Independent software developers and indie hackers
An indie developer builds, sells and supports an app alone.
Open-source maintainers
Your project's code is public, and your users report bugs on a form. Your roadmap takes their suggestions, and sponsors support the work every month.
The maintainers work together in one Magpie team. Users read the code, the docs and the roadmap at their public addresses.
Get started free
This combination of six Magpie areas fits an open-source project.
- Git Repositories
- Git Repositories hosts the project's code, public for anyone to read and clone.
- Issues
- Issues tracks bugs, with a public form for your users' reports.
- Kanban Boards
- Kanban Boards shows your roadmap to everyone, and takes suggestions.
- Websites
- Websites builds your docs site from Markdown in the repository.
- Message Boards
- Message Boards gives your users a public forum.
- Supporters
- Supporters takes monthly sponsorship, from people and companies.
Your code is public, and anyone can read and clone it.
Git Repositories hosts the project's code. A public repository has its own page with the files, the README and the commits. Anyone can clone it.
Maintainers push over HTTPS with an access token, for reading or writing. A push can also rebuild the docs site.
Users report bugs on a public form, and you triage each one.
Issues tracks the project's bugs and features, with priorities, labels, milestones and a roadmap. A public bug form takes reports from anyone, into Triage.
You accept a report into a project, or close it as a duplicate. Signed webhooks tell your other tools when an issue changes.
Your roadmap is a board everyone can see, and users suggest what comes next.
Kanban Boards shows the roadmap as columns, such as Planned, In progress and Shipped. Outside access lets anyone with the address see it.
People signed in to Magpie can suggest a card, comment and heart. Suggestions wait in the Inbox column until a maintainer moves one onto the board.
Your docs site is built from Markdown in the repository, on every push.
Websites builds the docs from a content folder of Markdown, with your own templates. Each push builds the site again. A build that fails leaves the live site as it was.
Magpie adds a sitemap and a feed of your posts. The docs can be at your project's own domain.
Your users ask questions and share ideas on a public forum.
Message Boards gives the project a public board of posts and replies. Anyone can read it, and Hot, New and Top sort the posts.
People post, reply and vote. A post's author, the board's creator and your admins can remove a post.
People and companies sponsor the project every month.
Supporters gives the project a public page with a free tier and monthly paid tiers. A tier can be for companies. Sponsors pay by card, into the project's own Stripe account.
Posts can go to everyone, or to chosen tiers. A poll lets sponsors vote on the next feature.
Four more areas cover release notes, design notes, demos and your design system.
- Newsletter
- Newsletter emails each release's notes to the people who signed up.
- Documents
- Documents holds proposals and design notes, with comments from other maintainers.
- Screen Recorder
- Screen Recorder records a demo of a new feature, with a link to share.
- Design System
- Design System documents your project's components, and writes a DESIGN_SYSTEM.md for coding assistants.
A feature goes from a user's suggestion to a release.
The suggestion
A user suggests it on the public roadmap.
The plan
A maintainer moves it into Planned.
The work
An issue tracks it, and the code goes into the repository.
The docs
The push rebuilds the docs site with its new page.
The release
The card moves to Shipped, and the newsletter sends the notes.
Setting up takes four steps.
Make the repository public
You push the code and make the repository public. Help: Git Repositories.
Turn on the bug form
You choose the project its reports go to. Help: Triage and public issue forms.
Share the roadmap
You turn on outside access and suggestions. Help: Share a Kanban board and take suggestions.
Build the docs
You point a files website at the repository. Help: Build a website from a Git repository.
Plans
Maintainers working together fit the Team plan, each a member of the team. Users who read, report, suggest or sponsor are not added to the team.
Magpie's fee on sponsors' 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.
Software startups and small product teams
A software startup plans, builds and ships as a small team.
Questions open-source maintainers ask
Can anyone read and clone our code?
Yes. A public repository has a page with its files, commits and clone address. Anyone can read it and clone it.
Can users report bugs?
Yes. A public bug form asks for a title, a description and an optional email. Reports go to Triage, where a maintainer accepts or closes each one.
Can we bring our issues from GitHub?
Yes. Issues imports a GitHub Issues export made with GitHub CLI, or a CSV file. An import holds up to 200 issues.
Can users see our roadmap?
Yes. A Kanban board with outside access can be seen by anyone with its address. Visitors see the columns and cards, and never change them.
Can users suggest features?
Yes. On a board that takes suggestions, people signed in to Magpie suggest cards, comment and heart. Each suggestion waits in the Inbox until a maintainer approves it.
Can our docs build from the repository?
Yes. A files website builds the docs from Markdown and your Twig templates on every push. A build can hold up to 2,000 pages.
Can our users talk to each other?
Yes. A public Message Board holds posts, replies and votes. Anyone can read it.
Can companies sponsor the project?
Yes. A paid tier can be for companies, at its own monthly price and benefits. Sponsors pay by card into the project's Stripe account.
Can sponsors vote on what we build next?
Yes. A post can hold a poll, for chosen tiers only. The poll is a Form, and its responses are collected there.
Can we send release notes by email?
Yes. Newsletter sends each release's notes to the people who signed up, with double opt-in. A sent issue has its own web page too.
Host your project in Magpie.
Create a Magpie account and push your first public repository.