GROWTH PATTERN

Adding Freemium Gating to Next.js + PlanetScale + Clerk + Stripe Apps

Free tier users in Next.js + PlanetScale + Clerk + Stripe apps often hit limits without any automated upgrade prompts or feature blocking.

Next.js + PlanetScale + Clerk + Stripe

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What's Missing in Standard Next.js + PlanetScale + Clerk + Stripe Architecture

Stripe handles subscription billing perfectly, but it doesn't track usage or enforce feature limits. You'd need to manually check subscription status and implement your own usage tracking in PlanetScale. Stripe webhooks fire for payment events, but not for usage milestones.

Standard Next.js + PlanetScale + Clerk + Stripe Flow vs Optimized Skene Flow

Standard Flow
1

User subscribes via Stripe

2

Subscription status stored in PlanetScale

3

Features accessible but no usage limits enforced

Skene Flow
1

Track usage in PlanetScale 'subscriptions' and 'usage' tables

2

Detect when free tier user hits limit (e.g., 100 API calls)

3

Block feature access and trigger upgrade prompt email

4

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 PlanetScale 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

cursor.mdc
@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 + PlanetScale + Clerk + Stripe.

Copy Skene Prompt for Cursor

Generated skene.config.ts

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
  }
});

Frequently asked questions