Is your v1 the right size?
Find out in five minutes.
Run your project idea through seven checks. Pick a lane. Name the graceful fallback. Copy a build brief and starter AGENTS.md with a first verification gate.
Describe your idea
Tell us what you're building and who it's for.
Pick your lane
Which path is closest to what you're building?
The reality check
Answer yes or no. The goal is a small build you can actually test.
Your result
Red flags to avoid
v1 vs. v2 framing: modern tools make auth, payments, and deploys faster than they used to be. That doesn't make them free. The discipline is sequencing: prove the workflow first, then add the surface area that turns it into a product.
These are common v2 features, not proof that the idea works. Ship the single-user path first. Mock the checkout if pricing matters for the demo.
Each integration is its own auth, rate limit, and edge-case spiral. One source, one destination. Add the third in Week 3 or after the cohort.
Persistent connections, scaling complexity, debugging hell. Polling on a 30-second interval is fine for v1. Add real-time later if needed.
Even with Expo + EAS, the deploy story changes (TestFlight, code signing). Plan an extra week if it's genuinely required. Mobile-responsive web first. Native in v2.
Two-sided liquidity, reviews, escrow, fraud, moderation, algorithms. Out of scope for a 4-week build. Pick a side. Build the buyer tool or the seller tool, not both.
Both halves usually require a B2B SaaS to make work. You won't finish. Narrow to one specific use case. Cut 80% of the surface area before approving.
Got a green light? Use the harness on it. Get the free harness → · Want help turning the check into an eval? See coaching →