Introducing Pro plugins
Pro plugins are the sustainable home for advanced Smart Plugins depth.
Core Smart Plugins are built for the shortest path to trust: install, open, and get one useful result without negotiating a maze of settings.
Pro plugins sit on top of that Core path. They give advanced users a focused place for deeper controls, higher-maintenance workflows, and faster-moving AI integrations while keeping Core simple, stable, and useful for everyone.
Start with Core when you want the fastest first win. Use Pro when a real workflow asks for more depth, scale, routing, generation, or controlled action.
Fast facts
- Core Smart Plugins remain free and source-available.
- Pro is optional depth, not a requirement for the Core first win.
- Pro funding supports advanced maintenance while helping Core stay simpler and calmer.
- Current plan, trial, billing, and access details live on the Pro plugins page and checkout flow.
What Pro funding unlocks next
- Stable, repeatable install-and-go defaults for new users.
- Faster refactors to keep AI-related features aligned with provider changes.
- Deeper documentation and walkthroughs that show complete workflows instead of every edge case.
- Clearer priorities: Pro subscriptions signal which advanced workflows deserve long-term maintenance.
Looking ahead: I had two ways forward
To keep Smart Plugins healthy for the long term, I had to choose how to grow.
- Keep adding advanced options into the free core plugins and try to support every edge case in the same place.
- Or give advanced features their own home in Pro plugins, with a small investment from power users that funds deeper work on the tools.
I chose the second path. It stacks more value for people who need advanced workflows and keeps the core experience accessible for everyone else.
The goal is simple: make the Core Smart Plugins effortless for new users, and let Pro plugins fund the time, care, and experimentation that advanced features need.
How Pro plugins sustain Core Smart Plugins
Pro plugins are not a paywall on what used to be free. They are the engine that keeps the whole ecosystem moving.
- More time for core quality
Pro revenue offsets support costs so I can focus on polishing core features instead of constantly firefighting complex setups. - Stable, well documented core plugins
With advanced options separated into Pro, the core plugins change less often, which means clearer docs, better walkthroughs, and more training videos that stay up to date. - Continuous maintenance for AI features
AI providers and APIs shift quickly. Pro subscriptions fund the ongoing work to keep AI features working smoothly as the landscape changes. - Future-proof roadmap
Pro funding keeps integrations current and makes it safe to test AI-related features without breaking the stable core. - A clear signal of what to maintain
When people subscribe to specific Pro plugins, it shows which advanced workflows are worth long term support, testing, and refinement.
What stays free for everyone
The mission has not changed: core Smart Plugins remain free and source available.
- Core Smart Plugins are designed for a zero setup experience that just works.
- They follow the 80-20 rule: the essential 20 percent of features that give most people 80 percent of the value.
- Core features change more slowly, so your workflows break less and docs stay accurate longer.
- The Smart Environment underneath continues to power all of this.
What Pro plugins unlock
Pro plugins are for people who want more control over the Smart Environment and are willing to support the project in return.
Examples of what Pro plugins focus on:
- Advanced Smart Environment settings that stay aligned with upstream provider changes.
- Deeper configuration for niche or complex workflows that would confuse most new users.
- Early release and experimental features that need rapid iteration before they are ready for the core plugins.
For existing supporters
If you supported the project before the current Pro subscription flow, thank you. Your access is managed through the Pro access flow tied to your supporter key, account, or welcome email.
Use the current Pro plugins page, checkout/subscription page, and welcome email as the source of truth for:
- whether your access is active or grandfathered
- which Pro plugins are included while access is active
- how to manage billing, cancellation, or access issues
If anything looks inconsistent, reply to your welcome email so support can verify your access from the current account state instead of old page copy.
Built on the Smart Environment
Pro plugins are built on the same Smart Environment that powers the core Smart Plugins.
- The Smart Environment stays source available, local first, and focused on minimal dependencies.
- Pro revenue funds maintenance, refactoring, and new capabilities in the Smart Environment that everyone benefits from.
- Smart Plugins continue to be trusted, inspectable wrappers on top of that environment, whether you are using the free core plugins or Pro plugins.
In other words: Pro plugins do not close off the project. They are how we keep the source-available parts strong.
What this unlocks in the future
Introducing Pro plugins sets Smart Plugins up for the next wave of work:
- Easier onboarding for new users, with install-and-go defaults.
- Clearer roadmaps: core plugins for everyday workflows, Pro plugins for advanced systems.
- Faster development of AI related features without breaking existing setups.
- More time for documentation, walkthroughs, and examples that show complete workflows instead of explaining every possible configuration.
How to get Pro plugins
Start from one workflow you can evaluate in real use.
Good first Pro workflows include:
- deeper Connections control for large or noisy vaults
- Context Pro when assignments need external files, repos, PDFs, or images
- Chat Pro when you need local/API model routing and longer thread control
Use the Pro plugins page for the current plan, trial, billing, and access terms:
Quick start for new users
- Start with a Core first win.
- Pick one Pro workflow only when the Core workflow asks for more depth.
- Keep using Core if you do not need the advanced lane yet.
At every level, the goal is the same: keep your notes private by default, keep the tools source-available and local first, and keep improving Smart Plugins for the long term. Pro plugins are how we make that sustainable.