Open source

# Not live yet (gaps #2)
curl -X POST "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns?mode=try" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"play":"open-source"}'

 1import { $ } from 'startup-builder'
 2
 3return await $.Campaign.create({ play: 'open-source' }, { mode: 'try' })   // dry run on the day-0 Startup, 2026-08-24 · Not live yet, gaps #2

npx startup-builder do Campaign.create --json '{"play":"open-source"}' --try   # Not live yet (gaps #2)

{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "return await $.Campaign.create({ play: 'open-source' }, { mode: 'try' })   // dry run on the day-0 Startup, 2026-08-24 · Not live yet, gaps #2",
    "mode": "try"
  }
}

 1{
 2  "type": "https://startupbuilder.dev/errors/refused",
 3  "title": "Refused",
 4  "status": 422,
 5  "detail": "open-source can’t start yet: 1 check fails and 2 warn.",
 6  "checks": [
 7    {
 8      "check": "use-when",
 9      "status": "pass",
10      "observed": "140 installs a month; 22 outside developers calling",
11      "doc": "/plays/open-source#check-use-when",
12      "fix": "Nothing to do: it counts installs and outside developers calling your API.",
13      "then": "Metric.query"
14    },
15  …

curl "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/events?where=name%20in%20(%22Version.published%22%2C%20%22Issue.created%22%2C%20%22Comment.created%22%2C%20%22Interface.called%22%2C%20%22Publication.adopted%22%2C%20%22Publication.forked%22%2C%20%22Organization.adopted%22%2C%20%22Organization.relicensed%22)&limit=1" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY"

# Not live yet (gaps #7)
curl -X POST "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/triggers/fire?mode=try" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"like":"event_1341"}'

# Not live yet (gaps #7)
curl "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/decisions?where=on%20%3D%20%22issue_93%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY"

# Not live yet (gaps #7)
curl "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/actions?where=on%20%3D%20%22issue_93%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY"

 1import { $ } from 'startup-builder'
 2
 3const { events: [last] } = await $.Event.list({ where: 'name in ("Version.published", "Issue.created", "Comment.created", "Interface.called", "Publication.adopted", "Publication.forked", "Organization.adopted", "Organization.relicensed")', limit: 1 })   // { play } compiled to this Play’s Trigger Events
 4const { subject } = await $.Trigger.fire({ like: last.$id }, { mode: 'try' })   // the same Event again, in try mode · Not live yet, gaps #7
 5const { decisions: [decision] } = await $.Decision.list({ where: `on = "${subject}"` })   // what it chose, and why · Not live yet, gaps #7
 6const { actions } = await $.Action.list({ where: `on = "${subject}"` })   // what it did, with its checks · Not live yet, gaps #7
 7return { decision, actions }

npx startup-builder do Event.list --json '{"where":"name in (\"Version.published\", \"Issue.created\", \"Comment.created\", \"Interface.called\", \"Publication.adopted\", \"Publication.forked\", \"Organization.adopted\", \"Organization.relicensed\")","limit":1}'
npx startup-builder do Trigger.fire --json '{"like":"event_1341"}' --try   # Not live yet (gaps #7)
npx startup-builder do Decision.list --json '{"where":"on = \"issue_93\""}'   # Not live yet (gaps #7)
npx startup-builder do Action.list --json '{"where":"on = \"issue_93\""}'   # Not live yet (gaps #7)

{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "const { events: [last] } = await $.Event.list({ where: 'name in (\"Version.published\", \"Issue.created\", \"Comment.created\", \"Interface.called\", \"Publication.adopted\", \"Publication.forked\", \"Organization.adopted\", \"Organization.relicensed\")', limit: 1 })   // { play } compiled to this Play’s Trigger Events\nconst { subject } = await $.Trigger.fire({ like: last.$id }, { mode: 'try' })   // the same Event again, in try mode · Not live yet, gaps #7\nconst { decisions: [decision] } = await $.Decision.list({ where: `on = \"${subject}\"` })   // what it chose, and why · Not live yet, gaps #7\nconst { actions } = await $.Action.list({ where: `on = \"${subject}\"` })   // what it did, with its checks · Not live yet, gaps #7\nreturn { decision, actions }",
    "mode": "try"
  }
}

