Pro feature

Override the license server for staging

For developers This page is for developers who run a staging copy of a SimpleBoards Pro site and want to test license behavior without using a paid activation slot.

By default, SimpleBoards Pro talks to https://simpleboardswp.com to validate the license key and to check for plugin updates. You can change that address per site with a PHP constant in wp-config.php. This is useful when you want to point a staging site at a test endpoint, or at a sandbox copy of the license server, and leave production untouched.

When you would use this

A common case: you maintain a production site and a staging copy. You want to test what happens when a license is suspended, expired, or moved to another site. You do not want to do this against your real license, because every activation against the real server counts toward your plan's site limit.

Another case: you run a mirrored test environment on an internal host. You want SimpleBoards Pro to validate against that internal host, not the public license server, so the test environment can run fully offline from the public internet.

Setting the override does not change anything in the WordPress admin UI. The license panel still works the same way. The only difference is which server gets the activation and validation requests.

The constant

The override is a single PHP constant:

define( 'SBIRP_LICENSE_SERVER', 'https://staging.simpleboardswp.com' );

Add this line to wp-config.php, above the line that reads /* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */.

The value must be a full URL with https:// (or http:// for local testing). SimpleBoards Pro removes any trailing slash, then appends its own API paths.

There is no environment-variable fallback. The constant is the only way to override the server address. If the constant is not defined, the plugin uses https://simpleboardswp.com.

Where the override is read

The constant is read once, when the Pro plugin loads, in simpleboards-roadmap-pro.php:

new SD_Update_Client( array(
    'api_base'        => defined( 'SBIRP_LICENSE_SERVER' ) ? SBIRP_LICENSE_SERVER : 'https://simpleboardswp.com',
    'product_slug'    => 'simpleboards',
    'plugin_file'     => plugin_basename( __FILE__ ),
    'current_version' => SBIRP_VERSION,
    'item_name'       => 'SimpleBoards Roadmap Pro',
) );

If you change the value, deactivate and reactivate the Pro plugin to clear any cached license status. The plugin caches the last validation response for a few hours.

A note on staging detection

The license client already auto-detects staging and local environments using WordPress's built-in wp_get_environment_type(). If your staging site sets WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE to staging, development, or local, the license server sees that flag and can choose to grant a free seat. You may not need the constant at all in that case. The override is only required when you want the staging site to talk to a different host.

Last updated

2026-05-23 · SimpleBoards Pro 1.0.1