FAQ

Frequently asked questions about 86d: licensing, production readiness, hosting, modules, customization, and how it compares to other commerce platforms.

Is 86d production-ready?

Not yet. 86d is under active development. Several core systems (auth, storage, payments, the module runtime) are stable, but the project is pre-1.0 and APIs may change. Read the warning on Versioning and stability before you commit a real store to it.

What is the license?

86d is licensed under Apache 2.0. You can fork it, modify it, sell hosting on top of it, build proprietary modules against it, and contribute back, all without asking permission.

How is 86d different from Shopify?

86d is open source, self-hostable, and modular at the source-code level. Shopify is a closed-source SaaS platform with apps as the unit of extensibility. The big practical differences:

• Data ownership: with 86d your store runs on your PostgreSQL database. You can export, migrate, and self-host at any time.
• Customization depth: you can edit any module, any template, and the platform itself. Shopify themes and apps run inside Shopify’s sandbox.
• Pricing model: 86d is Apache-licensed software. There is no transaction fee unless you choose 86d’s optional hosted services.
• Maturity: Shopify has years of production scale and a vast app ecosystem. 86d is younger and developing fast.

See Migrate from Shopify for the practical mapping.

How is 86d different from Medusa, Saleor, or commercetools?

86d’s distinguishing choices are:

• Modules ship as standalone npm packages rather than as folders inside a monolithic core. You install only what you need.
• MDX-driven storefront templates instead of a separate headless frontend.
• Agentic-first design: the architecture is shaped to be tractable for AI-assisted development. See Agentic design.
• Apache 2.0 with no commercial-use restriction.

These tradeoffs are deliberate. If your team prefers a single bundled core or has heavy reliance on the headless model, those alternatives may be a better fit.

Where do I host an 86d store?

Anywhere that can run a Next.js app and a PostgreSQL database. 86d ships first-class support for:

• Self-hosted with Docker Compose (PostgreSQL + MinIO + the store app, one command)
• Railway (managed PostgreSQL, deploy from GitHub)
• Vercel + Neon (serverless PostgreSQL, Vercel Blob storage)

See Deployment and hosting.

Can I use 86d without the hosted 86d.app service?

Yes. The hosted service is optional. When STORE_ID and 86D_API_KEY are unset, the store runs entirely from your own database and config.json. When set, the store fetches its configuration from the 86d hosted API and enables 86d.app SSO.

Can I write modules in something other than TypeScript?

The module runtime expects TypeScript or compiled JavaScript that follows the Module contract. You can write your business logic in any language and call it from a TypeScript shim, but the module entry point must be JS / TS.

Can I use a database other than PostgreSQL?

Currently no. 86d uses Prisma 7 with the PostgreSQL provider, which the codebase relies on for indexing, JSONB columns, and full-text search. Other Prisma adapters may work for read-heavy paths but are not officially supported.

How do I add a payment provider that is not built in?

Implement the PaymentProvider interface from @86d-app/payments and pass an instance to the payments module. See Payment gateways and Payments module.

How do I sell on a marketplace that is not built in?

Write a custom module that follows the same shape as the existing channel modules (@86d-app/amazon, @86d-app/etsy, …). Cross-module data access goes through requires.read: ["products"]. See Build a custom module.

Can I run multiple stores from one deployment?

Yes, by setting STORE_ID per environment. Each store has its own config.json (fetched from the 86d hosted API) and its own data scoped by storeId foreign keys. Multiple deployments hitting the same database is the supported pattern; one deployment serving multiple stores at runtime is on the roadmap.

How do I migrate from a previous 86d version?

Update the workspace, run bun install, run bun run db:migrate (Prisma migrations), and run 86d generate. The release notes for each version flag any breaking changes. See Versioning.

Where do I report a bug?

github.com/86d-app/86d/issues. For security issues, use GitHub Security Advisories instead of a public issue.

How do I contribute?

Read Contributing. The TL;DR: fork the repo, branch off main, add tests for any code change, run all health gates locally, and open a pull request.

Is there a hosted version of these docs as an MCP server?

Yes. See MCP server.

Is there an X / LinkedIn account?

Yes:

• X: @86d_app
• LinkedIn: 86d on LinkedIn