 1{
 2  "decision": {
 3    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/decisions/decision_521",
 4    "$type": "Decision",
 5    "choice": "answer-the-issue",
 6    "reason": "an outside developer’s bug report with steps; the sandbox run reproduces it on Node 22 and passes on 2.4.1",
 7    "stakes": "low",
 8    "options": [
 9      "answer-the-issue",
10      "offer-a-listing",
11      "open-a-pull-request",
12      "to-the-ae",
13      "to-a-maintainer"
14    ],
15  …

action_3 is the reply on issue #93, with the sandbox run attached, waiting for your approval: answers stay at You approve each one until 100 in a class carry no wrong mark.

≈ +$900 ARR a month at 120 first calls

Worth

1 h week 1, then 30 min a week

Your time

$0.03 per reply; credits capped at $250 a month

Spend

Day 6: first install reaches a first call

First signal

50+ installs a month, or 20 outside developers calling

Use it when

Under 50 a month: developer-relations · no API reference: publish one (Interface.create)

Not yet when

Worth’s formula: about +2.2 paid keys per 100 first-calling installs (Other Startups’ results; no lift of your own yet) × 120 a month × $347 Pro ARR ≈ +$916. Under First signal: Publishing open code holds no one back, so the leaf reads before-after; only the pull requests hold back half the eligible projects, about 20 weeks to read at 3 a month.

Start it this weekCopy Anchor Link

npx startup-builder add play open-source   # 1 · writes plays/open-source.mdx (Not live yet, gaps #5)

# 2 · dry run; below, its 422 on 2026-08-24
curl -X POST "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns?mode=try" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"play":"open-source"}'

# 3 · keep it, at You approve each one
curl -X POST https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"play":"open-source"}'

# on
curl -X PATCH https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns/open-source \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"endsAt":null}'

# off: no reply, pull request or Message goes out; published packages stay installable
curl -X PATCH https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns/open-source \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"endsAt":"now"}'

{
  "type": "https://startupbuilder.dev/errors/refused",
  "title": "Refused",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "open-source can’t start yet: 1 check fails and 2 warn.",
  "checks": [
    {
      "check": "use-when",
      "status": "pass",
      "observed": "140 installs a month; 22 outside developers calling",
      "doc": "/plays/open-source#check-use-when",
      "fix": "Nothing to do: it counts installs and outside developers calling your API.",
      "then": "Metric.query"
    },
    {
      "check": "baseline",
      "status": "warn",
      "observed": "1 paid key of 12 first-calling keys in 90 days",
      "doc": "/plays/open-source#check-baseline",
      "fix": "n 12: it reads before-after, not proof; open code holds no one back.",
      "then": "Metric.query"
    },
    {
      "check": "fact-check",
      "status": "fail",
      "observed": "README: “we answer every issue within 24 hours”",
      "doc": "/plays/open-source#check-fact-check",
      "fix": "Replace the promise with the measured response line, or cut it.",
      "then": "Content.draft"
    },
    {
      "check": "domain-authenticated",
      "status": "pass",
      "observed": "leaseline.app resolves",
      "doc": "/plays/open-source#check-domain-authenticated",
      "fix": "Nothing to do: maintainer Messages send from leaseline.app.",
      "then": "Domain.authenticate"
    },
    {
      "check": "owned-by-a-person",
      "status": "pass",
      "observed": "6 open threads claimed by you",
      "doc": "/plays/open-source#check-owned-by-a-person",
      "fix": "Nothing to do: the agent drafts into your queue on threads you claimed.",
      "then": "Task.assign"
    },
    {
      "check": "role-unstaffed",
      "status": "warn",
      "roles": [
        "marketing-lead",
        "sales-lead"
      ],
      "owned": 6,
      "doc": "/plays/open-source#check-role-unstaffed",
      "fix": "Staff the AE, or leave it: company adoptions come to you.",
      "then": "Role.staff"
    }
  ]
}

Each issue reply costs about $0.03 (Worker cost), and each sandbox run about $0.01. Maintainer credit grants spend hosted usage under a Limit of $25 a project and $250 a month. Publishing to npm and PyPI costs nothing. That comes to about $80 a month at 40 replies and 3 grants.

