Uscreen Headless is a developer toolkit that lets you build custom front-end experiences powered by the Uscreen backend.
Rather than using the Uscreen storefront or mobile apps, you can design and publish any web page or application while using Uscreen to handle member authentication, subscription management, access controls, and catalog presentation.
The first capability available is the Headless Login component: a drop-in Uscreen sign-in form you can embed on any custom page, paired with product gating that restricts content to members on a specific subscription.
This article covers what Uscreen Headless is, how to generate your API key, and how the login and gating components work today.
📝 NOTE: Uscreen Headless is currently in early access beta. Contact Uscreen to be considered. The login, product-gating, and catalog components are functional and available to use now. Additional components, including more catalog tools, search, and video player, are in active development and will be added in future updates.
What Is Uscreen Headless?
Most Uscreen creators use the hosted storefront that Uscreen provides: the catalog, video pages, and checkout experience your members interact with every day.
Uscreen Headless adds an alternative surface alongside that storefront, using a developer API and a set of drop-in components that let your developer build a fully custom web experience from scratch.
You keep everything Uscreen already handles: authentication, billing, subscriptions, content, member management, and analytics. What you can now replace or extend is the front-end, layout, design, and pages your members see.
ℹ️ INFO: This is particularly useful for creators who want to offer exclusive member-only content that lives outside the Uscreen catalog. Maybe this is a downloadable resource library, a gated blog, or a recipe list. These are all protected behind your existing Uscreen membership.
Getting Started
To build with Uscreen Headless, you need a Headless API key from your Uscreen admin. This is separate from the Publisher API key used for other integrations. This is only available if you are part of the early access. Uscreen must enable the Headless API key section for you.
📝 NOTE: Headless API access is a separate setting from the Uscreen MCP beta. Being part of the MCP beta does not automatically grant access to the Headless API, and having Headless API access does not automatically grant access to the MCP beta. Each must be enabled individually by Uscreen.
Generating a Headless API Key
Navigate to Settings > Headless API
Click Create API Key
Give the key a descriptive name
Copy the key and store it securely. You'll add it to your headless project configuration.
📝 NOTE: Keep your Headless API key private. Do not expose it in public-facing code. If a key is compromised, return to Settings > Headless API to revoke it and create a new one.
Building a Headless Page
Uscreen Headless components are built for developers. They are built in React and can be embedded in any React-based project.
Uscreen handles the authentication and access control, while your developer builds the custom page using the Uscreen Headless developer toolkit and your API key.
Developers can also use AI coding tools like Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor to speed up their work.
📝 NOTE: Custom development implementation is outside the scope of Uscreen Support. For implementation guidance, consult an experienced developer who works with React and APIs.
Uscreen Headless Developer Toolkit Components
Login and Authentication
The Headless Login component adds a Uscreen-powered sign-in form to any custom page you build. Members sign in using the same Uscreen credentials they use on your main storefront, so there's no separate account required.
The sign-in flow uses OTP authentication (a magic link sent to the member's email):
A visitor lands on your custom page
If they're not signed in, the Uscreen login component is displayed
The visitor enters their email address and receives a magic link
They click the link to authenticate
Uscreen checks whether the authenticated member has access to the content you've gated and shows or hides it accordingly
Access Gating
The access gate is what makes your custom page membership-aware.
You configure it with a specific product or subscription ID from your Uscreen account, and it automatically determines what each visitor can see based on their active subscriptions.
Product gating and the Products API recognize access to private subscription plans. If a member already owns a private plan, gated content tied to that plan displays for them as expected. Private plans they don't own remain hidden.
Member has access: The protected content is displayed
Member doesn't have access: The member sees a prompt to subscribe or is redirected to your Uscreen storefront
ℹ️ INFO: This lets you tailor the experience precisely: for example, show an exclusive gallery only to members on your annual plan, or unlock a resource library for any paying member regardless of their subscription tier.
Related Content
Custom content pages can show related content recommendations, similar to what your Uscreen storefront already displays.
This works for signed-out visitors as well as signed-in members, so recommendations appear regardless of authentication state.
Handoffs to Uscreen
Some actions still happen on Uscreen rather than on your headless site: buying a plan, changing a subscription, managing billing, and updating profile settings. A handoff is the link that sends a viewer from your site to the right Uscreen page for one of those actions.
Handoffs carry the viewer's session with them, so a member who is signed in on your site arrives already signed in on Uscreen. They do not sign in a second time.
