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| 1 | +# Go-live checklist — Gecko v1.0 |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +The complete list of things that need to be true for you to ONLY have |
| 4 | +to flash USBs (or do nothing) when orders arrive. Time estimates in |
| 5 | +parentheses. Order is roughly fastest → slowest. |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +## ✅ Already done (CI does this for you) |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +- [x] Build automation — every tagged release builds Windows .exe, |
| 10 | + macOS .pkg (×2 arches), and Gecko OS .img.xz |
| 11 | +- [x] All artefacts attached to GitHub Releases automatically |
| 12 | +- [x] Landing page live + docs published |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +## 🟡 5-min tasks for you to click through |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +### Email — set up `hello@<your-domain>` (5 min, free) |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +**Easiest path:** |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | +1. Create a **ProtonMail** account: <https://proton.me/mail/pricing> |
| 21 | + - Free tier: 1 GB, 1 address. Plenty for now. |
| 22 | + - Suggest: `gecko.project@proton.me` or `gecko.os@proton.me` |
| 23 | + - 5 min, no card needed. |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +2. Later, when you have a domain on Cloudflare: |
| 26 | + - Cloudflare dashboard → Email → **Email Routing** |
| 27 | + - Forward `hello@yourdomain.tld` → `gecko.project@proton.me` |
| 28 | + - 100% free, zero maintenance. |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +**Alternative if you prefer Gmail**: just register `geckoproject@gmail.com`. |
| 31 | +Less private but anyone knows Gmail. |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +**No need to self-host email.** That's a maintenance trap. Use a free |
| 34 | +provider. |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +### ProtonVPN public affiliate (5 min) |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +1. Apply: <https://protonvpn.com/affiliate-program> |
| 39 | +2. Open to anyone — they accept OSS publishers / small sites |
| 40 | +3. Get your unique affiliate URL |
| 41 | +4. Update one line on the landing + the email template with it |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +### Gumroad — payment processor (10 min) |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +1. Sign up: <https://gumroad.com/> — free, 10% fee on transactions |
| 46 | +2. Create a product: |
| 47 | + - Name: "Gecko OS — pre-flashed USB" |
| 48 | + - Price: €35 (or whatever) |
| 49 | + - Type: physical (Gumroad asks shipping address from buyer) |
| 50 | +3. Get the product URL (`gumroad.com/l/gecko-usb` or similar) |
| 51 | +4. Replace the `alert(...)` on the landing USB button with that URL |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +**Alternative**: Stripe Checkout (1.4 % + €0.25, lower fees but slightly |
| 54 | +more setup). For first 100 sales, Gumroad is fine. |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | +### Domain (10 min, ~€10/year) |
| 57 | + |
| 58 | +If you don't have one: |
| 59 | +1. **Cloudflare Registrar** at-cost prices: <https://www.cloudflare.com/products/registrar/> |
| 60 | +2. Suggest: `gecko.os` (~€30/yr), `gecko.app` (~€18/yr), `gecko.cat` (~€10/yr, .cat needs Catalan-relevance check) |
| 61 | +3. After purchase: point at your Nubul IP via A record |
| 62 | +4. Caddy already serves the static files; just add the domain to |
| 63 | + `Caddyfile` |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +Use Cloudflare DNS so you can enable Email Routing for free. |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +## 🟢 30-min tasks (do once, no recurring work) |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +### Wire Gumroad → landing button |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +Edit `gecko-web/index.html` line ~824 (the USB button): |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +```diff |
| 74 | +- <a href="#" onclick="alert('Disponible aviat — escriu-nos un email a hello@gecko.cat'); return false;" class="btn btn-outline" style="width:100%;justify-content:center;"> |
| 75 | ++ <a href="https://gumroad.com/l/YOUR_PRODUCT_ID" target="_blank" class="btn btn-outline" style="width:100%;justify-content:center;"> |
| 76 | +``` |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | +Then `scp` to Nubul. |
| 79 | + |
| 80 | +### Document your "flash + ship" workflow |
| 81 | + |
