# The Block: detailed product context

> The Block turns a team-specific business problem into durable, reviewed software while keeping the business context, plan, source, implementation evidence, approval, and future improvements connected.

## Small software for serious work

Small software is purpose-built software for one person or a small team. It may serve only a handful of users while still running an important workflow, approval, report, or operating process. Representative uses include an operations dashboard, approval workflow, KPI tracker, customer or partner portal, internal reporting tool, or team-specific prototype. These are illustrative use cases, not customer stories.

Agents lowered the cost of producing custom code. The remaining work is deciding what should be built, grounding it in the business, limiting access, reviewing the plan, testing the implementation, inspecting the exact result, operating it durably, and improving it over time. The Block is built around that lifecycle rather than around a one-shot prompt.

Authoritative category page: https://theblock.me/small-software

## Application lifecycle

1. **Context:** use the Business Profile, repository knowledge, approved Connections, files, research, and Application-specific Design Assets that matter. Context is reviewed business reference material, not a claim that every missing field is selected or inferred perfectly.
2. **Plan:** make requirements, affected systems, risks, tests, required access, and a spending ceiling visible before implementation.
3. **Build:** run one bounded change in an isolated, restricted environment against the Application's assigned repository.
4. **Review:** execute relevant checks and a separate adversarial review, then present an exact preview and commit.
5. **Publish and improve:** the owner decides what ships. Keep the stable URL, persistent database, conversations, linked Initiatives, and implementation history attached to the Application.

Authoritative product page: https://theblock.me/features/applications

## Applications

An Application is a long-lived workspace tied to one repository. A client can import an authorized GitHub repository or have The Block create a private repository. The binding keeps product intent, source, repository knowledge, conversations, Design Assets, approved capabilities, implementation runs, and history aligned.

The Block hosts business web Applications at stable platform URLs. A persistent Application database is designed to survive ordinary pod, node, and backend restarts. A guided custom-domain flow presents the required DNS handoff; the client or domain administrator must update DNS, and the hostname is marked active only after routing and HTTPS are verified.

Applications are not described as supporting every framework or every kind of software. Native mobile and desktop deployment are not public claims. The exact stack, integrations, access, tests, and operational risks are confirmed in the plan.

Applications are available on paid plans.

## Context, Connections, and credentials

Application planning can use reviewed Business Profile context, repository knowledge, approved files and research, uploaded references, and Application-specific Design Assets. Context values are treated as reference data rather than instructions.

Application-scoped Secrets and selected Connection metadata can be attached without pasting secret values into the conversation. Access is scoped and audited. Only allowlisted non-secret metadata is eligible for repository variables, and not every OAuth credential enters the Application runtime. Credential values, tokens, private workspace data, and client files are not public content.

### Figma

The Figma connection is read-only. The user pastes an exact file or frame link or key; The Block does not browse or index the Figma workspace. It reads only the selected metadata and rendered content needed to store a Design Assets preview. The connection does not write, comment, publish, create files, advertise with the content, or use it for model training.

### Stripe account connection

The Stripe account connection is separate from Stripe Checkout used to pay The Block. It requests Stripe's Account record, then retains and uses only connected-account identity, country, test-or-live mode, and whether charges and payouts are enabled. It does not request customer, payment-method, charge, payout, invoice, balance, subscription, or transaction-list endpoints, and it performs no payment or account write action.

### Gmail connection

A client can connect one Gmail mailbox with Google sign-in. The Block requests only gmail.readonly and gmail.send. It syncs new inbox email (sender, recipients, subject, date, a short preview, and message text; attachments are not downloaded) and sends email a person in the workspace writes, including replies in the same thread. It does not modify, label, archive, or delete email. Disconnecting revokes access at Google and deletes the stored email. The Block has not requested Google's app verification, so Google shows an unverified-app notice and limits the connection to 100 users.

