AddoBase license key instead of connecting
An AddoBase license key lets a site use your AddoCore plugin licenses without connecting it to your account. Connecting stays the preferred way, because only a connected site can be switched from the AddoBase screen and from My Account at the same time. Use the key when the connect flow cannot be finished.
When do you need an AddoBase license key?
You need the key only when the normal connect flow is not possible. Connecting sends an administrator from wp-admin to addocore.com and back, and that round trip has to finish within 15 minutes. Typical cases for the key:
- nobody with wp-admin access can complete the redirect to addocore.com and back,
- the site sits on a locked-down network where that browser flow does not work.
In every other case, open AddoBase and click Connect with AddoCore. The steps are in install AddoBase and connect your site.
Where do you find your AddoBase license key?
Log in on addocore.com and open My Account → WordPress plugins. The License key block at the bottom shows the key with a Copy button. The format is:
MCPTE-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXThere is one key per account. It covers all your WordPress plugin licenses, not one add-on, so the same key works on every site you own.
How do you add the key to a site?
You add the AddoBase license key on the AddoBase screen of the site:
- In wp-admin, open AddoBase and expand Use a license key instead.
- Paste the key in the field License key (My Account on addocore.com). Lowercase letters are fine; AddoBase converts them to uppercase.
- Click Save key.
AddoBase checks the key with AddoCore straight away. When that works you see “License key saved.” and the card at the top changes to Using a license key. When AddoCore rejects the key, AddoBase removes it again and shows the reason, for example “This license key is not valid for WordPress plugins.” Saving the key needs an administrator account (the manage_options capability).
How do add-ons work with a license key?
With an AddoBase license key, the Plugins screen is the switch. The card says it plainly: “Activate or deactivate add-ons in the Plugins screen; an active add-on takes one of your licensed sites when one is free.”
- Activating an add-on makes AddoBase report it as active at the next check. AddoCore then reserves one of the sites in your license, if one is free.
- When no site is free, the add-on stays active in WordPress but its licensed features stay off. AddoBase shows “Installed, licensed features off”.
- Deactivating the add-on frees its site in the license again.
The buttons on the AddoBase screen work too. Switch on, Switch off and Install and switch on activate or deactivate the plugin and run a check immediately, so you do not have to wait for the twice-daily check. Check now does the same without switching anything.
How does a key site differ from a connected site?
The licenses, the offline grace period of 96 hours and the updates work the same way. The management differs:
- In My Account the site carries the badge License key and is read-only. It has no Switch buttons there.
- There is no Disconnect button on the site. You remove the AddoBase license key instead (see below).
- Disconnect site in My Account is undone at the next check, because the saved key adds the site again.
More on the account side is in managing sites in My Account.
How is the AddoBase license key stored and sent?
The key is stored encrypted in the site’s database. The encryption key comes from the site’s own salts in wp-config.php (AUTH_KEY and SECURE_AUTH_SALT), so a database dump alone does not reveal it. If those salts change, for example after a migration, AddoBase can no longer read the key and the site counts as not set up. Save the key again.
Each check sends the key to addocore.com over HTTPS, together with the site details listed in what AddoBase sends to AddoCore. The request is signed with a hash of the key. By default AddoCore accepts 10 checks per key per hour; above that you see “Too many requests. Please try again later.”
How do you replace or remove the key?
When a key is saved, the button reads Replace key and the field explains “Save an empty field to remove the key.”
- To replace it, paste the new key and click Replace key.
- To remove it, clear the field and click Replace key. AddoBase confirms with “License key removed.” Licensed add-ons then stop, and other admin screens show “Your AddoCore add-ons need a connected AddoBase to work.”
- To switch to a connected site, click Connect with AddoCore, which is still shown in key mode. A completed connection replaces the key.
Is the key safe to share?
No. The AddoBase license key belongs to your whole account, so anyone who has it can use your plugin licenses on their own site. Treat it like a password, use it only on your own sites and do not paste it into tickets or chat.
If a check with the key keeps failing, troubleshooting AddoBase lists every message with its cause. Otherwise, save your AddoBase license key once and manage the add-ons from the Plugins screen of that site.
Ready to try it?