Checkout
A viewer who taps Buy on your headless site lands on the real Uscreen checkout, signed in, with the product and any coupon you passed already applied. They also arrive in the language they were browsing your site in.
If the viewer is not signed in on your site, the handoff still works. They arrive at checkout as an anonymous visitor and continue from there as normal.
Account Pages
Handoffs to change plan, billing, and profile settings land the member on the matching Uscreen account page, already signed in.
A member who arrives from your headless site can get back to it: the X icon in the header of the Purchases and Profile pages returns them to your site instead of sending them into the Uscreen catalog.
📝 NOTE: The return link only appears for viewers who arrived through a handoff, and only points back to origins you have registered against your publishable key. Uscreen will not link a member to an origin that is not on that list.
DRM Playback
Uscreen Headless supports DRM-protected video playback. For protected videos, the playback endpoint returns license URLs for each supported standard:
FairPlay: Apple
Widevine: Google
PlayReady: Microsoft
A player can then request the license it needs for the member’s device.
To protect a video, DRM must be enabled for your store and turned on for that video.
🔗 Learn more about DRM & Content Protection
ℹ️ INFO: Custom apps can also let members download DRM-protected videos for offline playback. See Offline Video Downloads below.
Current Capabilities
Headless API keys: generate and manage keys in Settings > Headless API
Login component: OTP (magic-link) sign-in using Uscreen member credentials
Product gating: show or restrict content based on a member's subscription
Catalog content: display catalog category content
Related content: show related/recommended content on a content page, even for signed-out visitors
DRM playback: play DRM-protected videos with FairPlay, Widevine, and PlayReady support
Offline downloads: let native apps download videos for offline playback, with DRM licenses that expire when the member’s access ends
Coming later
Video player
Search
Member settings
Native Apps Development
You can use these headless components to create native apps. Again, capabilities are limited, but it's possible to create fully native experiences.
Offline Video Downloads
Native apps built on Uscreen Headless can let members download videos and watch them offline. Downloads use DRM licenses, so videos stay protected on the member’s device.
Signed-in members: the member signs in to download, including for free videos
Same access as streaming: members can download the videos they can watch
Downloads turned on: videos that allow downloads can be downloaded
🔗 Learn more about Downloads for Offline Viewing
License Expiration
Each download comes with a license that ends at the earliest of these:
The video’s unpublish date
The end of a rental
The end date of a canceled subscription
30 days after the license is issued
Renewing a License
To keep offline playback going, the app requests a new license while the member still has access. Uscreen checks the member’s access again and sets a new expiration.
🔗 Learn more about DRM & Content Protection
📝 NOTE: Plays that happen offline are not included in your analytics yet.
FAQs
Do I need a developer to use Uscreen Headless?
Do I need a developer to use Uscreen Headless?
Yes. Uscreen Headless is built for developers, and a developer is needed to configure, build, and deploy your project. Developers can also use AI coding tools like Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor to speed up their work.
Can my members use the same login they use on my main Uscreen storefront?
Can my members use the same login they use on my main Uscreen storefront?
Yes. Uscreen Headless uses your existing Uscreen authentication, so members sign in with their usual email and magic link. They don't need a separate account or password.
Can I use Uscreen Headless to play videos?
Can I use Uscreen Headless to play videos?
The current release focuses on login, product gating, and showing the video. You can play videos using a basic player, including DRM-protected videos when DRM is enabled for your store. A video player component, with more robust options, is in development and will be added in a future update.
Where is my custom headless page hosted?
Where is my custom headless page hosted?
You host your custom page wherever you choose. This can be on your own domain, using Vercel, Netlify, or another hosting provider. Uscreen handles the authentication and access control only. Hosting the page is up to you.
Does Uscreen Headless work on mobile apps?
Does Uscreen Headless work on mobile apps?
Yes! Use the headless tools for both web pages and native apps. Just be mindful that these headless components are JavaScript and will likely need to be in a similar ecosystem, like React or React Native.
Can members download videos for offline viewing?
Can members download videos for offline viewing?
Yes, in custom apps you build with Uscreen Headless. Signed-in members can download the videos they have access to and watch them offline. A download stops working when the member’s access ends, or after 30 days, whichever comes first. See Offline Video Downloads above for the details. Apps built by Uscreen already include offline downloads. 🔗 Learn more about Enable Download for Offline Viewing