Build v1 Techne platform: enrollment, payments, and members area

[unforced]

Why We're Building This

Right now Techne has no way to actually onboard a student. You discover it, you're intrigued, and then nothing — no signup, no payment, no way to access cohort materials. For Cohort 2 this needs to be fully automated: a student goes from landing on the site to enrolled and inside the members area without any manual intervention.

This needs to be live before Cohort 2 enrollment opens — target: 2-3 weeks.

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Stack

Layer	Tool	Reason
Framework	Next.js (App Router)	Static public pages + authenticated members area in one codebase
Auth + Database	Supabase	Magic link auth, Postgres, row-level security — no custom backend needed for v1
Payments	Stripe	Checkout + webhooks + promo codes for sliding scale/scholarships
Hosting	Vercel	Natural fit for Next.js, handles env vars cleanly

FastAPI comes later (v2) when we add the MCP/Parachute personalization layer.

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Key Decisions

• Auth: Magic link via email — Supabase sends a link, no password required
• Recordings: YouTube unlisted embeds — store the URL in the database, zero storage cost
• Admin: Simple /admin route (admin-flagged Supabase user) — paste a YouTube URL, title, week number, notes → immediately visible to enrolled students
• Pricing: $225 flat + Stripe promo codes for sliding scale / scholarship spots
• Design: Carry forward existing Techne aesthetic — dark hero, parchment body, Cormorant + IBM Plex Mono, ember red

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Routes

Route	Type	Description
/	Static	Homepage — migrate current Techne HTML
/programs	Static	Program listings including LVB Cohort 2
/enroll/[cohort]	Dynamic	Stripe checkout for a specific cohort
/cohort	Protected	Members area — recordings, materials, cohort directory
/admin	Protected (admin)	Add/edit sessions and resources
/writing	Static	Blog layer — ships as placeholder, populated later

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Database Schema

cohorts (
  id uuid primary key,
  name text,                    -- "Cohort 2"
  description text,
  price_cents int,              -- 22500
  stripe_price_id text,
  starts_at timestamptz,
  ends_at timestamptz,
  is_active boolean default false
)

enrollments (
  id uuid primary key,
  user_id uuid references auth.users,
  cohort_id uuid references cohorts,
  stripe_session_id text,
  enrolled_at timestamptz default now()
)

sessions (
  id uuid primary key,
  cohort_id uuid references cohorts,
  week_number int,
  title text,
  youtube_url text,
  notes text,                   -- markdown
  published_at timestamptz
)

resources (
  id uuid primary key,
  cohort_id uuid references cohorts,
  title text,
  url text,
  resource_type text,           -- 'link' | 'document' | 'tool'
  created_at timestamptz default now()
)

Row-level security ensures enrolled students only see content for their cohort.

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User Flows

Enrolling student

1. Lands on /programs → reads about LVB Cohort 2 → clicks Enroll
2. Stripe checkout ($225 or discounted via promo code)
3. Stripe webhook fires on success → enrollment row created in Supabase
4. Redirected to /cohort → sees sessions and resources

Returning student

1. Clicks Sign In → enters email → clicks magic link in inbox
2. Lands on /cohort → recordings, materials, cohort members

Aaron adding a recording after a session

1. Goes to /admin → Add Session
2. Pastes YouTube URL, title, week number, optional notes
3. Saves → immediately visible to enrolled students

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Out of Scope for V1

• MCP / Parachute integration (v2 — requires FastAPI layer on top of Supabase)
• Observations / evidence profiles / collective memory
• Multiple simultaneous cohorts
• Full community profiles / portfolio pages
• Admin dashboard beyond simple session/resource management

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Open Questions

• Does /writing need content at launch or ships as an empty placeholder?
• Cohort directory: just names, or names + what each student is building?
• Does Aaron's regular account get an admin flag or is there a separate admin account?

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What Comes After V1

The FastAPI MCP server sits on top of this Supabase database. When a student opens Parachute, it queries their enrollment, sessions attended, and what they've been building — personalizing their extended mind with Techne context. V1 builds the database that makes this possible. Cohort 2 students help build the MCP layer as a class project.

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Brainstorm doc: docs/brainstorms/2026-02-23-techne-v1-platform-brainstorm.md