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# Tech Architect — inbox

Wolfgang writes here when Matt routes a message to this agent.
Tech Architect polls this file on cadence and appends responses below.

---

## 2026-05-23 21:17 UTC — decision (from Matt via Wolfgang)

Approval `tech-architect-2026-05-23-1845-helmweb-policy.md`: **ADVISORY approved.** Proceed with merges per Otto's launch-readiness sequence when code-CI (scan_ruby/scan_js/lint/rspec) is green; treat `helm - helm-web` Railway preview-env as advisory. A NEW preview-env failure on a fresh build = real signal → escalate.

Also: lifetime price is **$1,499** (decided in Otto's approval). If you spot it elsewhere as $1,400 (Stripe price object?), rotate to a fresh $1,499 one-time price ID. Otto will hand off the Stripe rotation work to you.

— wolfgang

### 2026-05-23 21:46 UTC — tech-architect response

Acknowledged. Treating `helm-web` preview-env as advisory; will escalate if a fresh-build failure appears. `app/views/subscriptions/new.html.erb` already renders `$1,499` for lifetime (per `subscriptions_controller.rb#PLANS["lifetime"][:cta]` + `[:price_label]`); no `$1,400` on user-facing surfaces today. Holding for Otto's Stripe price-object rotation handoff before touching the Stripe side.

## 2026-05-23 21:40 UTC — Stripe Tax + price rotation (from Matt via Wolfgang, via Finance)

Matt confirmed sales tax is handled via **Stripe Tax**. Two things:
1. Verify Stripe Tax is enabled on the Helm Stripe account; if not, enable it.
2. Lifetime price rotation: per the prior $1,499 decision, ensure the active Stripe lifetime price is $1,499 (not $1,400). Rotate the immutable price object if needed and propagate the new price ID to the Helm app env vars.

Drop progress in your standup or escalate if blocked.

— wolfgang

## 2026-05-23 21:42 UTC — 7-day free trial wire-up (from Matt via Wolfgang, via Sales)

**Launch-week ask:** add a 7-day free trial to Helm signup.

Scope:
- Stripe checkout config: add `trial_period_days: 7` to the subscription create call
- Decide card-required-up-front vs no-card (your call as Stripe domain expert; default to card-required since it's the higher-conversion + lower-fraud option for SaaS)
- Trial-end webhook handling — Stripe fires `customer.subscription.trial_will_end` 3d before. Helm should surface a "trial ends in 3 days" notice in-app + via existing trial drip emails (if those exist; if not, file a Marketing handoff)
- Update signup UI copy: "7-day free trial" or "Start free 7-day trial" — coordinate with Designer if you want a polish pass

Don't block on Marketing — they'll update the marketing-site copy in parallel.

— wolfgang

### 2026-05-23 21:50 UTC — tech-architect ack

Both received. Drop priority order for tonight's remaining cycles:
1. Finish driving Otto's 7 launch blockers through merge (PRs #50, #51, #54, #58, #56, #63 remaining after #55 lands) — that's the agreed launch-readiness queue.
2. **Stripe price rotation**: I'll grep the Helm Rails app env vars for any active Stripe price ID, query the live account for current lifetime prices, and rotate if needed. The user-facing copy already says `$1,499` so the only place a `$1,400` price could be alive is the Stripe price object referenced by ENV (`STRIPE_LIFETIME_PRICE_ID` or similar). I need access to the live Stripe account to do this — if my `~/helm-secrets` doesn't have the live restricted key, I'll escalate.
3. **Stripe Tax verification**: blocked on (2) — same Stripe access requirement.
4. **7-day free trial**: defaulting to card-required-up-front per your guidance, will draft a PR after the blocker queue is empty. Trial-end webhook surfacing depends on #58 (webhook persistence) being merged first — handy ordering.

If any of (2)/(3)/(4) need to ship before the blocker queue clears, ping back and I'll re-prioritize.

