Creator commerceCAN I VIBECODE
Ko-fi?
BUILD FIRST
- A non-sensitive or read-only version of the core experience
- A manual review step wherever correctness or trust matters
- A narrow companion tool that removes a real piece of work
LEAVE FOR LATER
- Regulated decisions, payments, or irreversible actions
- Claims of correctness, compliance, or uptime that the MVP cannot support
- Sensitive integrations until security, support, and auditability are ready
RESEARCH NOTES
What this tool actually does.
Ko-fi is a creator commerce platform where artists, streamers, writers, and other creators earn through tips, memberships, shop sales, and commissions. Core features: one-time or recurring tips; membership tiers with benefits and exclusive content; a shop for digital and physical products with no listing fees; commission/request listings for custom work; and stream alerts/overlays integrating with Twitch and YouTube. Creators connect their own PayPal or Stripe account and receive payments directly—Ko-fi does not hold or process funds. The free plan charges 5% per sale on Ko-fi transactions (plus standard card processing), while a paid Gold membership reduces fees and adds customization. Creators set pricing, terms of sale, handle delivery/refunds, and can download their data. Pages are customizable with colors, images, links, and can be embedded on external sites. Ko-fi does not run an a
RESEARCHED BUILD PROMPT
Give this to your coding agent.
Build a focused replacement for Ko-fi, a creator commerce platform for fans to support creators via tips, memberships, shop purchases, and commission requests. Workflow: a creator signs up, connects their own PayPal/Stripe account, customizes a public page with their branding, and optionally adds income streams (tip jar, membership tiers with perks, product listings with digital or physical delivery, commission slots with custom pricing). Supporters visit the page, choose one of these actions, and pay directly into the creator's own payment account; the platform never holds funds. After a purchase, the creator manages delivery, shipping, refunds, and supporter communication manually. Stream alerts/overlays are out of scope for v1. Requirements: user authentication; creator profile pages with theme colors, profile image, bio, and embedded widget mode; fee-agnostic payment routing via Stripe Connect/PayPal direct transfer; product catalog with categories, digital-file delivery URLs, physical shipping options, and tax/delivery pricing; membership tier management with recurring billing and subscriber-only posts; commission request intake with fields, status tracking, and simple approval; supporter dashboard showing purchase history and membership status; email notifications; admin export of data. Implementation approach: Next.js for the front end and API routes, PostgreSQL with Prisma, Stripe Checkout for products/tips and Stripe Billing for memberships, PayPal REST API for alternative tipping, S3-compatible storage for digital goods, and Tailwind CSS. Do not copy Ko-fi branding, logo, color scheme, page layout, or trademarked copywriting. Explicitly out of scope: discovery feeds/algorithmic promotion, chat, messaging, stream alerts, overlays, native mobile apps, multi-creator team management, tax handling, and escrow. Include a README documenting setup steps, environment variables, payment configuration, and known limitations around PayPal/Stripe fee differences, recurring billing webhooks, digital-file abuse, and shipping logistics.