License
Manager
Pro
An application for safekeeping & maintaining
license keys, software subscriptions,
and related documents.
Contents
- Forewordp. 01
- Features & Functionsp. 02
- Live Demonstrationp. 03
- Technical Specificationsp. 04
- Erratum & Purchasep. 05
What this is about.
Software licenses are valuables. Every key purchased, every registered app, every Adobe subscription represents a monetary value — and over the years, these values accumulate in email folders, note-taking apps, and Excel spreadsheets. Lost is lost; replacing them costs time, sometimes money.
LicenseManagerPro is the answer to this problem in its most honest form: a dedicated application, exclusively for managing software licenses, running on your own Mac or iPad, with optional iCloud synchronization through your Apple account. No third-party cloud services. No sign-up. No data collection. No advertising.
Initially this was just a 200-line script for myself. Only when three friends asked if they could have it too did it become a real app.
What you do get: a thoughtful tool from an independent developer who has been writing software since the early 1990s and knows exactly how scattered software licenses become over time.
What the app does.
All data remains on the user's devices. Optional synchronization is performed exclusively via your personal iCloud account; no vendor server is involved. No data is ever transmitted to Klaus Mack Software.
Changes appear immediately on all devices. Deletion of a license is properly propagated — a fundamental requirement that many other implementations fail to meet.
This very "deletion propagation" cost me three weekends. Take a look at the version history — or the erratum below.
The application accepts any key format, including multi-line PGP blocks as used by Alfred or JetBrains:
On request, the application automatically captures app icon, name, manufacturer, and version — either from locally installed programs, or by lookup in the Apple App Store (an internet connection is required for this). No more manual retyping.
Licenses with expiration dates, maintenance contracts, and software subscriptions are tracked with their expiry. A timely reminder spares you the unpleasant surprise of an expired Adobe subscription.
On request, the application keeps free programs cleanly separated from purchased licenses. This freeware management is switched on or off in the settings; when active, a shortened entry form appears for freeware. Which fields this form shows — such as notes, links, or installation date — is determined by the user, while icon, name, version, manufacturer, operating system, and category are always retained.
How the app behaves.
The following demonstration shows typical operations in the application, presented in an abstracted command-line notation. It is not part of the actual application — which is of course graphical — but serves purely for illustration.
— Select an operation above —
What you need to know.
— Specification —
- Platforms
- macOS 14.6 and higher / iPadOS 17.6 and higher
- Architecture
- Universal: Apple Silicon (M-series) & Intel
- Storage
- Local (Core Data) and/or iCloud
- Languages
- 16 (DE, EN, ES, FR, IT, NL, NB, PT, DA, SV, TR, ZH, RU, PL, JP, KR)
- Installation size
- Approx. 12 MB
- Internet connection
- Required for purchase, iCloud sync & auto-capture. Stored licenses are always viewable offline.
- Ads & tracking
- None
- macOS 27 Golden Gate
- Tested and cleared — all functions run unchanged.
- Programming language
- Swift 6 — throughout, with strict checking of the internal processes.
"Universal" means: still runs on my old 2018 Intel MacBook. Nobody loses their favourite device because of an app.
Where to acquire the software.
p. 02, par. 2.2: The first edition claimed iCloud sync would work "without complaint." This proved overly optimistic — deletions were not reliably propagated. Corrected in version 4.2.1, AppKernel event bus introduced.
p. 02, new par. 2.4: Automatic data capture from installed apps and App Store added. Explicitly requested by two users; implemented after three days of tinkering.
p. 03, par. 3.1: For licenses with multi-line keys (Alfred-PGP), newlines did not appear in the editor. Corrected; see TextEditor handling in 4.1.3.
Apple rejected the initial submission, citing that the app "pushed users toward in-app purchases." This was not intended; the dialog behaviour was revised and definitively corrected in version 4.2.1. I understand Apple's concern.
The application is distributed exclusively via the Apple App Store. A one-time purchase entitles you to permanent use on all devices owned by the purchaser (Mac and iPad included).
no subscription, ever.
A note on philosophy: This application follows an old-fashioned but proven idea — the purchase is a one-time matter. Updates are delivered for as long as the developer maintains the software; no subscription arises from this. We consider this the most honest form of software distribution.