---
name: membership-site
when: "membership site, paid community, subscriber content, gated content"
needs: database
deploy: runtime
editions: local
kind: blueprint
capabilities_note: "persistent — needs a database (Mongo) plus auth + Stripe subscription secrets. Runtime app, async build, local edition only. Declare needs { database: true } (deployer injects DATABASE_MONGODB_URL / legacy MONGODB_URL) and a vault block mapping STRIPE_KEY / STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET / AUTH_PROVIDER_KEY to env vars. This is a BLUEPRINT — read AGENTS.md for the structure, then build."
summary: "Build a paid membership site on the grid — a Next.js app with user auth, Stripe subscription checkout, gated /members/* routes that check membership status, and grid-shared Mongo (users + memberships collections). This is a BLUEPRINT: fetch the template, read AGENTS.md for the file tree + CloudGrid wiring (needs database true, vault for Stripe/auth secrets), build the app under services/web/, deploy async, poll to a live URL."
---

# Workflow: membership-site

The user wants a paid membership site / subscriber community: visitors sign up,
subscribe via Stripe, and only paying members reach the gated content. That is a
**persistent runtime app** — a Next.js app backed by the grid's shared Mongo,
with auth and Stripe subscriptions, gated routes that check membership status.

This is a **blueprint**, not a fill-in template. There is no finished app to
copy — there is a `cloudgrid.yaml` and a structure guide (`AGENTS.md`). Read the
guide, then build the app following it. Be honest that a runtime deploy is async
(not instant like a static drop) and that it needs the local edition.

## 1. Edition check FIRST (hard gate)

A membership site is a built + deployed container. It requires the **local
edition** (Claude Desktop / Claude Code) or the CLI.

- **Hosted edition (Claude Web / hosted MCP):** you CANNOT build a runtime app —
  hosted is inline-only and can only publish static pages. Tell the user
  plainly, offer a **static paywall-landing page** instead, and STOP the runtime
  path here.
- **Local edition:** continue.

## 2. Auth + grid

1. Ensure signed in: `grid_login_status`; if not, `grid_login`.
2. A grid is required. Respect the grid picker: if the user has more than one
   grid, ask which to use; do not assume a target.

## 3. Read the blueprint

Fetch the template and read its structure guide — this is the core of the
workflow:

- `grid_get_template("template", "membership-site")` — the `cloudgrid.yaml` +
  **`AGENTS.md`**. AGENTS.md has the file tree, the Mongo collections
  (`users`, `memberships`), the CloudGrid injection table, and the auth + Stripe
  wiring. **Read it fully before building.**
- `grid_get_template("template", "app-with-data")` — the proven Next.js + Mongo
  shape this blueprint extends (lazy db client in `lib/db.js`, App-Router
  GET/POST route). Imitate its wiring.

## 4. Scaffold

`grid new <name>`. It scaffolds the project folder and writes a `cloudgrid.yaml` with an EMPTY
`services: {}`. No server entity exists yet — the first `grid plug` auto-creates
it from the manifest (honoring its `name:`) and writes `.cloudgrid/link.json`.
Then write the app under **`services/web/`** and
set `cloudgrid.yaml` to the active shape below.

## 5. Build the app following AGENTS.md

Build the file tree from AGENTS.md under `services/web/`: the lazy Mongo client,
the lazy Stripe client, the auth middleware, the checkout + webhook + me API
routes, the gated `/members/*` layout, and the pricing + landing pages. Adapt the
plans, content, and document fields to the user. Key non-negotiables:

- **App code under `services/web/`** — `path:` is the URL mount, NOT the
  filesystem path. Root files fail with `Service directory not found`.
- **Read the DB LAZILY** from `process.env.DATABASE_MONGODB_URL` (legacy
  `process.env.MONGODB_URL` fallback) inside the getter — never at module top
  level, or `next build` fails.
- **Read secrets LAZILY** too — `process.env.STRIPE_KEY`,
  `STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET`, `AUTH_PROVIDER_KEY` — inside getters, never top-level.
- **Gate server-side.** The `memberships` collection is the source of truth for
  "have you paid"; `app/members/layout.js` checks it server-side and redirects
  non-members to `/pricing`. The Stripe webhook writes membership status.

`cloudgrid.yaml` active shape:

```yaml
name: my-membership-site
services:
  web:
    type: nextjs
    path: /
needs:
  database: true
vault:
  STRIPE_KEY: stripe-live-key
  STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET: stripe-webhook-secret
  AUTH_PROVIDER_KEY: auth-provider-key
```

**Declare the datastore with `needs: { database: true }`** — the canonical
shape. `requires:` is the deprecated v1 alias; don't author new yaml with it, and
never set `needs:` and `requires:` together (the validator rejects it).

## 6. Config / secrets

- Stripe + auth secrets → `grid secrets set` (set the vault items `stripe-live-key`,
  `stripe-webhook-secret`, `auth-provider-key` that the `vault:` block maps from).
  The deployer injects each as its env var at runtime and under `grid dev`.
- Non-secret config (auth publishable key `NEXT_PUBLIC_...`, Stripe price id) →
  `grid env set` / `services.web.env`.
- Do **NOT** set the DB connection vars yourself (`DATABASE_MONGODB_URL` / legacy
  `MONGODB_URL`) — the grid injects them.

## 7. (Optional) Run locally

Mention that the user can `grid dev` to run locally against the injected Mongo
and vault secrets before deploying. Don't require it.

## 8. Deploy (async)

Deploy the folder with `grid_plug`. A **runtime deploy is ASYNC**: the first
response is `status: "building"`, NOT a live URL yet.
- Poll `grid_check_deploy` (or the returned poll_url) until the entity is live.
- Surface a liveness signal while it builds — never a bare silent wait.
- Once live, register the `/api/webhook` URL as the Stripe webhook endpoint,
  copy the signing secret into the `stripe-webhook-secret` vault item, and
  re-plug. Return the deployed app URL (NOT the build/log link).

## 9. Return the live URL + iterate

Give the user the live app URL — that is the deliverable. To iterate, re-plug the
SAME entity so it updates the same URL. Keep it honest: async build, local-edition
only, DB injected by the grid, secrets injected from the vault.