Authorized Domains and Keyless QCDS Entitlement

Current QCDS paid entitlement is keyless. Pro, Max, and All Access capability is resolved from the site's domain under Authorized Domains in the QuantaCade account; customers do not need to paste a current paid license key into Joomla.

Basic remains available when no current paid Authorized-Domain entitlement is confirmed.

How Keyless Entitlement Works

QCDS identifies the Joomla installation and public domain, contacts QuantaCade's entitlement service, and stores a signed/cached entitlement state. The installation then resolves the feature tier that can be used locally.

The current administrator interface treats a saved license key only as legacy compatibility data. Paid access is expected to come from Authorized Domains.

Authorize This Site

  1. Open your QuantaCade profile and manage the Authorized Domains for QC Digital Signature.
  2. Add or correct the production domain used by this Joomla installation.
  3. In Joomla, open Components > QC Digital Signature > Status.
  4. Choose Refresh Entitlement.
  5. Verify the Current Entitlement card shows the expected domain and tier.

The QCDS Settings tab also provides Manage Authorized Domains and Refresh Entitlement controls.

Understand the Current Entitlement Card

  • Status: the currently resolved entitlement state.
  • Base tier: the underlying Basic, Pro, or Max entitlement.
  • Effective tier: the feature tier QCDS may use now. A Max Preview can temporarily make this Max without changing the Base tier.
  • Verification: how the entitlement was verified.
  • Domain: the normalized site domain being checked.
  • Last checked / Next automatic check: the entitlement refresh timing.

Current Domain Policy

The accepted QuantaCade account policy provides one production domain for Basic, up to five Authorized Domains for Pro, and unlimited Authorized Domains for Max and All Access. QCDS Basic operation itself does not depend on a paid entitlement claim; Pro, Max, and All Access controls require the matching current entitlement.

The Hourly Entitlement Revalidation Task Matters

Paid and preview feature access depends on a structurally healthy Entitlement Revalidation task. The task refreshes state every 60 minutes. If it is missing, unpublished, duplicated, or scheduled too slowly, QCDS fails safely to Basic instead of allowing a stale paid tier indefinitely.

A temporary communication failure can use only the bounded grace rules in the current entitlement state; it cannot extend a known paid expiration or a finished Max Preview.

Legacy Saved Keys

If QCDS shows a Legacy License Key, the key came from an older activation model. After you verify the domain is correctly authorized, use Clear Saved Key if you want to remove that old state. QCDS immediately rechecks Authorized Domain entitlement; if none is current, the installation continues at Basic.

If a Paid Feature Unexpectedly Locks

  1. Check the domain shown on QCDS Status.
  2. Confirm that exact domain is authorized for QCDS in the QuantaCade account.
  3. Inspect the Entitlement Revalidation task health.
  4. Choose Refresh Entitlement.
  5. Read the resulting Base tier and Effective tier before changing feature configuration.

Do not delete Templates, Requests, Identity Verification settings, or saved Custom CSS merely because entitlement is temporarily lower. Historical Requests and preserved higher-tier configuration are intentionally kept separate from current feature access.

Community Discussion

Want to compare workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCDS feature? Visit the QC Digital Signature Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.