# Marketplace: Browse, Purchase & Create a Project

How to discover Recipes and Feature Packs in the Alchemist Marketplace, understand pricing and licensing before purchase, and create a new project from a first-party or third-party Recipe.

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import Callout from "../../../components/docs/Callout.astro";

The Alchemist Marketplace is the canonical discovery surface for Recipes and
Feature Packs -- first-party templates from Chipp and third-party listings
from verified sellers. You can reach it from two places:

- **Primary nav**: the "Marketplace" item in the Alchemist sidebar is always
  visible, no project context required.
- **Project creation**: the "Start from a Recipe" option in the new-project
  flow brings you directly to the Recipe picker.

## Browsing and Filtering

The browse view shows all published Marketplace Listings. Use the filter
panel on the left to narrow results:

| Filter | What it does |
|--------|-------------|
| **Type** | Recipe / Feature Pack |
| **Use case / industry** | E-commerce, SaaS, agency, marketing, API tools, MCP servers |
| **Price** | Free (100%-off alpha grants), paid one-time, paid with Maintenance |
| **Seller** | First-party (Chipp), or specific third-party seller handles |
| **Included packs** | Find listings that compose a specific Feature Pack you already know you need |
| **Compatibility** | Filter to listings that declare compatibility with your current project's pack set |
| **Maintenance included** | Listings where the purchase price includes first-year Maintenance |
| **Verified publisher** | Listings from sellers who have completed Chipp's identity and review process |

The search bar supports full-text search across listing titles, descriptions,
included pack names, use cases, and seller names. Keyboard navigation is
fully supported: arrow keys move focus between cards, Enter opens the
listing detail, and Escape returns focus to the search bar.

> **Note:** Empty search results show a "No listings match your filters" state with
> suggestions to broaden filters or try different terms. The browse view
> is never a blank page.

## Reading a Listing Detail Page

Before purchasing, every listing detail page shows:

**What you get**
- Plain-language outcome description ("what this builds for you")
- Screenshots or demo link (where provided by the seller)
- Full list of included Feature Packs and their descriptions
- Resolved dependency graph (transitive packs pulled in automatically)
- Seller identity, profile, and support-contact channel

**Versioning and compatibility**
- Current version number and changelog
- Compatibility declaration: which pack versions and runtime requirements
  this listing's packs have been tested against
- Upgrade path notes (if a newer version of an included pack is available)

**Licensing terms (read these before you buy)**
- **Source-visible, customizable**: you receive the actual source files and
  can modify them freely inside your project.
- **One project per license**: the license is bound to the single project
  you name at purchase time. Using the same code in a second project
  requires a second license at the same price.
- **Perpetual use of the purchased version**: your license never expires.
  Even if you cancel Maintenance or the seller unpublishes the listing,
  your right to use and modify the installed version in that project is
  permanent.

**Pricing and Maintenance**
- One-time license price (shown as the primary purchase cost)
- First-year Maintenance included or priced separately (clearly labeled)
- Ongoing annual Maintenance renewal price
- Plain statement of what Maintenance covers and what happens when it ends

> **Warning:** Pricing disclosures on every listing are intentionally explicit: the
> one-time price, the Maintenance renewal price (if any), and the
> post-Maintenance state are each shown separately. If anything is unclear,
> contact the seller through the support channel listed on their profile
> before purchasing.

## Starting a Project from a Recipe

**Step 1 -- Choose "Start from a Recipe"**

On the new-project creation screen, select "Start from a Recipe" instead of
starting from a blank template. You land on the Recipe picker, which shows
the five first-party Recipes prominently and lets you browse third-party
Recipes from the Marketplace.

**Step 2 -- Inspect the Recipe**

Each Recipe card shows:
- Outcome description and use-case summary
- The list of included Feature Packs (expandable for details on each)
- Configuration knobs you can set at creation time (e.g. brand name,
  checkout currency, hosting mode)
- License cost (or "Free" for recipes with active alpha grants)

**Step 3 -- Customize recipe knobs**

Recipe-level knobs are promoted from the underlying packs so you configure
once rather than hunting across multiple pack-level settings. Common knobs:

- **Web App**: hosting mode (managed / BYO CI-CD), email verification on/off
- **Commerce Storefront**: checkout currency, free-shipping threshold, products per page
- **Landing Page**: brand name, canonical site URL, lead-notification email

Knobs marked as required (no default) must be supplied before the project
can be created. The form validates this before proceeding.

**Step 4 -- Review license cost and confirm**

If the Recipe is a paid Marketplace Listing, the purchase summary shows the
one-time license price, any Maintenance terms, and the project this license
will be bound to. Free first-party Recipes (including all five first-party
ones during the current alpha period) show a $0.00 / grant confirmation.

**Step 5 -- Create**

Click "Create project." The platform calls the canonical provisioning path
(`createProjectForTenant` + `composeRecipe`) and records the recipe
composition as provenance on the new project. No separate provisioning step
is needed.

> **Note:** Project creation from a Recipe uses exactly the same infrastructure path
> as a blank project -- the only difference is that the recipe composition
> is pre-applied rather than empty. There is no alternate code path.

## What Happens After Creation

After the project is created:

1. The Alchemist dashboard shows the new project with its recipe provenance
   ("Created from Commerce Storefront v1.0.0").
2. Your first ticket auto-populates with a suggested set of customization
   steps tailored to the recipe's recommended-next-steps guidance.
3. The project's Marketplace tab shows compatible add-on Feature Packs you
   can install later.
4. If you purchased a Maintenance subscription, the Maintenance panel in
   project settings shows the renewal date and what updates are available.

## Pricing: Free and Paid Listings

**Free listings** -- first-party Recipes during the alpha period carry a
100%-off grant that activates automatically at project creation. No payment
method is required. See
[Coupons and Alpha Grants](/docs/guides/alchemist-marketplace-maintenance#coupons-and-alpha-grants)
for how grants work.

**Paid listings** -- third-party and eventually some first-party listings
carry a one-time license price. Payment is processed through the platform's
Stripe integration at project-creation time. The license is issued
immediately on payment success.

**Refunds** -- refund eligibility is determined by the individual seller's
stated policy on the listing detail page. Chipp does not guarantee refunds
on third-party listing purchases; contact the seller directly for disputes.
For first-party listings during alpha, reach out to support.