Alchemist Platform

Marketplace FAQ

Answers to common questions about Recipes, Feature Packs, licensing, Maintenance subscriptions, pricing, the seller experience, and platform security.

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Hunter Hodnett
Hunter HodnettCPTO at Chipp
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#alchemist#marketplace#faq#licensing#maintenance#seller#recipes#feature-packs

Concepts

What is the difference between a Feature Pack, a Recipe, and a Marketplace Listing?

  • A Feature Pack is an atomic reusable capability: a named unit of functionality with its own source files, migrations, tests, and agent guidance. Think of it as a Lego brick.
  • A Recipe is a versioned composition of Feature Packs bundled with sensible defaults, configuration knobs, workflows, and seller assets. Think of it as a curated Lego set with a clear outcome (“this builds a commerce storefront”).
  • A Marketplace Listing is the commercial wrapper around a Recipe or Pack: it adds a price, a seller, a changelog, compatibility declarations, and licensing terms. A Listing is what you browse, purchase, and license.

Can I use a Recipe without going through the Marketplace?

The first-party Recipes are available directly from the New project dialog with no separate purchase step. They are labeled “Free with any plan” and carry no separate marketplace license fee. Third-party Recipes must be licensed through the Marketplace, from a project’s Marketplace tab.

Licensing

What exactly does a license give me?

A license grants one specific project the perpetual right to use and modify a specific version’s source code. The key words are:

  • One project — you name the project at purchase. Using the same code in a second project requires a second license.
  • Perpetual — the right never expires, regardless of whether you have an active Maintenance subscription, whether the listing is still published, or whether the seller’s account is active.
  • Source-visible — you receive the actual source files and can read, audit, and modify them freely.
  • Customizable — you can change any file in the installed pack to fit your project’s needs.

Can I use the same license across multiple projects?

No. One license = one project. If you need the same pack in two projects, purchase two licenses. The project is recorded at purchase time and cannot be changed afterward.

What happens to my license if the seller stops operating?

Nothing changes for you. The license and installed source are permanent. The seller’s account state does not affect your right to use the installed version in your project. You would lose access to seller support and future updates, but not to any code you already have.

Can I fork the installed source and build on top of it?

Yes. Source-visible customization is a first-class use case. You can modify any installed file, add your own files, and evolve the code however you need within your project. Forked files are flagged in the install analysis so the reconciler knows to merge your changes when you apply future updates.

Can I transfer a license to a different project?

License transfers are not currently supported. The license is permanently bound to the project named at purchase. If you need to move the work to a different project, you would need to create a new project and purchase a new license.

Maintenance

What does Maintenance give me that the license doesn’t?

A Maintenance subscription adds:

  • Access to newer versions of the installed pack through the Marketplace tab
  • AI-assisted reconciliation when an update conflicts with your modifications
  • Security and compatibility notices
  • Seller support access (at the level the seller declares in their listing)

The license alone gives you perpetual use of the installed version. Maintenance gives you the ongoing upgrade path.

What happens when Maintenance ends?

When Maintenance expires or is cancelled:

  • You keep every file installed up to that point.
  • Perpetual use rights are completely unaffected.
  • You no longer receive update notifications or access to newer versions.
  • Seller support access lapses.
  • You can renew Maintenance by hand at any time to restore update access.
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Cancellation touches only the Maintenance subscription record — it never removes installed files or revokes the license.

Is Maintenance required?

No. Maintenance is optional. If you are satisfied with the installed version and do not need updates, security notices, or seller support, you can let Maintenance lapse or never purchase it.

How far in advance do I get notified before a Maintenance renewal?

About 7 days before the renewal date, everyone on the buyer workspace gets one email with the amount and the date. You get one reminder per renewal period.

Can I pause Maintenance and resume later?

You can cancel auto-renewal at any time. Access continues through the already-paid-for period. Renew maintenance stays on the license after a cancel, before and after the end date, so you can pay for another year whenever you like. If your term has not ended, the new year starts at the end of it; if it already ended, the new year starts on the day you pay. Renewing by hand does not turn auto-renew back on. Use Turn auto-renew back on for that.

Pricing and Payments

Are the first-party Recipes free?

Yes. First-party Recipes are labeled “Free with any plan” in the New project dialog and carry no separate marketplace license fee. No payment method or coupon is needed.

How do coupons work?

Coupons are issued by Chipp. On the project’s Marketplace tab, enter the code in the Coupon / grant code field next to the listing and click Redeem; the project receives a full license. There is no discount field in Stripe checkout. A coupon must cover the full price of the listing (for example a 100%-off grant); a coupon that covers only part of the price cannot be redeemed. Coupons may apply to one specific listing or to any listing, and may have expiry dates or redemption limits.

Who am I paying?

The seller. A marketplace purchase is charged on the seller’s own Stripe account: the seller is the merchant of record, and your card statement and receipt show the seller. Chipp’s marketplace fee is part of the price you see, not an extra charge.

What is the refund policy?

The seller is the merchant of record, so refunds are made on the seller’s Stripe account. Ask the seller through their profile, or contact Chipp support and we will route the request. A listing does not carry any additional guarantee beyond what its detail page states.

