GROWTH PATTERN

Adding Freemium Gating to Remix + Clerk + Stripe Apps

Remix + Clerk + Stripe subscriptions work, but there's no usage tracking to identify when free users are ready to convert to paid.

Remix + Clerk + Stripe

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What's Missing in Standard Remix + 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 your database. Stripe webhooks fire for payment events, but not for usage milestones.

Standard Remix + Clerk + Stripe Flow vs Optimized Skene Flow

Standard Flow
1

User subscribes via Stripe

2

Subscription status stored in your database

3

Features accessible but no usage limits enforced

Skene Flow
1

Track usage in your database '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 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

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 Remix + 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