Adding Features to Your Sourcegraph Cody App

Cody excels at code-level changes within existing codebases but doesn't manage infrastructure, database migrations, service orchestration, or cross-team coordination. Features that require changes across multiple repositories or teams need manual coordination

Implementing new service endpoints consistent with existing patterns. Migrating usages of deprecated APIs across a large codebase. Adding consistent observability (logging, metrics, tracing) to existing code. Implementing features specified in internal design documents. Refactoring large modules to improve structure

Almost every SaaS app needs payment processing. Stripe is the standard — it handles credit cards, subscriptions, invoices, and payouts. The key pieces: a checkout flow for collecting payment, webhooks to update your database when payments succeed or fail, and a customer portal for managing subscriptions. Sourcegraph Cody might generate a basic checkout page, but the webhook handling and subscription lifecycle management usually need to be built by hand.

Your app needs user accounts with secure login. The easiest options: NextAuth (for Next.js), Supabase Auth, or Clerk. These handle email/password login, social login (Google, GitHub), password resets, and session management. Don't build auth from scratch — the security implications are too complex for a first implementation.

Transactional emails — welcome emails, password resets, order confirmations — require an email service provider. Resend is the simplest to set up, SendGrid is the most established, and Amazon SES is the cheapest at scale. You'll need email templates, a sending service, and proper DNS configuration (SPF, DKIM) so your emails don't land in spam.

If a feature requires deep technical expertise (payment compliance, data privacy, real-time systems), it's faster and safer to get professional help than to iterate with AI tools. Our team adds features like these to Sourcegraph Cody apps every week — we know the patterns and the pitfalls.