feat: one-time $9 30-Day Pro Pass

[rob-gordon]

What

A $9 one-time, 30-day Pro Pass that never auto-renews — aimed at episodic users with a singular immediate need who won't subscribe. Priced above monthly ($6) so it structurally can't undercut subscriptions; anyone needing Pro ~6+ months/year is still better off on yearly ($48).

Design/research context: proposal artifact + PostHog analysis from the planning session (subs ~7/mo mid-2026, ~90% of signed-in users never return after week one — task-shaped usage the pass monetizes).

How it works

No webhooks, no DB — matches the existing live-Stripe-lookup pattern and fails closed (worst case: paying user temporarily unrecognized; never: user charged unexpectedly).

• create-checkout-session accepts plan: "pass" → mode: "payment", PaymentIntent metadata.ff_pass, invoice_creation on. Attaches to the existing Stripe customer by email (newest-first, mirroring getCustomerFromToken) so a fresh pass-customer can't shadow subscription history; falls back to customer_email + customer_creation: "always".
• customer-info lists PaymentIntents alongside subscriptions (parallel) and returns pass: { expiresAt, paymentIntentId } | null via api/_lib/_pass.ts: valid = succeeded + metadata + charge not refunded and not disputed; latest valid expiry wins (a refunded newer pass can't kill a valid older one).
• AI endpoints accept a pi_… bearer token symmetric to the existing sub_… scheme; pi.customer is guarded so a null can never mint a shared pro_null rate-limit key. Bogus tokens now fall through to the free tier instead of throwing.
• useHasProAccess() / useIsProUser() honor the pass — every feature gate flows through them. Post-expiry, hosted charts go read-only (EditHosted's useHasProAccess gate); nothing is deleted.
• Fixed en route: useProAiToken() sends the subscription id only when active/trialing. customer-info returns the newest sub regardless of status, so a lapsed subscriber holding a pass would otherwise send a dead sub_… id and get anonymous AI limits — and that user is the pass's core persona.

UI

Pass is a callout below the normal options, never a third plan column:

1. /pricing — ticket strip under the Free/Pro comparison (#pass anchor)
2. Checkout — dashed callout under the trust box; pass holders instead see "active until {date}" and can still subscribe mid-pass (deliberate: no double-billing risk, and that's when they're most convertible)
3. FAQ — "What if I just need it for one project?" now leads with the pass (+ all FAQ strings converted to lazy t arrows, fixing a pre-existing locale-timing bug)
4. PaywallModal (all trigger sites at once) + SandboxWarning — secondary text link, clicked-paywall-button now carries target: "plans" | "pass"
5. /success?pass=true variant + new_pass_holder Loops event
6. Account — pass section (status/expiry); Customer Portal & History gated on subscription presence

Testing

• pnpm -F api test: 12 new predicate tests (refund/dispute/expiry/latest-valid-expiry)
• pnpm -F app test: new customer-state mocking via AppContext injection + fixtures (fakePassCustomer, fakeLapsedSubWithPassCustomer); hook, Checkout, and Account tests — 23 suites / 322 tests green
• app/e2e/pass.spec.ts: CI-safe specs (ticket visible; free user reaches Stripe checkout showing $9; subscriber sees no pass CTA) — verified green locally against vercel dev + test-mode Stripe. Full test-card purchase spec is gated on a dedicated TESTING_EMAIL_PASS account (setup steps in the spec comment) and skips when unset.
• Backend smoke-tested live: pass session = payment mode, $9.00, invoice on, email locked, success_url correct

Env / release notes

• STRIPE_PRICE_ID_PASS set in Vercel development + preview (test price price_1TvpkNK9wlDh9GkwZPy4nYfK, product prod_Uvh81iwjCsapw0 via stripe-scripts/create-pass-price.mjs dev). Production price is NOT created yet — run create-pass-price.mjs prod + vercel env add STRIPE_PRICE_ID_PASS production before the release merge.
• Never enable promo codes on the pass (a 100%-off session creates no PaymentIntent → no entitlement).
• Noticed while in here: EditWithAI.tsx is imported nowhere (dead code) and its request shape doesn't match /api/prompt/edit — left untouched, worth a separate cleanup.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
flowchart-fun	Ready	Preview, Comment	Jul 22, 2026 2:56am