Readiness

Getting Ready to Sell or Launch

Vibe Coder 101 · Phase 4: Production-Ready · Stage 25 of 38 · about 16 min

There is a difference between an app that works and an app someone would rely on — or pay for. The gap is mostly paperwork and proof.

This matters even if you never sell. Everything on this list is the same list a serious user, a collaborator, or a future you needs.

Can you prove it is yours?

The first question anyone serious asks. It sounds obvious until you check:

  • The code — including anything an AI generated. Know your tool's terms on ownership of output.
  • The name and domain — registered to you, not a friend who set it up.
  • The accounts — hosting, email, anything the app depends on.
  • The dependencies — free code libraries come with licenses, and a few have conditions that matter commercially.

Could someone else run it?

If only you can deploy it, its value is tied to you being available forever. The cure is boring and short: write down how to run it locally, how to deploy it, what secrets it needs (not the secrets — the list), and what breaks if a service is down.

One page is fine. One page is infinitely better than none.

Real numbers beat claims

"People love it" is worth nothing. A measured record of actual usage is worth a great deal — which is the honest reason the analytics stage sits right before this one.

The distinction that matters: measured facts come from a system that recorded them; self-reported ones come from you. Anyone evaluating your app will discount the second kind heavily, and they are right to.

The wider checklist

The Playground includes an Acquisition Standard for this — an optional add-on to the launch audit, never required to ship. It grades fifteen areas, including architecture, infrastructure, security and compliance, data, cost, ownership and transferability, disaster recovery, and legal structure.

Its most useful habit is one you can copy by hand: it keeps measured facts and self-reported figures strictly apart, and it will not invent a revenue number. It also lists the things only you can supply, instead of pretending they were checked.

The unglamorous paperwork

Once real people use your app: a privacy policy if you collect anything at all, terms of service, a working contact address, and a real answer to "how do I delete my data?".

Templates exist and are a reasonable starting point. If money or personal data is involved, this is the point where an actual professional is worth the fee — this course is not legal advice.

Go deeper

Selling Apps You Built With AI covers the commercial side, and Ship a Vibe-Coded App People Trust the trust side.