Does purchasing a Maintenance subscription auto-renew?

Yes, by default. On the renewal date we charge the annual Maintenance price to the card you paid with at purchase. That card is saved on the seller’s Stripe account, and the renewal is a charge by the seller, the same as the purchase. If the charge is declined, we try again 1 day and 3 days later; after the third failure Maintenance lapses and we email you. You can still renew by hand.

You can cancel auto-renewal at any time from the project’s Marketplace tab: expand the license under Licenses on this project and click Cancel auto-renew. Access continues through the paid period, and nothing is charged at renewal.

Sellers

How much does Chipp charge sellers?

Chipp charges a platform fee on each transaction. The fee is currently set at 30% of the gross purchase price. This applies to both one-time license purchases and annual Maintenance renewals. The fee is deducted at charge time as an application fee on the charge, so it never reaches your balance.

At 30%: a 100purchaseleaves100 purchase leaves 70 for you. The fee is configurable and may be adjusted over time with advance notice to sellers; any adjustment applies only to transactions after the effective date.

When do sellers get paid?

At charge time, by Stripe. Pack, recipe, and bundle licenses and Maintenance renewals are charged on your own Stripe account (a Stripe Connect direct charge). You are the merchant of record, the charge lands in your Stripe balance minus Chipp’s fee, and Stripe pays it out to your bank on your normal Stripe payout schedule. Chipp does not hold your money and runs no transfers to you. Whole-project sales are paid inside the buyer’s payment to Chipp: Stripe sends your share to your connected Stripe account when the buyer pays.

You need a connected Stripe account that can accept charges before you can publish a paid listing, and buyers cannot check out while it cannot accept charges.

What happens on a refund or dispute?

Your Stripe account carries it. A refund comes out of your Stripe balance, and Chipp returns its fee in proportion to the amount refunded, whether the refund was made by Chipp support or by you from your Stripe dashboard. A dispute follows Stripe’s normal dispute process on your account.

How do I become a seller?

Click Sell a Recipe from the Marketplace browse view (or open Sell Recipes in the Alchemist sidebar). Under Become a creator, enter a display name and optional bio and click Create seller profile. Each tenant can have one seller profile. You can then draft listings from the same page.

What goes through review before a listing is published?

All listings — new and updated — go through automated static analysis, dependency auditing, and human review of manifest correctness, migration safety, and content policy. Review typically takes 1-3 business days for first submissions and 1 business day for updates to already-approved listings.

Can I publish a free listing?

Yes. Set the price to 0.Buyerscannotcheckouta0. Buyers cannot check out a 0 version through Stripe; they get it by redeeming a coupon or grant code.

Technical

What if an update breaks my customizations?

Before any changes are written, Preview update shows the planned file changes and whether the update is a clean apply or needs AI reconciliation (your files have drifted from the pack’s own content). If it needs reconciliation, Apply (via AI reconciliation) dispatches an Alchemist ticket that merges the update with your changes instead of overwriting them. Your current version stays live until that ticket lands.

Do I have to accept every file in a reconciled update?

There is no per-file accept or reject step. A reconciled update runs as an ordinary Alchemist ticket, so you review and steer it the same way as any other ticket, and you can roll back its commit through git history.

Can I roll back a pack update?

The platform does not provide a one-click rollback. However, since your project is a git repository, you can roll back through git history. The install analysis provenance record shows exactly which files were changed in each install, making it straightforward to revert specific files.

What is the difference between a “clean apply” and “needs AI reconciliation” in the preview?

  • Clean apply: none of the files the update touches have drifted from the pack’s own content. Apply commits the changes directly to the project’s repo.
  • Needs AI reconciliation: at least one file has changed since the pack wrote it. Apply (via AI reconciliation) dispatches an AI ticket that merges the update with your changes instead of overwriting anything.

How does the platform know which files I have modified?

When a pack is installed, the platform records a cryptographic hash of each installed file as part of the provenance record. At analysis time, it compares the current file contents against the recorded hash to determine if you have modified the file since installation.

Security and Trust

How does Chipp verify packs before they are listed?

Every listing goes through static analysis (vulnerability and secret scanning), dependency auditing against known CVE databases, and human review of manifest correctness, migration scripts, and agent-guidance notes. The Verified Publisher badge indicates Chipp has also confirmed the seller’s identity.

Is Marketplace review a security guarantee?

No. Marketplace review reduces risk but does not guarantee that a pack is free of all vulnerabilities. Treat installed pack source with the same care as any third-party code: review the files, run your own tests, and report issues to the seller and to Chipp’s security contact.

What should I do if I find a security vulnerability in a published pack?

  1. Contact the seller through the channel on their profile page.
  2. Also report to Chipp via the security contact in the platform footer.
  3. Practice coordinated disclosure — do not publish the vulnerability publicly before the seller has had a reasonable opportunity to issue a patch.

Chipp may temporarily delist or quarantine the affected version while the patch is in review.

Does Chipp have access to my project’s source code?

The Alchemist platform operates on your project’s codebase as part of normal development operations (reading files, writing changes, running tests). Chipp’s data handling practices are covered in the Privacy Policy.