Open Spec, Paid Deployment

What this means for you

The protocol is open. The deployment is where the money is. If a buyer wants to read the spec, run the reference server, and verify everything themselves, that path is free. If they want it run for them, supported, and underwritten for a regulated environment, that path is priced.

The pitch

Open core, three tiers. Read and run is free: full specs, reference server, reference circuits, all in the open. Hosted is a managed deployment with the same guarantees, run by us. Regulated adds the compliance shape the legal, healthcare, and finance buyer asks for: tenancy isolation, audit packaging, and a contract their counsel will sign.

Who it’s for

Pricing page copy, the tier-selection moment on a call, and any partner conversation where someone needs to know what is in scope to fork and what is in scope to license.

Proof points

• The full server, persistence schema, and reference circuits are public at github.com/aphelion-craft and reproducible from the platform docs
• Managed tier reuses the production deployment shape already in the repo: multi-region Kubernetes, Karpenter cost controls, Prometheus and Grafana
• Regulated tier maps to existing platform components: compliance automation lives in enterprise-service, audit ledger in vest-node, all part of the same release line

mindmap
  root((Tiers))
    Read and run
      free
      open spec
      self host
    Hosted
      managed by us
      same guarantees
      ops handed off
    Regulated
      tenancy isolation
      audit packaging
      counsel ready contract