When it startsCopy Anchor Link

{
  "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/events/event_1341",
  "$type": "Event",
  "name": "Issue.created",
  "at": "2026-10-19T13:22:51Z",
  "seq": 1341,
  "data": {
    "issue": {
      "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/issues/issue_93",
      "repo": "leaseline/leaseline-js",
      "title": "renew() throws on Node 22",
      "author": "contact_14",
      "outside": true
    },
    "package": "@leaseline/sdk@2.3.0"
  }
}

# each delivery is signed with the Watch’s secret
curl -X POST https://api.sb/leaseline.app/watches \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"selector":"Issue.created","url":"https://leaseline.app/hooks/sb"}'
npx startup-builder trigger Issue.created --like event_1341   # replays the delivery in test
npx startup-builder clock advance --by 10m   # runs triage and drafts the reply (action_3)

Who runs itCopy Anchor Link

Marketing Lead · your agent (role:marketing-lead, worker_6) holds the Key Result and posts from the labeled bot account. It hands to AE · Priya Shah (person) (role:sales-lead, worker_3, staffed on day 9) when a company adopts, and to you (Dana Okafor, person, worker_1) as the maintainer for security, license and rival questions and every pull request. Your number links to Did it work.

What it reads · What it may call. It reads the issue, the sandbox run and the docs. Watched first calls only tell the AE when to look: they never appear in a public reply, and no text in an issue picks a recipient, a link or a tool. Its tools are POST /{namespace}/issues/{issue}/triage, POST /{namespace}/comments, POST /{namespace}/credit-grants/issue, POST /{namespace}/changes, POST /{namespace}/approvals, POST /{namespace}/leads, POST /{namespace}/tasks/{task}/assign, and any other call becomes an Approval under the Role’s Mandate.

You hold the Marketing Lead Key Result: 15 paid keys from the open packages by 2026-12-31. ← worker, metric
On each outside issue, new dependent or company adoption, choose one option and say why. ← triggers, chooses
Say you are an agent in your first reply in a thread; post only from the bot account. ← copyRules 6
Never say you reproduced a bug without the sandbox run attached.                 ← copyRules 7
No star asks and no counts as proof; no date for anything unshipped.             ← copyRules 3–4
Security, license and rival questions go to Dana.                                ← chooses.to-a-maintainer.when

The slow loop, as a Change. decision_344 (2026-09-21, weekly) read 6 usage questions answered with a docs link alone, 4 of which came back with the same question. change_24 made usage replies include a 5-line runnable snippet (your file, line 7), and Dana merged it with POST /{namespace}/changes/{change}/merge. Replayed on past threads, POST /{namespace}/changes/{change}/review marked 5 of the 6 answered; read back at +21d, 1 of 9 came back, n 9, ■□□□ Too early to tell (Example, day 49).

Bring your own agent (folded) starts at It does it, you can stop it when it matches or beats the seated agent on the eval suite, and at You approve each one when it does not; POST /{namespace}/roles/{role}/staff seats it.

npx startup-builder eval --scenario open-source-64 --agent "claude -p" --seat marketing-lead   # seated: 58 of 64 answered right, 0 wrong marks, $0.03 a reply · yours: 55, 1 wrong mark → You approve each one

What it can do nextCopy Anchor Link

When it hands to youCopy Anchor Link

Company adoptions go to AE · Priya Shah (person); security, license and rival questions and every pull request come to you, the maintainer. One Brief per Role, as captured, then the Approval (brief, draft and checks are Not live yet, gaps #7).

[
  {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/tasks/task_405",
    "$type": "Task",
    "assignee": "worker_3",
    "due": "2026-10-16T17:00:00Z",
    "on": "lead_47",
    "brief": {
      "who": "Birchway Properties: 3 people made first calls this week",
      "chose": "to-the-ae",
      "why": "3 or more from one company",
      "calls": "lease.renew, notices.schedule",
      "never": [
        "the calls we watched, in any Message",
        "a discount"
      ]
    }
  },
  {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/tasks/task_381",
    "$type": "Task",
    "assignee": "worker_1",
    "due": "2026-10-08T17:00:00Z",
    "on": "issue_88",
    "brief": {
      "who": "an outside developer on leaseline-js",
      "said": "Is the CLI MIT, or source-available?",
      "chose": "to-a-maintainer",
      "why": "a license question is the maintainer’s"
    }
  },
  {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/approvals/approval_72",
    "$type": "Approval",
    "verdict": null,
    "deadline": "2026-10-21T17:00:00Z",
    "draft": "Adds a Remix example for @leaseline/sdk: one loader that lists upcoming renewals…",
    "route": "open-a-pull-request",
    "checks": [
      {
        "check": "license-allowlist",
        "status": "pass"
      },
      {
        "check": "boundary",
        "status": "pass"
      }
    ]
  }
]

