Open-source maintainers
An open-source maintainer runs a public project and its community.
Independent software developers and indie hackers
Your code, your bug reports and your app's shop are in one place. Each sale gives the buyer a licence key, and each release reaches your users by email.
A developer working alone uses Magpie in Personal. A collaborator can join one repository in a team.
Get started free
This combination of six Magpie areas fits an indie developer.
- Git Repositories
- Git Repositories hosts your code, private or public.
- Issues
- Issues tracks bugs, with a public form for your users' reports.
- Websites
- Websites serves your app's site from its own files, at your domain.
- Store
- Store sells your app as a download, with a licence key for each buyer.
- Newsletter
- Newsletter emails your users about each release.
- Supporters
- Supporters lets people support your free tools every month.
Your code lives in a Git repository, and a push can publish your site.
Git Repositories hosts your code. You clone and push over HTTPS with an access token, for reading or writing. A public repository has a page anyone can read.
The repository's page shows the files, the README and the commits. A push can publish a website, copied as it is or built from Markdown.
Users report bugs on a public form, and each report waits in Triage.
Issues tracks bugs and features, each with an ID such as QYS-12, a priority and labels. A public bug form takes reports from anyone, into Triage or a chosen project.
Signed webhooks tell your other tools when an issue changes. The REST API can create issues. A GitHub commit or pull request link can sit on an issue.
Your app's site is your own files, at your own domain.
Websites serves the HTML, CSS and JavaScript of a site you built, exactly as they are. You drop a folder or a ZIP on its page, and every change is a version.
A site built from Markdown in a repository also gets a feed of your posts. Magpie gets the certificate for your domain.
Your app sells as a download, and each buyer gets a licence key.
Store sells your app as a ZIP download, one file for Mac and one for Windows. You add the licence keys you already have, and each sale takes one.
The key shows on the order page and in the confirmation email. When you replace a file, you can email every buyer who can still download it.
Your users hear about each release by email.
Newsletter keeps your mailing list, with double opt-in on its sign-up page. Checkout can ask buyers to join.
You write each issue in Markdown, send yourself a test and schedule it. A sent issue has a web copy you can link from your release notes.
People who use your free tools can support them every month.
Supporters gives you a public page with a free tier and monthly paid tiers. Supporters pay by card, into your own Stripe account.
Posts can go to everyone, or only to paying supporters, such as an early build's notes.
Six more areas cover email at your domain, DNS, coding assistants, demos, secrets and a forum.
- Mail gives your domain mailboxes and addresses such as support@.
- DNS
- DNS hosts your domain's records, and Mail and Websites add theirs.
- Design System
- Design System writes your app's design rules into a DESIGN_SYSTEM.md for coding assistants.
- Screen Recorder
- Screen Recorder records a demo of a new feature, with your camera beside it.
- Password Vault
- Password Vault keeps API keys, SSH keys and recovery codes encrypted in your browser.
- Message Boards
- Message Boards gives your users a public board for questions and ideas.
A bug goes from a user's report to a release.
The report
A user fills in your public bug form.
Triage
You accept it into a project, with a priority.
The fix
You push the fix to your repository.
The release
The new ZIP replaces the old one in your shop, and buyers can be emailed.
The notes
The newsletter tells your users what changed.
Setting up takes four steps.
Create a repository
You make it private or public, and push your code. Help: Git Repositories.
Turn on the bug form
You choose the project its reports go to. Help: Triage and public issue forms.
Add your app to the shop
You upload the ZIP and add your licence keys. Help: Sell digital products, files and licence keys.
Connect Stripe
You connect your Stripe account, so buyers can pay by card. Help: Connect Stripe to receive money.
Plans
A developer working alone fits Pro, for your own work in Personal. The REST API and API keys need Pro.
Magpie adds no fee to your shop's sales. Magpie's fee on supporters' payments is 3%. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each card payment. Prices are on the Pricing page.
Other people who build software have pages of their own.
Indie game developers
An indie game developer builds a game and its community.
Software startups and small product teams
A software startup plans, builds and ships as a small team.
Web designers and developers
A web designer builds clients' websites and hands them over.
Digital product sellers
A digital product seller sells templates, presets and downloads.
Questions indie developers ask
Can I host private and public repositories?
Yes. A repository is private to you or your team, or public. A public repository has a page with its files, commits and clone address. Anyone can read and clone it.
How do I push my code?
You clone and push over HTTPS with an access token. A token can be for reading, writing or both. It can be saved straight to Password Vault.
Can users report bugs from my website?
Yes. A public bug form asks for a title, a description and an optional email. Reports go to Triage, or to the project the form names. Only editors see the reporter's email.
Can I bring my GitHub issues?
Yes. Issues imports a GitHub Issues export made with GitHub CLI, or a CSV file. An import holds up to 200 issues. Issues export as CSV or JSON.
Can my other tools hear about new issues?
Yes. Signed webhooks send seven kinds of event, verified with HMAC-SHA256. A failed delivery is tried up to 5 times.
Can I sell my app with licence keys?
Yes. You add the keys you already have to a download product. Each sale takes one unused key. An option's stock is its count of unused keys. Keys are stored encrypted.
Can buyers get updates?
Yes. When you replace a file, buyers get the new one from their order page. You can email every buyer who can still download it.
Can I limit how often a file is downloaded?
Yes. A download period sets how many days buyers can download. A second limit sets how many times for each file. Both can be left empty.
Can I host my app's docs?
Yes. A files website serves your HTML as it is. It can also build the site from Markdown in a repository. A site can be at your own domain.
Can I have email at my app's domain?
Yes. Mail gives your domain mailboxes, addresses such as support@, and a catch-all. Magpie lists the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records your domain needs.
Can my coding assistant follow my app's design?
Yes. Design System documents your colours, type and components. Your coding assistant can import them from your codebase. It exports a DESIGN_SYSTEM.md file for assistants.
What does Magpie take from my sales?
Magpie adds no fee to your shop's sales. Supporters' payments carry Magpie's 3% fee. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each card payment.
Ship your next release from Magpie.
Create a Magpie account and push your first repository.