| name | make-playbook |
| description | Indie maker playbook for bootstrapped apps inspired by Pieter Levels' MAKE: The Indie Maker Blueprint. Use when a user is starting or sizing an app idea, choosing what to build next, building a minimal product, preparing a launch, diagnosing stalled growth, deciding pricing or monetization, automating operations, maintaining a per-app MAKE.md tracker, or evaluating whether to sell a product. |
MAKE Playbook
Use this skill as a stage-specific operating system for solo and bootstrapped
software products. It is an original checklist and diagnostic system inspired by
Pieter Levels' MAKE: The Indie Maker Blueprint; it is not a substitute for the
book. Keep attribution intact when reusing the references.
Stage Model
Idea -> Build -> Launch -> Grow -> Monetize -> Automate -> Exit
Always treat references/ethos.md as the standing frame for bootstrapping,
persistence, and ethical constraints. Load it once per session when it has not
already been read. Its constraints override stage tactics: no fake engagement,
fake reviews, dishonest growth hacks, user-hostile monetization, or selling user
data.
Workflow
- Identify the app and current stage. If the user has not named the app or the
current situation, ask one concise question. If a
MAKE.md file exists in
the project root, read it first because it may already contain this state.
- Load the current stage reference. Load one adjacent stage when the question
is on a boundary, such as build/launch for "is this ready to launch" or
grow/monetize for "traffic but no revenue."
- Apply the reference to the user's specific app. Use the diagnostic questions
at the end of each reference to get missing facts, then convert the checklist
into a concrete action list for this product and this week.
- Push toward shipping. When the user is stuck in abstraction, give the
smallest next action that creates market evidence.
- Offer to create or update a tracker. For a new app, copy
templates/make-tracker.md to the project root as and fill in
what is known. For an existing , update the relevant section as
decisions are made.
