Digital Products

This recipe covers selling digital products through Hanzo Commerce -- software licenses, ebooks, online courses, and downloadable files -- with instant fulfillment after purchase.

What You Will Build

Products configured for digital delivery (no shipping)

Automatic fulfillment with download links

License key generation for software products

Access control for gated content after purchase

Create a Digital Product

Digital products skip shipping by setting type to digital. Use the SDK or the Admin dashboard.

import { Commerce } from '@hanzo/commerce'

const commerce = new Commerce({
  apiKey: process.env.HANZO_API_KEY!,
  environment: 'production',
})

const product = await commerce.products.create({
  name: 'Pro License -- Annual',
  slug: 'pro-license-annual',
  type: 'digital',
  price: 9900, // $99.00
  currency: 'USD',
  metadata: {
    fulfillment: 'license_key',
    maxActivations: '5',
  },
})

console.log('Created product:', product.id)

The type: 'digital' flag tells Commerce to:

Skip shipping address collection at checkout
Skip the fulfillment module's physical shipping flow
Trigger digital fulfillment events on payment capture

Upload Downloadable Files

Attach files to the product using the Uploads API. Files are stored in your configured S3-compatible bucket.

await commerce.uploads.create({
  productId: product.id,
  file: fs.createReadStream('./dist/app-installer.dmg'),
  filename: 'app-installer.dmg',
  access: 'purchasers', // only customers who bought this product
})

The access: 'purchasers' setting generates time-limited signed URLs that are only available to verified buyers.

License Key Generation

For software products, configure automatic license key generation on purchase.

await commerce.products.update(product.id, {
  fulfillmentConfig: {
    type: 'license_key',
    generator: 'uuid-v4', // or 'custom' with a webhook
    maxActivations: 5,
    expiresIn: '365d',
  },
})

Supported generators:

Generator	Format	Use Case
`uuid-v4`	`550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000`	Simple unique keys
`alphanumeric`	`XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX`	User-friendly keys
`custom`	Webhook-generated	Complex licensing logic

For custom generators, Commerce sends a POST to your webhook:

{
  "event": "license.generate",
  "orderId": "order_abc123",
  "productId": "prod_xyz789",
  "customerId": "cust_def456"
}

Your webhook must return:

{
  "licenseKey": "YOUR-CUSTOM-KEY",
  "metadata": { "tier": "pro", "seats": 5 }
}

Checkout Without Shipping

When a cart contains only digital products, Commerce automatically skips shipping:

const cart = await commerce.carts.create({
  items: [{ productId: product.id, quantity: 1 }],
})

// Checkout will not request a shipping address
const session = await commerce.checkout.create({
  cartId: cart.id,
  successUrl: 'https://example.com/download?session={SESSION_ID}',
  cancelUrl: 'https://example.com/pricing',
})

Post-Purchase Fulfillment

After payment is captured, Commerce fires a order.fulfilled event. The order object contains the digital fulfillment details.

const order = await commerce.orders.getBySession(sessionId)

// For license key products
console.log(order.fulfillment.licenseKey)
// "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000"

// For downloadable products
console.log(order.fulfillment.downloads)
// [{ filename: "app-installer.dmg", url: "https://signed-url..." }]

Download Page Example

import { commerce } from '@/lib/commerce'

export default async function DownloadPage({
  searchParams,
}: {
  searchParams: { session: string }
}) {
  const order = await commerce.orders.getBySession(searchParams.session)

  return (
    <main className="mx-auto max-w-2xl px-4 py-16">
      <h1 className="text-3xl font-bold mb-6">Your Purchase</h1>

      {order.fulfillment.licenseKey && (
        <div className="bg-gray-50 rounded-lg p-6 mb-6">
          <p className="text-sm text-gray-500 mb-1">License Key</p>
          <code className="text-lg font-mono">
            {order.fulfillment.licenseKey}
          </code>
        </div>
      )}

      {order.fulfillment.downloads?.map((file) => (
        <a
          key={file.filename}
          href={file.url}
          className="block border rounded-lg p-4 mb-3 hover:bg-gray-50"
        >
          {file.filename}
        </a>
      ))}
    </main>
  )
}

Access Control for Courses

For course or content products, use the entitlements system to gate access:

const product = await commerce.products.create({
  name: 'Advanced TypeScript Course',
  slug: 'advanced-ts-course',
  type: 'digital',
  price: 4900,
  currency: 'USD',
  fulfillmentConfig: {
    type: 'entitlement',
    entitlementKey: 'course:advanced-ts',
  },
})

Check entitlements in your application:

const hasAccess = await commerce.customers.hasEntitlement(
  customerId,
  'course:advanced-ts'
)

if (!hasAccess) {
  redirect('/pricing')
}

Webhook for External Systems

If you need to trigger actions in external systems (e.g., grant access in a third-party LMS), configure a webhook:

await commerce.webhooks.create({
  url: 'https://example.com/api/webhooks/commerce',
  events: ['order.fulfilled'],
})

Testing

Create a digital product via the SDK or Admin dashboard

Add the product to a cart and complete checkout with a Stripe test card

Verify the order contains fulfillment data (license key or download URLs)

Confirm download URLs are signed and time-limited

Next Steps

Combine digital products with subscriptions for SaaS licensing

Add multi-currency pricing for global sales

Review the Fulfillment module for advanced configuration

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