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Activating Flex Forms is the step that turns a successful Installation into a working Studio. Until activation is complete, you can still open Global Settings and manage configuration — but saving forms, publishing, and accepting new public submissions stay locked. This guide walks through every piece of the activation story in detail: where to paste the key in Filament, what never belongs in that field, how the License Portal ties Lemon Squeezy to your hostnames, the Setup Wizard shortcut, seat limits by plan, what breaks without a valid license, and a long troubleshooting section for the issues teams hit most often. Flex Forms license activation — Public API key and hostname registration

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What “activated” means

Flex Forms treats an install as activated when both of the following are true:
  1. A valid Public API key (pk_forms_…) is saved in Filament under Global Settings → License.
  2. The exact hostname in the browser address bar (the host staff open to use Studio) is registered on your account in the License Portal.
Missing either piece keeps Studio locked. A correct key on the wrong host (or a correct host with the wrong credential type pasted into the field) fails the same way — so treat key paste and domain registration as one checklist, not two optional extras. You need credentials from the License Portal after purchase:
If you have not finished Composer install yet, start with Installation, then return here. Activation assumes the package is already present in your Filament panel.

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Exact UI path in Filament

Paste the Public API key only in this place. The field label is License public key; the placeholder shows pk_forms_….
1

Open your Filament admin panel

Sign in to the Filament panel where Flex Forms is registered (the same panel you configured during installation).
2

Open Flex Forms from the sidebar

In the Filament left sidebar, open the Flex Forms navigation group (or the label your app configured — many installs keep the default Flex Forms group). You should see Studio destinations such as forms list / Studio entry points and the Flex Forms left rail.
3

Open Global Settings from the Flex Forms left rail

Inside Flex Forms, use the left rail (not the main Filament sidebar alone). Click Global Settings — usually shown with a gear icon. This opens the installation-wide settings page described in Global Settings.
4

Select the License tab

Global Settings uses vertical tabs. Click the License tab. Deep links may look like ?tab=license depending on your panel URL.
5

Paste into License public key

Find the field labeled License public key.
  • Placeholder in the UI: pk_forms_…
  • Expected value: pk_forms_ followed by 32 hexadecimal characters (0–9, a–f)
  • Paste only that value — no quotes, no leading Bearer, no trailing spaces
After paste, the field should start with pk_forms_ and look like a single continuous token. If you see cmp_ or a Lemon-looking key, stop and re-copy Your Public API Key from the portal.
6

Save, then reload

Save Global Settings. Reload the page (a full browser refresh is safest). Studio unlocks when the current hostname is also registered in the portal. If a license toast still appears, jump to Troubleshooting — the most common cause is a hostname mismatch, not a bad paste.
Wrong credentials to avoid in this field
  • Lemon Squeezy license key — used only to create / recover the License Portal account, or to Change license key after an upgrade. It never unlocks Studio when pasted into Filament.
  • Composer token (cmp_…) — used only for composer config --auth / CI secrets so your app can download packages from composer.bjanczak.com. Pasting it into License public key will not activate the product and can confuse future debugging.

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License Portal: register, copy key, add hostnames

The License Portal is where purchase becomes usable credentials. Full portal workflows live on The License Portal; below is the activation-focused path.
1

Create or sign in to the portal

Open license.bjanczak.com/flex-forms/panel.Register with all three of:
  1. Email — preferably the same address as Lemon Squeezy checkout.
  2. Password — for the portal account (this is not your Filament password).
  3. Lemon Squeezy license key — from the Lemon receipt / My Orders.
After registration, the portal generates your working credentials:
  • Composer token (cmp_…) — for package downloads only (Installation).
  • Public API key (pk_forms_…) — for Filament only (this guide).
The Lemon key proves the purchase. It is not a Filament API key and not a Composer password. Do not paste it into License public key.
2

