Step 1 — Gather context
If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.
-
What are you trying to do?
- A) Grant/revoke product access from an external purchase (inbound webhook / Zapier action)
- B) Route engagement signals out — Hot Lead, Completed Lesson, Earned EP — into a CRM or outreach tool
- C) Connect an email service (MemberVault doesn't send email)
- D) Configure a module — products, communities, gamification, drip, marketplace page
- E) Pick a plan — Free (100-member cap) vs 5 / 15 / Unlimited
- F) Fix a problem — video hosting, member cancellation, marketplace design, search
-
Where does data need to flow? Into MemberVault (grant access) / out of MemberVault (sync contact, route lead) — this decides inbound vs outbound webhook vs Zapier.
Skip-ahead rule: if the user's prompt already provides enough context, skip to Step 2.
Step 2 — Route or answer directly
| If the question is about... | Route to... |
|---|---|
| Course/membership strategy, retention, or platform comparison | /sales-membership {question} |
| Email sequences and broadcasts (the ESP you connect) | /sales-email-marketing {question} |
| Email deliverability / inbox placement | /sales-deliverability {question} |
| Checkout / order-bump / upsell optimization across tools | /sales-checkout {question} |
| Selling digital products (pricing, launch) across tools | /sales-digital-products {question} |
When routing, give the exact command, e.g. "This is a retention-strategy question — run: /sales-membership how do I reduce course churn".
Step 3 — MemberVault platform reference
Read references/platform-guide.md for the full reference — the module map (what's webhook/Zapier-accessible vs UI-only), the plan gates (the Free 100-member cap and the product-count tiers), the email/Stripe/PayPal model, the member/product data model with JSON shapes, and quick-start recipes (grant access via inbound webhook; route hot leads into a CRM; sync members to an unsupported ESP).
Read references/membervault-api-reference.md for the integration surface — there's no public REST API; it documents the inbound webhook ("API URL" from Integrations → Advanced), the outbound webhook ("Call a web hook" product action), and the full Zapier trigger/action list.
Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference.
Step 4 — Actionable guidance
Focus on the user's specific situation:
- No REST API — think in webhooks + Zapier. Grant access with the inbound webhook (or the Zapier "Add User to Product" action); push data out with outbound webhooks (or Zapier triggers). For bulk reads, use the in-app CSV export.
- Identity is email. A member is one login; products attach to that email. Match/dedupe on email everywhere.
- The "Hot Lead" trigger is the killer automation. MemberVault tags users who repeatedly view the sales info of products they don't own — pipe the
Hot LeadZapier trigger into a CRM or outreach sequence to act on buying intent in real time. - MemberVault doesn't send email — connect an ESP. Kit/MailerLite/ActiveCampaign integrate natively; others go through Zapier/webhooks. Factor the Zapier cost into thin margins.
- Mind the Free-plan 100-member cap. An auto-add Zap can silently hit it; size the plan to product count, not features (all plans have all features).
- 0% transaction fees on direct Stripe/PayPal — a real edge for low-margin creators vs platforms that take a cut.
If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in references/learnings.md, append it there.
Gotchas
Best-effort from research (2026-06) — review these, especially plan-gated features and pricing, which change frequently.
- No public REST API. Don't promise API endpoints — integration is Zapier + inbound/outbound webhooks only. Plan around those.
- It doesn't send marketing email. Every "send a sequence" flow lives in a separate ESP. Connecting a non-native ESP usually means paying for Zapier, which eats margin — a top complaint.
- Free plan caps members at ~100. Auto-add automations can hit the ceiling silently; watch member count.
- Video hosting is limited. Most users host on YouTube/Vimeo/Wistia and embed rather than uploading to MemberVault.
- Member self-cancellation is clunky. Subscribers often can't cancel cleanly on their own — document the steps or handle cancellations in your payment processor to avoid disputes.
- Marketplace page design is fairly fixed. Don't promise heavy visual customization; the trade-off for the binge-&-buy layout is limited styling.
- Search is weak with a big library. Lean on marketplace structure, products, and tags rather than search for discovery.
- Inbound webhook URL is the credential. It embeds account routing — treat it as a secret; don't expose it client-side.
Related skills
/sales-membership— Course/membership strategy across tools (MemberVault is one of the creator platforms covered), retention, and platform comparison/sales-email-marketing— Email sequence and broadcast strategy (the ESP you connect to MemberVault)/sales-digital-products— Selling digital products: pricing, packaging, launch/sales-checkout— Checkout, order-bump, and upsell optimization (external carts that feed MemberVault)/sales-deliverability— Inbox placement and domain authentication for your connected ESP/sales-do— Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do -a claude-code
Examples
Example 1: Grant course access when someone buys on my external cart (developer/automation)
User says: "I sell via Gumroad but host the course in MemberVault. How do I auto-grant access on purchase?"
Skill does: Points to the inbound webhook (Recipe 1): copy the "API URL" from Integrations → Advanced, then have Gumroad's Ping/Zapier POST email + the product/course_id to it on each sale. Notes the URL is the credential (keep it secret), identity is email, and the alternative is the Zapier "Add User to Product" action.
Result: External purchases grant MemberVault access automatically.
Example 2: Act on buying intent — route hot leads to my CRM
User says: "Can MemberVault tell me who's about to buy, and push them somewhere I can follow up?" Skill does: Explains the binge-&-buy engine tags users who keep viewing sales info of products they don't own as warm/hot leads, then shows the Hot Lead Zapier trigger → CRM/outreach handler (Recipe 2). Frames it as MemberVault's standout automation. Result: Hot leads flow into the user's CRM in real time for follow-up.
Example 3: Why aren't my members getting emails?
User says: "I set up my membership in MemberVault but no welcome emails are going out."
Skill does: Clarifies MemberVault doesn't send email — it needs a connected ESP (Kit/MailerLite/ActiveCampaign native, others via Zapier/webhooks). Shows wiring the User Added to a Product trigger (or outbound webhook) to the ESP, then routes deeper sequence strategy: "For the sequence itself — run: /sales-email-marketing my membership welcome sequence."
Result: User connects an ESP and understands MemberVault's role vs the ESP's.
Troubleshooting
Access isn't being granted after an external purchase
Symptom: A buyer pays on the external cart but can't log into the product.
Cause: The inbound webhook URL is wrong/expired, the wrong product/course_id is referenced, or the email sent doesn't match.
Solution: Re-copy the API URL from Integrations → Advanced, confirm the course_id matches the target product, and ensure the cart sends the buyer's exact email. Check the webhook activity log for the delivery, and test with a request-bin to inspect what the cart actually sends.
Members aren't getting any email
Symptom: No welcome/drip emails after signup.
Cause: MemberVault has no built-in email — nothing sends unless an ESP is connected.
Solution: Connect Kit/MailerLite/ActiveCampaign natively, or bridge others via Zapier/webhooks. Trigger the ESP off User Added to a Product (Zapier) or an outbound webhook. Build the actual sequence in the ESP (/sales-email-marketing).
My auto-add automation stopped adding members
Symptom: New signups via Zap aren't being created. Cause: You've hit the Free plan's ~100-member cap (or a product-count limit on a paid tier). Solution: Check member/product counts. Upgrade to the tier whose product/community counts fit; remember all plans include all features, so you're only paying to raise limits.
A member says they can't cancel their subscription
Symptom: Churn requests come to you manually; members can't self-serve.
Cause: MemberVault's self-cancellation flow is limited.
Solution: Document the cancellation steps for members, or cancel the subscription directly in your Stripe/PayPal dashboard. For retention strategy (winning them back before they churn), use /sales-membership.