services content-creationpro tier · perpetual

The Box — Payload CMS, API and Postgres on Railway

The production setup this site runs on: Payload CMS, a Hono + Better Auth API, Postgres and Valkey in one Compose file, deployable to Railway for a predictable monthly floor.

Built with Payload 3 · Next.js · Hono · Better Auth · Postgres 17 · Valkey · Docker Compose · Railway

Price—

Read from Polar when the page is built. Never stored here.

no member price on this listing

Checkout opens when Polar lists it

Pay once
Resell what you build
No subscription

Delivery · GitHub org repo access + a zip
Term · perpetual, paid once
Checkout · Polar, the merchant of record

What runs in the box

What you get, and what you do not

In the box

compose.yml with cms, api, db and cache
Health check on every service
Railway provisioning checklist
Migration runbook: by hand, before the deploy

Not in the box

Hosting fees
Your content or data migration
Kubernetes manifests

The listing, in full

What it is

The Box is the production setup this site runs on, as one licence: a Payload CMS, a small API with accounts, Postgres and a cache, described by one Docker Compose file and deployable to Railway for a predictable monthly floor.

It is the answer to a problem most builders hit in their first real project: a free serverless plan works until the app is busy, and then the whole account stalls. The full story is in the fix “Vercel Hobby could not carry the CMS”.

What runs in the box

Service	What it does
`cms`	Payload 3 on Next.js, built as a standalone Node 22 image — admin panel and REST API
`api`	Hono on Node, with Better Auth accounts and signed webhook endpoints
`db`	Postgres 17, one schema per service
`cache`	Valkey

How it is meant to be used

Locally: bun run box starts all four services, with a health check on each.
In production: the same four services on Railway, on a private network, with a volume on the database. The provisioning steps are an operator checklist in the README.
Migrations: run by hand, before the deploy, by one person. Never by the platform.

Who it is for

A builder with one to three real projects who has outgrown a free tier, does not want Kubernetes, and wants the cost of hosting known before the month starts.

The deed

The whole licence, on one sheet

Six clauses and a price line. It is said once, here, and nowhere else on the page.

flowingkhaosOne-time · perpetual

Licence to build and resell

I.GrantA perpetual licence to build with the code, and to resell what you build with it. Includes compose.yml with cms, api, db and cache, Health check on every service, Railway provisioning checklist, Migration runbook: by hand, before the deploy.
II.TermPerpetual. You may build with the code and resell what you build with it. The source itself is never conveyed and is never a resellable kit.
III.ExclusionThe source itself is never conveyed. The licence is the product. Not included: Hosting fees, Your content or data migration, Kubernetes manifests.
IV.DeliveryAccess to the GitHub org repo, plus a zip.
V.SupportI fix issues in the licensed code. I do not debug your build, your host or your edits — and what I fix, I publish in the fixes log.
VI.StackBuilt with Payload 3, Next.js, Hono, Better Auth, Postgres 17, Valkey, Docker Compose, Railway.

ConsiderationPrice from Polar

Before you buy

Six answers

What do I own?: A perpetual licence to build with the code.
Can I sell what I build?: Yes. You may resell what you build with it.
Can I resell the code itself?: No. The source itself never changes hands.
Is it a subscription?: No. It is a one-time licence.
How is it delivered?: GitHub org repo access, plus a zip.
Who runs checkout?: Polar. Members pay less on listings that carry the badge.

The Box — Payload CMS, API and Postgres on Railway

Pay once
Resell what you build
No subscription

—Price from PolarCheckout opens when Polar lists it

The Box — Payload CMS, API and Postgres on Railway— · Price from Polar · pay onceNot on sale yet

Luke Sidney writes and builds everything here, alone, in the open. lukesidney.me