Copy Your Public API Key

In the dashboard, locate Your Public API Key — the value the portal generated for you. It always starts with pk_forms_.Copy the full value. You will paste it into Filament as described above (or into the Setup Wizard on first launch).
One Public API key covers every hostname registered on the account. You do not need a separate pk_forms_… per domain.
3

Register every hostname you use

Add the exact host where the Filament panel (and public fill, if on the same app host) runs. Examples:
Hostnames are exact match. www.example.com and example.com are different seats. admin.example.com does not cover example.com. Prefer registering the host that appears in the address bar when you open Studio — redirects and CDN front doors can surprise you if you register the “pretty” marketing domain instead of the panel host.
4

Confirm plan seats before adding more hosts

Each registered hostname consumes one activation seat. See Seat limits & moving domains. If the portal refuses a new host, free a seat or upgrade your plan.
Lemon may show the license as inactive when zero domains are registered. That usually means “valid purchase, unused activations,” not “payment failed.” Add at least one hostname to move out of that state.

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Setup Wizard alternative (same key)

On a first launch without a Public API key, Flex Forms often opens the Setup Wizard. The wizard asks for the same credential:
  • Field conceptually equivalent to License public key
  • Same value: pk_forms_… from the portal
  • Same rules: never Lemon key, never cmp_…
You can:
  1. Complete the wizard when it appears, or
  2. Skip / leave the wizard and finish later under Global Settings → License
Both paths write the same setting. The wizard may also offer early Appearance / public URL choices; those remain editable afterward in Global Settings. Activation itself is only the Public API key plus registered hostnames.
If the wizard is not showing but Studio is locked, open Global Settings → License directly. Global Settings stays reachable even when the license is invalid, so you can always recover.

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Full activation checklist

Use this end-to-end list when onboarding a new environment (production, staging, or a teammate’s local *.test host).
1

Purchase (if you have not yet)

Buy a plan from the Flex Forms store. Keep the Lemon license key from the receipt.
2

Register in the License Portal

Create the portal account with email, password, and the Lemon key. The portal generates pk_forms_… and cmp_… — copy both; only pk_forms_… goes into Filament.
3

Install the package

Follow Installation so Flex Forms appears in Filament.
4

Register hostnames

Add every panel host you will open in a browser, with exact spelling (www vs non-www, staging vs prod, local *.test).
5

Paste the Public API key in Filament

Path: Filament → Flex Forms left rail → Global Settings → License → License public key (placeholder pk_forms_…). Save and reload.
6

Confirm Studio works

Open Forms, create or edit a form, and try a save. If a license toast appears, compare the browser hostname to the portal list character-for-character, then reload after fixing.

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Seat limits & moving domains

Activation seats are per hostname, not per form and not per user account in Filament. Practical implications:
  • Production + staging typically need two seats (Standard is enough for that pair).
  • Each extra preview host, client subdomain, or local *.test name uses another seat.
  • www and apex are two seats if both are used for the panel.
  • Lifetime is not Enterprise seat count — Lifetime includes 10 activations with Pro-class features; see Plans & pricing and Compare plans.

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Moving a domain

You are not permanently locked to the first hostname you registered.
  1. In the License Portal, remove the old hostname to free a seat.
  2. Add the new hostname.
  3. Keep the same pk_forms_… in Filament unless you rotated the Public API key.
  4. If you rotated the key, paste the new pk_forms_… into Global Settings → License and save.
Upgrading for more seats: buy the higher plan in the store, then in the portal use Change license key and paste the new Lemon key. Domains already on the account typically stay; seats and plan entitlements refresh on the next license check — no Filament redeploy required for the seat increase itself.

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What breaks without a valid license?

When the Public API key is missing/invalid, or the current hostname is not allowlisted (or entitlement has lapsed), Flex Forms intentionally locks runtime mutation paths while preserving your configuration escape hatch.
This fail-safe is deliberate: a bad paste or expired subscription should never strand you without a way to open License and fix the key. See also the License note on Global Settings.