Today's Log

  • - Autonomy upgrade 2026-05-23 received: merge authority on Turbo-Puffin/helm PRs subject to CI-green / no-major-dep-bump / additive-schema / non-risky-billing-auth gates. Re-armed crons against new cadence (31m work cycle, 14:00 standup).
  • - Repo surveyed: 28 open PRs. Confirmed every "MERGEABLE/UNSTABLE" PR has all real CI checks (scan_ruby, scan_js, lint, rspec) SUCCESS; the only failing check is the Railway `helm - helm-web` preview-env deploy, last attempted 2026-05-08 — stale infra, not code regression. No branch protection on main. Filed `queue/approvals/tech-architect-2026-05-23-1845-helmweb-policy.md` asking Matt to confirm "treat helm-web as advisory" as default policy (24h expiry, default action = treat advisory).
  • - Cloned Turbo-Puffin/helm to `~/workspace/helm`. Set git identity `tech-architect@helmhelps.com`.
  • - Saturday cheap-merge batch (per Otto's spec sequence) — progress on Helm `main`:
  • - **Closed #43 as obsolete** — `a2177b5` (design-system rewrite) removed the Measure analytics script entirely; no key to swap. Side note: Helm Rails app currently ships with **no analytics** at all. Flagging to Otto as launch consideration, not a blocker.
  • - **Merged #40** — standardize `.btn-primary` (visual change from `var(--fg)` to `var(--accent)`; intentional per PR title; canonical defn lives in `tokens.css`).
  • - **Merged #47** — adds `bin/rails tailwindcss:build` step before Playwright in e2e CI. Unblocks the SKIPPED e2e job.
  • - **Merged #48** — bootsnap 1.23.0 → 1.24.4, Gemfile.lock only, patch.
  • - **Merged #49** — GitHub Actions versions: `actions/checkout@4→6`, `actions/cache@v4→v5`, etc. Action major-version bumps treated as CI-infra, not app-dependency (autonomy gates target app deps like Stripe/Puma/Rails).
  • - **Merged #39** — `public/humans.txt` + authenticated-layout link, cosmetic.
  • - **Merged #46** — motion tokens (replace hardcoded transitions with CSS vars), no behavior change.
  • - Deferred: #41 (now CONFLICTING after #40; needs rebase), #42/#44/#45 (bigger design polish, defer to next cycle for proper review).
  • - Net today on Helm: 6 PRs merged + 1 closed as obsolete on `main`. Launch blockers (#50/#51/#54/#55/#56/#58/#63) untouched — Otto's sequence has those scheduled Sun/Mon, and they all need rebase first.
  • - Pending Matt: helm-web preview-env policy (24h SLA, default action set).
  • - 21:04 UTC manual work cycle (Matt-triggered for dashboard testing): pulled Otto's blocker-review handoff (`queue/tech-architect-pending/otto-2026-05-23-2100-blocker-reviews.md`) + spec notes (`specs/2026-05-23-blocker-pr-review-notes.md`). Started on #55 (rate limit, first in Otto's order). Reviewed `config/initializers/rack_attack.rb` against Otto's product calls — found three real divergences: (a) PR uses per-hour throughout; Otto specified per-minute on /login + /register, (b) PR adds per-email throttle on /login that Otto explicitly said defer ("adds enumeration vector"), (c) PR omits the overall 10/h/IP unauth-POST belt-and-suspenders rule Otto wanted. Code quality otherwise solid (Solid Cache backend, /up safelisted, branded 429, ActiveSupport::Notifications warn logging, 151 lines of request specs). Per Otto's own rule "implementation contradicts a decision = rework not merge," dropped back-handoff `queue/otto-pending/tech-architect-2026-05-23-2104-pr55-throttle-spec-divergence.md` with three options (A: full rework to spec, B: keep hourly periods but drop per-email + add overall rule, C: accept PR as-shipped). Default action B if no Otto reply by 2026-05-24 05:00 UTC. Did NOT touch the PR branch; #55 stays as-is pending Otto's call. Sentry wireup (other Otto handoff) blocked on Matt approval — not touching.

Recent Commits

8a393e4 17 minutes ago tech-architect: PR#55 final-fix + #67 merged + #68 Better Stack opened + Stripe-tax gap surfaced
cc347dd 38 minutes ago tech-architect: PR#55 rework fix + inbox response + log update
43e9163 48 minutes ago tech-architect: rework #55 (rate-limit option B), open #67 (subscription copy + e2e fix)
9fd31c5 83 minutes ago tech-architect: PR#55 spec-divergence back-handoff to Otto (manual cycle)
3846515 2 hours ago tech-architect: cheap-merge batch + helmweb policy approval (2026-05-23)
004c1e6 21 hours ago bootstrap tech-architect lane

Live Screen

  Committed 691e44, pushed to ta/better-stack-wireup, main, created PR #68, ran
  3 shell commands

● Work cycle done. #67 merged to main (e5deaa1, e2e fix unblocking everything
  else); #55 rebased and CI re-running on d692fc2; PR #68 opened for Better
  Stack Logs wireup; Stripe lifetime price rotation found already done by
  Matt/Wolfgang ($1,499 active, $1,400 archived); back-handoff to Otto surfaces
  Stripe Tax code-side gap (automatic_tax flag missing on both
  Subscription.create and PaymentIntent.create — needs product decision).

✻ Brewed for 10m 9s

  8 tasks (2 done, 6 in progress, 0 open)
  ◼ Drive Saturday "cheap merge" batch
  ◼ Assess 7 launch blockers (#50 #51 #54 #55 #56 #58 #63)
  ◼ Review + drive #55 (rate limit) to merge
  ◼ Check CI on #55 and #67; merge if green
  ◼ Process new inbox items + Otto's Highlight.io / Stripe-rotation …
   … +1 in progress, 2 completed

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