I’d like to share a new feature that was recently added to Inlay: protection and licensing for HISE expansions.

For anyone who missed the original Inlay introduction post, you can find it here.

That post was mostly focused on host-plugin licensing. This update is about protecting and managing access to expansion content itself.

What this adds

With the new expansion support, HISE expansions can now behave like individually licensed products inside the same host plugin.

An expansion may be physically installed on the user’s machine, but still remain locked until the current user account actually has access to it.

So instead of relying only on download protection or manual serial workflows, the host plugin can verify expansion access dynamically at runtime.

Typical workflow

The general user flow looks like this:

• user installs the host plugin
• user downloads or installs expansions
• the plugin detects installed expansions
• accessible expansions become available immediately
• locked expansions appear as installed but locked
• clicking Unlock opens the browser flow if needed
• after successful activation or purchase, the expansion becomes available

The idea is to make expansion licensing feel integrated into the product instead of feeling like a separate installer or external protection layer.

Why this is useful

This makes a few workflows much easier for HISE developers:

• free player + paid expansions
• instrument marketplaces
• tiered content access
• subscription-based libraries
• downloadable add-on content
• expansion update delivery to licensed users

Another useful aspect is that expansions can be distributed publicly without relying entirely on hidden download links or download managers.

The expansion may already be installed locally, but the plugin still controls whether the current user is actually allowed to use it.

It also allows expansions to stay connected to the same user-based licensing model as the host plugin itself.

Works together with HISE expansion protection

This system is designed to work alongside HISE’s own expansion formats and encrypted expansion support, not replace them.

So you can still use HISE’s protected expansion packaging while adding runtime entitlement checks and user-based access control on top.

User experience goals

One of the main goals was improving UX around protected content.

The expansion flow supports things like:

• browser-based activation instead of entering serials inside the plugin
• self-service unlocking
• multi-device user licensing
• offline-capable access with periodic refresh
• instant unlock after purchase or entitlement change
• installed-but-locked visibility instead of hiding content completely

The aim is to keep the experience flexible for legitimate users while still giving developers meaningful control over access.

Current status

I’m continuing to improve the SDK and integration flow, but the overall direction is now stable enough to share publicly.

If you are building HISE products with expansions, I’d really like to hear what kinds of expansion licensing workflows matter most to you.

Site: https://inlay.cloud
Email: info@inlay.cloud