ArchNest
Self-Hosted Product Design — Open Core + Paid Modules
Free self-hosted ops dashboard. Unlock features with $5 one-time module purchases. Own it forever. No subscriptions.
Free Core
$5/Module
Self-Hosted
Business Model
How It Works
- Free core — genuinely useful self-hosted dashboard
- $5 one-time purchase per module (30 modules available)
- Bundles at discount ($10-$99)
- Free core updates forever
- Customer owns it — no vendor lock-in
Your Economics
- Infrastructure cost: ~$1/month (license server)
- Profit margin: 95%+ per sale
- Zero churn (one-time, not subscription)
- Zero hosting cost per customer
- Net per $5 module (after Stripe): $4.55
Free Core
Ships Free — No Purchase Required
| Feature | Free Limit |
|---|
| Dashboard (Glance) | Full |
| Infrastructure Overview | Full |
| SSH Terminal | 1 tab, 1 pane |
| SSH Tunnels | Manual start only |
| SFTP File Manager | Full |
| Docker Management | TCP API only, 1 source |
| Host Metrics | Basic (CPU/memory/disk) |
| Bookmarks | 10 max |
| SSH Hosts | 3 max |
| Users | 1 (admin only) |
| Theme | ArchNest Dark only |
| Help Page | Full |
Paid Modules — $5 Each
SSH Modules (8)
1. Multi-Pane Terminal $5
Split panes (2/4), multiple tabs
2. tmux Integration $5
Attach to existing tmux sessions
3. Jump-Host Chaining $5
Connect through intermediary hosts
4. Certificate Auth $5
OPKSSH certificate-based SSH auth
5. Tunnel Auto-Start $5
Tunnels start automatically on boot
6. Persistent Sessions $5
Terminal sessions survive navigation
7. Session Recording $5
Record terminal sessions to disk
8. Host-to-Host Transfer $5
Copy/move files between SSH hosts
Docker Modules (4)
9. Docker over SSH $5
Manage containers via CLI over SSH
10. Docker Push Agent $5
Outbound-only monitoring agent
11. Container Exec $5
Interactive shell into containers
12. Container Details $5
Full inspect: ports, networks, env, mounts
Integration Modules (6)
13. Unlimited SSH Hosts $5
Remove 3-host cap
14. Proxmox $5
VM/LXC management
15. AWS $5
EC2 + STS resource inventory
16. Cloudflare $5
DNS zones, resource listing
17. NetBird $5
Mesh peers, connectivity
18. Uptime Kuma $5
Monitor status/health
Desktop & Theme Modules (6)
19. Remote Desktop: RDP $5
Windows RDP via Guacamole
20. Remote Desktop: VNC $5
VNC sessions via Guacamole
21. Remote Desktop: Telnet $5
Telnet sessions via Guacamole
22. Theme: Midnight Blue $5
Platform Modules (6)
25. Multi-User $5
Admin/member roles, up to 10 seats
26. Advanced Metrics $5
Network, processes, ports, firewall, login stats
27. Data Export/Import $5
Backup/restore full config as JSON
28. Audit Log $5
Full activity log with export
29. Unlimited Bookmarks $5
Remove 10-bookmark cap
30. Global Search $5
Search pages, integrations, bookmarks
Bundles
SSH Pro
$25
All 8 SSH modules (save $15)
Docker Pro
$15
All 4 Docker modules (save $5)
Remote Desktop
$10
RDP + VNC + Telnet (save $5)
All Themes
$10
3 extra themes (save $5)
Everything
$99
All 30 modules forever (save $51)
License System
graph LR
BOOT[ArchNest Boot] --> CHECK[License Check
HTTPS to license server]
CHECK --> RESP[Signed Response
modules + valid_until]
RESP --> VALIDATE[Validate Ed25519
signature locally]
VALIDATE --> UNLOCK[Unlock purchased
modules]
UNLOCK --> WEEKLY[Re-check weekly]
WEEKLY --> CHECK
How It Works
- Phone-home on boot + once weekly
- Returns signed JSON: modules[] + valid_until (7 days)
- Ed25519 signature validated locally (public key in code)
- Works offline for 7 days between checks
- After 7 days offline → falls back to free core
License Server Stack
- Cloudflare Workers (free tier: 100K req/day)
- Cloudflare D1 database (free tier: 5GB)
- Stripe for payments
- Total cost: ~$1/month + Stripe fees
- Net per module sale: $4.55 (after Stripe)
Purchase Flow
graph LR
BROWSE[Browse Module Store
in Settings] --> BUY[Click Buy → $5]
BUY --> STRIPE[Stripe Checkout]
STRIPE --> WEBHOOK[Webhook → License Server]
WEBHOOK --> RECORD[Record purchase
in D1 database]
RECORD --> POLL[Next license check
returns new module]
POLL --> ACTIVE[Feature unlocks]
Revenue Projections
| Stage | Installs/mo | Avg Modules Bought | Revenue/mo |
|---|
| Early (month 1-3) | 50 | 3 modules ($15) | $750 |
| Growth (month 4-6) | 200 | 4 modules ($20) | $4,000 |
| Steady (month 7-12) | 500 | 5 modules ($25) | $12,500 |
| Mature (year 2) | 1,000 | $30 avg (bundles) | $30,000 |
Infrastructure cost stays at ~$1/month regardless of scale. 95%+ margin at all stages.
What Changes From Current Code
| Area | Current | New |
|---|
| Database | SQLite | SQLite (stays) |
| Auth | Local JWT | Local JWT (stays) |
| Multi-tenant | N/A | Not needed (single-tenant per install) |
| License | None | Weekly phone-home + signature validation |
| Module gating | None | Fastify middleware + frontend lock UI |
| Settings | Current tabs | + "Module Store" tab |
| Stripe | None | Checkout for purchases |
Key insight: Almost no infrastructure changes. You're adding a license layer and a store UI — not rewriting anything.
Implementation Phases
Phase 1 — License Infrastructure
- Build license server (CF Workers + D1)
- Add license check to backend
- Add module enforcement middleware
- Add "Module Store" tab in Settings
Phase 2 — Module Gating
- Define module boundaries in routes
- Add lock UI to gated features
- Free tier caps (3 hosts, 1 pane, 10 bookmarks)
Phase 3 — Purchase Flow
- Stripe Checkout integration
- Module activation on webhook
- Bundle discounts
- Purchase history in Settings
Phase 4 — Distribution
- Public Docker image
- Landing page + module catalog
- Installation docs
- Demo instance
Open Decisions
| # | Question | Options |
|---|
| 1 | Source code visibility | Open-source (MIT) vs source-available (BSL) vs proprietary |
| 2 | Distribution | Docker Hub vs GitHub Container Registry |
| 3 | Landing page | Cloudflare Pages vs separate repo |
| 4 | Refund policy | 30-day vs no refunds ($5 is low) |
| 5 | Module store UX | In-app tab vs external website |
| 6 | License transfer | Unlimited vs 1/year |