Buy Me a Coffee
One-off support, memberships, posts, shop items, and commissions
Do not mistake the interface for the product. Buy Me a Coffee's durable value is payments, network, compliance, which a solo one-shot build cannot reproduce responsibly. The prompt therefore builds only the closest honest personal consolation tool.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- native apps and community moderation
- fulfilment, email, and affiliate ecosystems
- marketplace discovery and buyer trust
- tax, disputes, payouts, and fraud operations
Why people still pay
Buy Me a Coffee: Creators pay to outsource payments, tax complexity, disputes, deliverability, moderation, and the trust needed to convert strangers.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- Node.js 22
- PostgreSQL
- Stripe account and API keys in .env
- Explicit README warning that this is a consolation build, not a production replacement
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Project rule, data: Model products, buyers, purchases, entitlements, and delivery receipts; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.
Project rule, behavior: For creator support, define products or membership access rules and record prices in integer minor currency units.
Project rule, recovery: A repeated payment webhook cannot deliver twice; a refund must revoke the relevant access without deleting the audit trail.
Implementation plan
Phase 1, architecture and data
Use exactly this stack: Next.js 15 + TypeScript + PostgreSQL + Stripe. Model products, buyers, purchases, entitlements, and delivery receipts; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.
Phase 2, implement
For creator support, define products or membership access rules and record prices in integer minor currency units.
Phase 3, implement
Create a checkout session through the user’s payment provider and verify the signed completion webhook.
Phase 4, review and output
Grant digital access exactly once and show purchase, refund, and delivery history.
Phase 5, recovery and acceptance
Verify this invariant with a saved fixture: A repeated payment webhook cannot deliver twice; a refund must revoke the relevant access without deleting the audit trail. State the practical limit: native apps and community moderation.
Build me a focused creator support workflow for the personal core of Buy Me a Coffee. Requirements: - Use exactly this stack: Next.js 15 + TypeScript + PostgreSQL + Stripe. Model products, buyers, purchases, entitlements, and delivery receipts; keep stable source IDs and timestamps. - Paid product context: One-off support, memberships, posts, shop items, and commissions. Build only this DIY scope: Build a narrow creator support storefront or member area for one creator, using Stripe Checkout and explicit digital-delivery rules. - For creator support, define products or membership access rules and record prices in integer minor currency units. - Create a checkout session through the user’s payment provider and verify the signed completion webhook. - Grant digital access exactly once and show purchase, refund, and delivery history. - Use a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views. Required input or access: Stripe account and API keys in .env. Keep credentials in .env. - Acceptance: with one labelled sample, show the input, saved intermediate state, and exported result; verify this invariant: A repeated payment webhook cannot deliver twice; a refund must revoke the relevant access without deleting the audit trail. - Out of scope: native apps and community moderation; fulfilment, email, and affiliate ecosystems. Keep this a personal, inspectable workflow. - Include a README with setup, a sample input, required keys or permissions, data location, and the supported scope.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan
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Buy Me a Coffee pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| creator account | $0 | $0 | No published cap on supporters, posts, memberships, shop items or commissions; 5% platform fee on transactions. |
free tierNo monthly fee and no published numeric usage cap; Buy Me a Coffee takes 5% of transactions
billingtransaction-only pricing; no monthly or annual subscription
hidden costsIn addition to the 5% platform fee: Stripe is typically 2.9% + $0.30, payout processing is 0.5%, international payments add 1%, and subscription payments add 0.5%.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-14 · pricing source ↗
Questions about Buy Me a Coffee
Can you build your own Buy Me a Coffee with AI?
A full replacement is not the recommended project. Do not mistake the interface for the product. Buy Me a Coffee's durable value is payments, network, compliance, which a solo one-shot build cannot reproduce responsibly. The prompt therefore builds only the closest honest personal consolation tool.
What does the Buy Me a Coffee build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Build a narrow creator support storefront or member area for one creator, using Stripe Checkout and explicit digital-delivery rules. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: native apps and community moderation; fulfilment, email, and affiliate ecosystems; marketplace discovery and buyer trust. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the Buy Me a Coffee prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this Buy Me a Coffee project take?
The catalogue estimate is not a true replacement; consolation build in one to two days for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing Buy Me a Coffee?
native apps and community moderation; fulfilment, email, and affiliate ecosystems; marketplace discovery and buyer trust; tax, disputes, payouts, and fraud operations. Buy Me a Coffee: Creators pay to outsource payments, tax complexity, disputes, deliverability, moderation, and the trust needed to convert strangers.
What can I use instead of building Buy Me a Coffee?
The prior-art section lists Medusa, Ghost as starting points. Review their current scope, license and maintenance before adopting one.