| 82 | +When Gumroad emails you "new order": |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +1. Open Etcher → flash `gecko-os.img.xz` to a USB (3-4 min) |
| 85 | +2. Print label (use Gumroad's "Mark as shipped" + Correos web) |
| 86 | +3. Padded envelope (~€0.50, supermarket) |
| 87 | +4. Postage stamp (~€2.50 Correos for inside-EU) |
| 88 | +5. Drop at post box (or pick up from your home if you have it scheduled) |
| 89 | +6. Mark as shipped in Gumroad with tracking ID |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +Per-order time: ~10 minutes, no thinking required. |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +### Setup auto-email after purchase (Gumroad does this) |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +Gumroad has built-in receipt emails. You can customise them: |
| 96 | +1. Gumroad dashboard → Receipt |
| 97 | +2. Paste the contents of `docs/email-templates/welcome.md` |
| 98 | +3. Replace `{{purchaser_name}}` and similar with Gumroad's template tags |
| 99 | +4. Test by buying your own product (use Gumroad's preview mode) |
| 100 | + |
| 101 | +## 🔵 Optional but high-leverage |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +### GitHub Sponsors (15 min) |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +Enables monthly recurring donations alongside Buy Me a Coffee. |
| 106 | +<https://github.com/sponsors/Pardo24> → enable. |
| 107 | + |
| 108 | +Cardless donations from the open-source community are real (~€20-100/mo |
| 109 | +for medium-active OSS projects). Set tiers €3/€10/€30 monthly. |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | +### Hardware affiliate (Amazon, 10 min) |
| 112 | + |
| 113 | +1. Apply to Amazon Associates (your region): <https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/> |
| 114 | +2. After approval, generate affiliate URLs for the mini PCs in |
| 115 | + `gecko-os/docs/HARDWARE.md` |
| 116 | +3. Replace direct Amazon links with your affiliated ones |
| 117 | +4. ~3-8% commission on hardware bought via your link |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +### Discord server (20 min) |
| 120 | + |
| 121 | +A free Discord server for community support — early users can help each |
| 122 | +other, you don't bear all the support burden. |
| 123 | + |
| 124 | +1. Create Discord account if you don't have one (5 min) |
| 125 | +2. Make a server "Gecko Community" |
| 126 | +3. Channels: #general, #help, #showcase |
| 127 | +4. Create an invite link, put it on landing as "Get help on Discord" |
| 128 | + |
| 129 | +## What you DON'T need to set up |
| 130 | + |
| 131 | +- Cloud servers |
| 132 | +- Customer database / CRM |
| 133 | +- Tax compliance software (Gumroad handles EU VAT automatically) |
| 134 | +- Helpdesk (the AI prompt + GitHub issues are enough for v1.0) |
| 135 | +- Marketing automation |
| 136 | +- Custom paywall infra |
| 137 | + |
| 138 | +## Recurring tasks once live |
| 139 | + |
| 140 | +| Task | Frequency | Time | |
| 141 | +|---|---|---| |
| 142 | +| Flash + ship USB | Per-order | 10 min | |
| 143 | +| Respond to GitHub issues | Weekly | 30-60 min | |
| 144 | +| Update Docker images (auto via Recyclarr) | Monthly | 0 min — automated | |
| 145 | +| Tag a new release (when you have features) | Quarterly-ish | 5 min (tag + push, CI does rest) | |
| 146 | +| Check Gumroad payouts | Monthly | 2 min | |
| 147 | + |
| 148 | +Total ongoing: **~1-2 hours per week** if you have ~10 orders/week. |
| 149 | + |
| 150 | +## When to escalate |
| 151 | + |
| 152 | +If you hit 100+ orders/month: |
| 153 | +- Switch from Correos manual drop-off to scheduled pickup |
| 154 | +- Bulk-print labels (Correos has API for this) |
| 155 | +- Consider hiring someone for €15/hour to handle physical packaging |
| 156 | + |
| 157 | +If you hit 500+ active users: |
| 158 | +- Re-evaluate the VPN partnership pitch (you'll have real numbers) |
| 159 | +- Consider GitHub Sponsors waitlist for "priority support" tier |
| 160 | + |
| 161 | +If you hit 1000+ active users: |
| 162 | +- Hosted version ("Gecko Cloud") becomes a real product |
| 163 | +- Hire someone for community / docs |
| 164 | +- Negotiate hardware bundle deals (Beelink direct, etc.) |
| 165 | + |
| 166 | +## Bottom line |
| 167 | + |
| 168 | +After the 5-min + 30-min tasks above are done, your operating model is: |
| 169 | + |
| 170 | +``` |
| 171 | +Email arrives → Flash USB → Drop at post box → Mark shipped |
| 172 | + ⏱ 10 min |
| 173 | +``` |
| 174 | + |
| 175 | +Everything else (build, release, docs, support escalation) is either |
| 176 | +automated, community-driven, or one-time setup. |
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