A product's life

A product's life runs from before its first Function to after its last call: prove demand, learn, grow, then close, transfer or leave.

One product, start to end

Each stage is a state of the product, moved by a Verb and written as an Event. Filled: what your Customers see. The point marks the money you are paid.

Before it exists

An Offer sells before any work runs: a pre-order is an outcome whose funds are held until delivery, and returned if it misses its window.

Until a Function runs the Verb, a person in your Role makes the delivering move by hand. Customers see the same Verb, price and receipt either way.

Every unmet call, pre-order and sign-up joins the interest list, in order. When a Version that runs the Verb deploys, each entry is told and pre-orders are delivered first.

definition.ts

19 lines

import { define } from 'apis.dev'

/** A researched lead list for any market, delivered within 30 days or refunded. */
export default define({
  name: 'leads', domain: 'leads.io.sb',
  roles: { analyst: {} },
  LeadList: {
    market: 'string', size: 'number',
    status: {
      order: [],
      deliver: { in: 'ordered', role: 'analyst' },   // by hand until a Function runs it
      accept: 'delivered', reject: 'delivered',
    },
  },
  offer: {
    'LeadList.order': { price: 49, when: 'accepted', accept: 'customer', acceptWithin: '7d',
                        remedy: 'refund', deliverWithin: '30d' },   // funds held until then
  },
})

What your product tells you

Each signal is a projection or an Event rebuilt from the record. Deciding what to try next runs outside the product, on these.

Signal	What it shows	Where it matters most
Callers	Who calls, through which Interface and agent client, and how often	Every pattern
Unmet asks	Misses, empty searches and Verbs asked for that the product lacks, by input	Dataset API, Function API
The funnel	Visit, Try it, sign-up, first call and first payment, by day and by where each came from	Every pattern
Agents that passed	Each agent that read the offer card or met a 402 and stopped, with its reason class	Every pattern
Revenue	Revenue, margin and cost to serve by Verb, plan and Customer; recurring revenue and churn by cohort	Headless SaaS, Content
Work	First-time acceptance, redo rate, cycle time and cost per step	Service API, Marketplace
Runs	What each run consumed against its ceiling, and the brakes it tripped	Agent API

The buy side reports each card it ranked and passed over, with its reason class: price, proof, terms, mandate or refused. It never names the buyer. Model and records rebuilds every row above.

Growth, one move at a time

Growth is a Customer or an agent taking the next move the Offer already sells, and each move writes an Event.

Move	What it writes	What brings it
First call to first payment	`Balance` enters `funded`	The 402's offers: a pack through Checkout, or a payment in the call
A pack to a plan	`Subscription` enters `trialing` or `active`	A plan whose `includes` covers the calls the Customer already makes
More seats	`Subscription.updated`	A member invited past the plan's seats, at its `seat` price
A commitment	An agreement enters `signed`	A commitment with its ramps and true-up
An agent buying again	A receipt under a standing mandate	Clean receipts, a track record that clears the buyer's policy, and the same terms digest

An agent buys again while its standing mandate names the seller and the card clears its policy. A changed terms digest sends that choice back to its person.

The end: sunset, close and transfer

A Live product ends with a sunset and its notice, then closes. Or it moves whole to another workspace by transfer.

Thing	States	What moves it
A product	`test`, `live`, `sunsetting`, `closed`; or `archived`, `transferred`	`Environment.promote`; `Product.sunset`; `Product.close` once the notice has run; `Product.archive` for one never Live; an accepted transfer
A transfer	`offered`, then `accepted`, `declined` or `expired`; an accepted one ends `moved`	`Product.transfer`; `Transfer.accept` by the receiving workspace's owner; the move on the agreed date

Part of a sunset	What happens
Notice	Every Customer and Watch is told at once, on the product's channels, at least `operate.sunset` before the close
Headers	Every reply carries `Deprecation` and `Sunset` for the product
Sign-ups	No new Customers, Keys or pre-orders; current Customers keep calling
Money	Unspent credits are refunded at the close; held funds return unless their work is delivered
Open work	Cases, runs and orders already started run to their end
Directories	Every directory entry is withdrawn, and the offer card says `sunsetting`
Export	Each Customer exports its Namespace until the close, and for 30 days after
The Domain	Released at the close; the free Host answers with the notice

A transfer keeps all a Customer sees: Host, Domains, Keys, prices, receipt keys and records. Customers get 30 days' notice, and both workspaces write an Event.

Leaving APIs.Dev

A product leaves with everything it is: Product.export writes the file, every Version, every record and the sales record.

What you take	How it keeps working
The file and every Version	`definition.ts` and each compiled Definition, with OpenAPI, the SDK source and the docs as Markdown
Each Customer's records	One export per Namespace, with full history and files
The sales record	Every sale, refund, fee and tax line, matched to Stripe, where the money already is
Your Domains	Yours to point elsewhere; the free Host forwards for 90 days
Keys	Exported as digests, so whatever serves next checks every Key without holding one
Receipt keys	Still listed at `/.well-known/receipt-keys`, so every receipt keeps verifying
Package names	Published under your own names, which stay yours

A product's life is a chain of states with a Verb for each move, from the first pre-order to the export after its close.

Before it existsCopy Anchor Link

What your product tells youCopy Anchor Link

Growth, one move at a timeCopy Anchor Link

The end: sunset, close and transferCopy Anchor Link

Leaving APIs.DevCopy Anchor Link

Before it exists

What your product tells you

Growth, one move at a time

The end: sunset, close and transfer

Leaving APIs.Dev