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 five first-party Recipes (web-app, agent-storefront, commerce-storefront, agency-cms, landing-page) are available directly from the new-project creation flow with no separate purchase step — they carry 100%-off alpha grants during the current period. Third-party Recipes must be licensed through the Marketplace.

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 re-subscribe to Maintenance at any time to restore update access.
⚠️

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?

You receive an email reminder before the renewal date. The exact advance notice depends on your workspace notification settings, but is at minimum 7 days before the billing date.

Can I pause Maintenance and resume later?

You can cancel auto-renewal at any time. Access continues through the already-paid-for period. You can re-subscribe after cancellation; the new subscription starts from the re-subscribe date (your Maintenance-through date resets to one year from the new payment).

Pricing and Payments

Are the five first-party Recipes free?

During the current alpha period, yes. All five first-party Recipes carry 100%-off grants that activate automatically at project creation. No payment method is required. The grant includes a one-year Maintenance subscription. Projects created under a grant are not retroactively charged when the alpha period ends; they keep their license and granted Maintenance.

How do coupons work?

Enter a coupon code in the “Discount code” field at checkout. The discounted price is shown before you confirm. Coupons may be percentage-off (e.g. 20% off) or fixed-amount-off. They may apply to one specific listing or to any listing, and may have expiry dates or redemption limits set by the issuer.

What is the refund policy?

Refund eligibility is determined by the individual seller’s policy, which is stated on the listing detail page. Chipp does not guarantee refunds on third-party listing purchases. For disputes, contact the seller directly through their stated support channel. For first-party listings during the alpha period, contact Chipp support.

Does purchasing a Maintenance subscription auto-renew?

Yes, by default. You can cancel auto-renewal at any time from Project Settings > Marketplace / Maintenance. Access continues through the paid period; billing stops 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.

At 30%: a 100purchaseresultsina100 purchase results in a 70 seller payout. 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?

Payouts are disbursed through Stripe Connect on a rolling basis (typically daily or weekly rolling payouts to the connected bank account). The exact schedule depends on the seller’s Stripe Connect payout settings.

How do I become a seller?

Click “Sell a Recipe” from the Marketplace browse view. Complete the seller application, verify your identity, and connect a payout account via Stripe Connect. Once approved, you can publish listings from your seller dashboard.

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. Free listings go through the same review process as paid listings. They appear in browse/search alongside paid listings with a “Free” badge.

Technical

What if an update breaks my customizations?

Before any changes are written, the install analysis identifies every file where the update would conflict with your modifications. These are flagged as “Reconcile” targets. The AI reconciler proposes a merged version for each file, incorporating both your modifications and the incoming pack changes. You review each proposed merge in a diff view before it is applied.

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

No. You can accept, edit, or reject each reconciled file individually. If you reject a file, that file is left as-is in your project (your current version) while the rest of the update is applied. You can come back and apply the rejected file’s merge later.

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 overwrite” and a “reconcile” in the change plan?

  • Clean overwrite: the file exists in your project and matches the original pack source exactly (you have not modified it). It is safe to overwrite with the new version.
  • Reconcile: the file exists in your project and you have modified it since the original install. The incoming update also changes this file, so the two sets of changes must be merged. The AI reconciler handles this automatically, but you review the proposed merge before it is applied.

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.