Each receiver answers with POST /{namespace}/tasks/{task}/claim (Take this one), POST /{namespace}/tasks/{task}/return with a reason, POST /{namespace}/actions/{action}/redirect, POST /{namespace}/approvals/{approval}/approve or POST /{namespace}/approvals/{approval}/refuse, each a one-call window. Once a person claims a thread, the agent posts nothing more on it and drafts into their queue (claimedByPerson, Not live yet, gaps #7). A Task nobody claims by its due time goes up a Role through POST /{namespace}/tasks/{task}/escalate, and person-promise fires.

On time: AE · Priya Shah, 2 of 2 claimed within 1 business day, n 2; you, 7 of 7 answered within 1 business day, median 3 h 40 min, n 7, ■□□□ Too early to tell beside Other Startups’ 90 % on time. Your queue: counted by kind: in week 1, 9 reply approvals and 1 maintainer question; now about 6 reply approvals, 1 pull request and 1 question a week.

The fixed line: POST /{namespace}/deals/{deal}/assign sets owner to the receiving person, the agent is never a Deal’s owner, and Meetings land on the owner’s calendar under the owner’s name.

When it won’t sendCopy Anchor Link

The captured refusal, then the Stop that fired as a Campaign.paused reason (Not live yet, gaps #2); the rewrite that posted is the issue #79 thread in Example.

{
  "type": "https://startupbuilder.dev/errors/refused",
  "title": "Refused",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "The reply on leaseline-js #79 did not post: it names a release date for a fix that has not shipped.",
  "checks": [
    {
      "check": "fact-check",
      "status": "fail",
      "doc": "/plays/open-source#check-fact-check",
      "fix": "Cut the claim, or name the record that backs it.",
      "then": "Content.draft"
    },
    {
      "check": "owned-by-a-person",
      "status": "pass"
    }
  ]
}

[
  {
    "reason": {
      "limit": "key-leak",
      "observed": "1 live key in a comment on issue #88",
      "bound": "0",
      "window": "revoked in 2 min 40 s"
    },
    "doc": "/plays/open-source#stop-key-leak",
    "task": "task_379"
  }
]

Did it workCopy Anchor Link

Open code holds no one back, so the leaf reads before-after (rule o): the columns read Now and Before, and nothing prints as Added. Only keys 30 days past their first call count (rule n). Each figure’s call is POST /{namespace}/metrics/query by node, and every node above the leaf is Not live yet (gaps #4).

{
  "$id": "decisions/decision_521",
  "$type": "Decision",
  "choice": "answer-the-issue",
  "reason": "an outside developer’s bug report with steps; the sandbox run reproduces it on Node 22 and passes on 2.4.1",
  "stakes": "low",
  "options": [
    "answer-the-issue",
    "offer-a-listing",
    "open-a-pull-request",
    "to-the-ae",
    "to-a-maintainer"
  ],
  "by": "worker_6",
  "on": "issue_93",
  "expected": "the thread closed as answered within 1 business day, and contact_14’s key at a first call within 7d",
  "reopensWhen": "no Comment.created from contact_14 within 7d while issue_93 stays open"
}

Before against after reads keys whose first call came through a package or a tagged link in this window against the 90 days before the packages, scaled to 56 days; it is not proof. The pull-request arm holds back half the eligible projects at random: 3 opened, 3 held back, too few to read.

How it moves it: a median 11 minutes from install to first call from the README’s snippet, and outside issues answered in a median 3 h 10 min of business time, n 31 (time-to-first-call).

