What's Missing in Standard Next.js + NextAuth + Stripe Architecture
Stripe webhooks tell you about payment events, but they don't track whether a paying customer is actually using your product. You need separate infrastructure to monitor usage and enforce subscription limits.
Standard Next.js + NextAuth + Stripe Flow vs Optimized Skene Flow
User subscribes via Stripe
Subscription status stored in your database
Features accessible but no usage limits enforced
Track usage in your database 'subscriptions' and 'usage' tables
Detect when free tier user hits limit (e.g., 100 API calls)
Block feature access and trigger upgrade prompt email
Track conversion from free to paid
Visual comparison of the flows:
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How Skene Fixes This
We created a Skene configuration that monitors your database usage metrics and Stripe subscriptions. It automatically blocks features for free users who exceed limits and triggers conversion-focused email sequences.
Implementation Comparison
Using Skene Infrastructure
Install via Prompt
@task: Initialize Skene.
@action: Analyze my local code, validating subscription via `npx skene login`, and generate `skene.config.ts` to implement the Freemium Gating pattern for Next.js + NextAuth + Stripe.Copy Skene Prompt for Cursor
Generated skene.config.ts
// skene.config.ts - The Automated Way
import { defineLoop } from '@skene/sdk';
export default defineLoop({
type: 'freemium',
opinion: 'Enforce usage limits for free tier users and trigger upgrade prompts',
steps: [
{
trigger: {
type: 'api',
endpoint: '/api/features/*',
method: 'POST'
},
condition: {
type: 'usage',
limit: {
free: 100,
paid: Infinity
},
period: '30d'
},
action: {
type: 'block',
message: 'You've reached your free tier limit. Upgrade to continue.',
upgradePrompt: {
type: 'email',
provider: 'resend',
template: 'upgrade_prompt'
}
}
}
],
recovery: {
retries: 0 // No retries for blocking actions
}
});