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Troubleshooting

Work through these in order when Studio stays locked after you believe activation is done.
  1. Confirm the saved value is under Global Settings → License → License public key and starts with pk_forms_.
  2. Confirm you saved the form and fully reloaded the browser tab.
  3. Look at the hostname in the address bar — it must match a portal domain exactly (including www vs bare domain, and including .test for local).
  4. Clear application caches if your environment caches config: php artisan optimize:clear.
  5. Confirm you did not paste cmp_… or the Lemon key into the License field.
  6. Open Studio again and retry save. If a toast still mentions license / domain, the portal list is still the first place to fix.
Add at least one domain in the License Portal. Inactive with a valid purchase and zero registered hosts usually means “valid, unused,” not a failed payment.If the purchase was cancelled, refunded, expired, or the account is restricted, activation will not succeed until billing is restored — that is different from the zero-domain inactive state. Refresh the portal after adding a host; if it still looks wrong after a paid order, contact support with your Lemon order email.
Rotating Your Public API Key in the portal immediately invalidates the old pk_forms_….
  1. Copy the new key from the portal.
  2. Paste it into Global Settings → License → License public key.
  3. Save and reload every environment that still had the old value (production, staging, local).
Hostnames already registered do not need to be re-added solely because of a rotation — only the key in Filament must be updated.
The app expects:
  • Prefix: pk_forms_
  • Then: exactly 32 hexadecimal characters (0–9 and a–f / A–F depending on copy)
Common paste mistakes:
  • Truncated clipboard (missing the last few characters)
  • Leading or trailing whitespace / newline
  • Accidental wrap that inserts a space mid-key
  • Pasting cmp_… or the Lemon key instead
Re-copy from the portal into a plain text field first if needed, then paste into License public key.
Exact match means what you see after the scheme:
  • https://www.example.com/admin → register www.example.com
  • https://example.com/admin → register example.com
  • https://admin.example.com → register admin.example.com
If marketing DNS redirects example.com → www.example.com but staff bookmark the apex panel URL, register the host that actually remains in the bar when Studio loads — or register both if both are used (two seats).
Register the full local host (for example wyachts-super-app.test or my-app.test), not a guess like localhost unless that is truly what the browser shows.After adding the host in the portal, reload Filament. Local caches and long-lived config cache can still serve a previous negative check — run php artisan optimize:clear if you use optimized config/routes.
Each environment needs:
  1. The same (or correctly updated) pk_forms_… in that environment’s Global Settings.
  2. That environment’s hostname registered in the portal.
Staging staging.example.com does not unlock production admin.example.com. Treat them as separate seats and separate checklist rows.
The wizard appears when no Public API key is stored yet. If you dismissed it without saving, open Global Settings → License and paste pk_forms_… there.If the field looks empty after you thought you saved, confirm you were on the License tab (not Appearance / Mail / Security / Public URLs / Insights) and that the save action completed without a validation error.
Remove it. Composer tokens do not activate Studio. Paste pk_forms_… instead.Keep cmp_… only in Composer auth / CI secrets as described in Installation. If the Composer token was exposed in a ticket or screenshot, regenerate it in the portal and update every server / CI job that still uses the old token.
After changing the key or portal domains:
  1. Save Global Settings again if the key changed.
  2. Run php artisan optimize:clear (or your host’s equivalent clear for config / route / view / application cache).
  3. Hard-reload the browser (or try a private window) to rule out a stale tab.
Then re-open Studio and attempt a save.
Buy a higher plan in the store, then in the portal use Change license key and paste the new Lemon key. Seat limits become Standard 2 · Pro 6 · Enterprise 100 · Lifetime 10. For needs beyond Enterprise’s 100 activations, contact support for a custom arrangement.
Renew or restore the purchase, confirm the portal account shows an active entitlement, and keep hostnames registered. Studio edits / publish and public fill stay blocked while entitlement is invalid; existing database data is not removed. Lifetime plans keep runtime and Composer updates permanently once activated.
Last modified on September 7, 2026