Guardrails: before against after: active-calling-keys, 212 against 164, and new paying Customers per first-calling key, 12.2 against 8.3 per 100; 0 maintainer rejections against a Stop at 1.

{
  "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns/open-source",
  "$type": "Campaign",
  "play": "play:open-source@1",
  "path": [
    "open-package-paid-keys",
    "new-paying-customers",
    "new-arr",
    "net-new-arr",
    "arr"
  ],
  "experiment": {
    "metric": "open-package-paid-keys",
    "unit": "count",
    "heldBack": 3,
    "decision": null
  },
  "readout": {
    "value": null,
    "n": 41,
    "maturing": 23,
    "interval": null,
    "readability": "inadmissible",
    "basis": "before-after",
    "pooled": true
  },
  "ledger": {
    "spend": 75,
    "workerCost": 2,
    "hours": 4.1,
    "pipelineArr": 2400,
    "wonArr": 1735,
    "projectedArr": 916,
    "paybackDays": 22
  }
}

Outside benchmark: the catalog holds none for this Play yet, so Other Startups’ results stand in: +2.2 paid keys per 100 first-calling installs, ■■■□ Likely, n 9,300.

Before it · After it. Before it: developer-relations, agent-legibility, agent-registries and launch-week send developers to the packages. After it: a first call starts product-led’s activation, a company adoption reaches the AE, and a rival’s license change hands the window to switch-kit.

ExampleCopy Anchor Link

Leaseline ran it from 2026-08-24 to 2026-10-19 (56 days): 64 new outside keys made a first call through a package or a tagged link, 41 of them matured past 30 days. The desk took 38 outside threads. Read every captured thread at ?threads=all; three follow the tables.

contact_14 on leaseline-js #93, Oct 19, 13:22 · “renew() throws on Node 22: TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading ‘term’).”

leaseline-bot (agent), 13:32 · I’m Leaseline’s agent.¹ The sandbox run reproduces this on Node 22 with 2.3.0, and it passes on 2.4.1 (run attached).² Upgrading to 2.4.1 fixes it; the cause was a missing default on the lease term.³

contact_14, 14:05 · “2.4.1 works, thanks.” The thread closed as answered; their key reached its first call at 14:09.

- This is fixed in the next release, out Friday.
+ The fix is merged on main (commit a41f2c); it ships in the next release, and the next tag on npm has it today.

leaseline-js #88, 2026-10-07 11:14 · “Is the CLI MIT, or source-available?” · leaseline-bot (agent), 11:24 · *I’m Leaseline’s agent. Dana, our maintainer, answers license questions and replies here by tomorrow 11:24.*⁴ The Brief went to Dana (task_381); she answered at 16:02 the same day: the CLI is MIT, and the pledge keeps published code MIT.

¹ The first agent reply in a thread says it is an agent, from the labeled bot account. ² A reproduction claim carries its sandbox run. ³ One cause and one fix, from the run. ⁴ The routed line, compiled from the Role’s Settings.

Your settingsCopy Anchor Link

---
holdout: 0.5      # half the eligible projects get no integration pull request
credit: 25         # dollars a project a month, 250 in all
---
Open: the SDK, the CLI and the adapters. Closed: everything on our servers.
Offer every new dependent one listing and the credit.
Usage replies carry a runnable snippet.
Three or more people from one company go to our AE.
Security, license and rival questions come to me.

$ npx startup-builder show plays/open-source
holdout 0.5 · credit $25 a project · snippet in usage replies · AE at 3 people · maintainer questions to you     your file  plays/open-source.mdx:2,3,5,6,7,8,9 (Ask 2026-08-24; line 7 by change_24, 2026-09-21)
family word-of-mouth · worker role:marketing-lead, owns never · chooses 5 (3 rule, 2 read) · sequence dependent-maintainer-offer · approval every-send · checks owned-by-a-person, fact-check, provenance, license-allowlist, boundary · stops 9 · placements github, npm, pypi + gmail, outlook    catalog  play:open-source@1 (Not live yet, gaps #5)

Every key from the catalogCopy Anchor Link

Compiled, not written: edit the Play record open-source and its Leaseline run, then regenerate. Every step runs from a sentence or a line of code. In your words: the CRM words you know, and where each lives here.