalore, I understand how important it is to balance usability with robust protection — especially in environments where users may have limited technical support.
Thank you for reaching out. Glad to hear that things have been running smoothly on your end.
Let me address your queries one by one:
How are you handling the initial activation flow for offline users? Do you have an automated or semi-automated way to generate the request files and return responses?
The standard flow for offline activation involves generating a request file using the GenerateOfflineActivationRequest() function after calling SetLicenseKey(). Users can share this file with you through any available medium. Once received, you can generate the corresponding response file from the Activations page in the Cryptlex Admin Portal.
Alternatively, if the user is linked to the license and access to the Customer Portal is allowed for them, they can generate and download the response file themselves. This will reduce back-and-forth communication and improve user experience.
The activation is completed locally by passing the response file as a path to the ActivateLicenseOffline() function. While the offline flow cannot be fully automated due to the lack of internet access, giving users Customer Portal access can significantly streamline the process.
What’s your strategy for enforcing license expiration or validation periods in offline mode?
Our SDK handles license expiration checks internally, even in offline mode. If a license has expired based on the configured subscription interval or expiration date, the SDK will return LA_EXPIRED status code, which you can handle programatically in your application code to prompt users for any appropriate action, for example; renewal.
If the environment occasionally has internet access, you can configure a ServerSyncGracePeriod, which enforces periodic validation with the server, for example; 30 days. This allows license states (e.g., suspensions, renewals, etc.) to sync and reflect the current license details in the client machine’s app.
Are you using LexActivator directly, or wrapping it in your own layer to handle the offline workflow more elegantly?
For offline activations, the direct use of LexActivator is required and the standard workflow involves calling the GenerateOfflineActivationRequest() function to generate a request file. This request file can then be used through the Admin Portal, Customer Portal, or the REST API to generate the corresponding response file. Finally, the ActivateLicenseOffline() function is used to process the response and complete the activation as discussed above (in Q1) also.
Have you run into issues with tampering or clock rollback when using offline activations? If so, how did you mitigate them?
Our SDK includes built-in protection against system clock rollback and tampering. If the time tampering is detected, the SDK will return relevant error code (e.g., LA_E_TIME_MODIFIED.
For a standard offline activation workflow, you can refer to the relevant documentation here: Offline Activations Guide
If you encounter any challenges or need any additional assistance, you can also reach out to us via support@cryptlex.com and we will be happy to assist.
