How to add a paywall upgrade prompt with Claude Code without a developer
A soft paywall with Claude Code: when a free user reaches a paid feature, a modal explains the upgrade and links to your pricing page — targeted by plan, measured, and editable without a release.
- Time
- ● 20 minutes
- Price
- 14-day free trial, no card
- Who does it
- You and Claude Code
Example: an upgrade prompt with Claude Code
An invoicing app maintained with Claude Code. Free users who click “Make recurring” (data-tour="recurring") see “Recurring invoices are on Pro” linking to /pricing.
This format is part of the Pro plan. Every new account starts with a 14-day free trial with all formats and audience rules, no card required. When the trial ends nothing is deleted and published items keep showing; the Free plan keeps tours and tooltips free.
How to add the paywall prompt with Claude Code, step by step
- Step 01
Copy your Clew snippet
Create a free account (or sign in), add your site and open Admin → Overview. Click the line in the “No signal from the widget yet.” card to copy it — it carries your real site key instead of the placeholder.
<!-- Clew: replace PASTE_YOUR_SITE_KEY with the site key from Admin > Overview --> <script src="https://tryclew.io/widget/PASTE_YOUR_SITE_KEY.js" async></script>

Step 1 · schematic illustration - Step 02
Start Claude Code in the project
Run
claudein the project folder (or open Claude Code in your IDE). It works on your real repository and asks before editing files.
Step 2 · schematic illustration - Step 03
Send the prompt with your key
Replace
PASTE_YOUR_SITE_KEYwith your key and send the prompt.Add the Clew onboarding widget to this app. Insert this exact tag once so it loads on every page, including after client-side route changes: <script src="https://tryclew.io/widget/PASTE_YOUR_SITE_KEY.js" async></script> Find the root HTML file or root layout of this project (index.html for Vite, app/layout.tsx with next/script for Next.js App Router, nuxt.config.ts app.head.script for Nuxt, src/app.html for SvelteKit, the base template for server-rendered apps) and add the tag there. After the signed-in user is loaded, and whenever the subscription changes, call Clew.identify({ plan: <the user's current plan id as a string, e.g. "free"> }). If the widget may not have loaded yet, first define the queue stub: window.TutorKit = window.TutorKit || { q: [], identify: function (p) { this.q.push(["identify", p]); } }; then call window.TutorKit.identify(...). Add a data-tour attribute to the buttons of paid features (for example data-tour="export"). Do not add any payment, gating or paywall logic of your own and do not change what the buttons do. Rules: - Use the script URL exactly as given. Do not download it, bundle it or install an npm package. - If the project sets a Content-Security-Policy, allow https://tryclew.io in script-src and connect-src. - Change nothing else and show me the diff.
Step 3 · schematic illustration - Step 04
Approve the edits and ship
Approve the proposed edits after reading them, then commit and deploy as usual — or ask Claude Code to open a pull request.

Step 4 · schematic illustration - Step 05
Write the upgrade prompt
In Clew open Flows → + New flow and choose Modal window. One step: a title with the benefit (“Export to CSV is on Pro”), one sentence of value, and in Link text / Link URL the button and your pricing or checkout URL.

Step 5 · schematic illustration - Step 06
Choose where, when and for whom it shows
In the same editor, set Where to show (page URL), When to show, Audience targeting and Frequency. These are the settings of the example above:
Setting Value Format Modal window Where to show (page URL) Section by prefix /invoicesWhen to show On click on an element: [data-tour="recurring"]Audience targeting Property planequalsfreeFrequency Every visit 
Step 6 · schematic illustration - Step 07
Publish and check it on the live site
Set Status to Published and save. Open the page in a private window — Clew remembers who has already seen a “once” item, so your usual browser may skip it. Views, completions and drop-offs appear in the tour stats.

Step 7 · schematic illustration
Pitfalls: paywall upgrade prompt with Claude Code
Claude.ai artifacts are not your app
Code in a Claude.ai chat or artifact runs in a sandbox and isn’t deployed to your users. Install Clew in the actual project with Claude Code, where the change reaches production.
Keep the key out of CLAUDE.md
The site key is public, but it belongs in the page, not in project instructions that get reused across repositories.
The prompt doesn’t replace access checks
If the paid feature is reachable for free users in your app, the modal appears but the feature still works behind it. Check that the server side enforces the plan; the prompt is only the message.
Update the property after upgrading
Properties live in the browser until the app sends a new value. Call Clew.identify({ plan: "pro" }) after a successful upgrade, or the new customer keeps seeing the prompt.
Questions and answers
Does the modal stop the recurring setup?
No. Your app decides; ideally the button already refuses free users and the modal explains why.
Do I need a paid Claude plan?
Claude Code is available with Claude subscriptions and API access; Clew itself doesn’t depend on which one you use.
Does Clew take the payment?
No. The button links to your own pricing page or checkout; Clew never handles cards, subscriptions or access.
Is the paywall prompt free?
It needs the modal format and an audience rule, both in Pro. The 14-day trial includes them, no card.
What else you can add with Claude Code
- How to create a product tour with Claude Code without a developer
- How to add an onboarding checklist with Claude Code without a developer
- How to set up user onboarding with Claude Code without a developer
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