Authoritative connection pages:

- https://theblock.me/integrations/figma
- https://theblock.me/integrations/stripe
- https://theblock.me/integrations/gmail

## Subscription pricing

The canonical public plan catalog is published at https://theblock.me/pricing. Public prices are in US dollars. Annual subscriptions are charged once per year at the equivalent of ten monthly payments; included scan allowances and work credits are released monthly. Initiative budgets, expert work, Application add-ons, third-party services, and approved usage beyond the included plan are separate when shown in the product. Checkout displays the exact accepted amount, cadence, tax, and discount.

## AI implementation and review

The client approves a structured plan and spending limit before implementation. The run is isolated and restricted to the assigned Application and approved capabilities. Relevant build and test checks run before the implementation is reviewed by a separate AI model from a different provider. The resulting preview and commit are presented for explicit owner acceptance or rejection.

An Application preview is a review artifact. It does not merge automatically and it does not authorize an autonomous production release. Preview Annotation is an admin/default-off review capability, not a promise of multiplayer customer commenting.

Authoritative execution page: https://theblock.me/features/ai-execution

## Workspace access versus Application access

The Block governs access to its own workspace and build-and-release process. A hosted Application that needs its own end-user authentication, private sharing, single sign-on, or role-based access must implement that application-level identity layer. Those capabilities are not automatically included with hosted Applications.

Google-Doc-like sharing is a product direction, not an already-complete capability.

## The connected platform

- **Business Profile and Business Intelligence:** provide reviewed company identity and approved business context, files, websites, analytics, search sources, and repositories.
- **Research:** organize market, competitor, website, search, and AI-visibility evidence into practical opportunities.
- **Go To Market:** turn research and business context into a focused strategy and recommendations the client can choose to launch.
- **Design Assets:** keep Application-specific visual direction, selected assets, uploads, and design-system context with the work. Figma support is read/import-oriented; public copy does not claim Figma write or publish integration.
- **Initiatives and funding visibility:** scope broader work, estimates, roles, dependencies, acceptance criteria, budgets, and execution paths.
- **AI execution:** move approved repository work through isolated implementation, checks, separate review, and exact-preview approval.
- **Expert Marketplace:** route funded work to developers, operators, and specialists when human judgment or delivery is required. Fulfillment is not guaranteed or described as immediate.
- **Team workspace:** keep conversations, files, decisions, progress, and future improvements attached to the relevant work.

## Mission and human control

The Block's mission is to give growing businesses the capacity to act on their best ideas without requiring enterprise headcount or a maze of disconnected tools. AI can increase capacity, but the business purpose, financial commitment, sensitive access, quality review, and consequential release decisions remain visible to people.

## Claim boundaries

- The Block supports planned, repository-backed business web Applications; it does not claim universal software, framework, native-mobile, or desktop support.
- Application changes are not merged or released automatically. The owner reviews the exact preview and commit and decides what ships.
- Custom domains require a client-managed DNS handoff and successful routing and HTTPS verification.
- The Block workspace has its own access controls, but hosted-Application end-user authentication, private sharing, SSO, and roles must be planned and implemented per Application.
- Connection and Secret access is scoped; not every OAuth credential is copied into a runtime, and credential values are not exposed as public or model-facing context.
- Preview Annotation is an admin/default-off review capability, not a claim of customer-facing multiplayer comments.
- Google-Doc-like sharing is a product direction, not a shipped capability. Expert marketplace fulfillment depends on the work and available capacity.

## Canonical public URLs

- Homepage: https://theblock.me/
- Small Software: https://theblock.me/small-software
- Applications: https://theblock.me/features/applications
- Initiative Planning: https://theblock.me/features/initiative-planning
- Design Assets: https://theblock.me/features/design-assets
- Marketing Research: https://theblock.me/features/marketing-research
- Go To Market: https://theblock.me/features/go-to-market
- AI Execution: https://theblock.me/features/ai-execution
- Business Intelligence: https://theblock.me/features/business-intelligence
- Expert Marketplace: https://theblock.me/features/expert-marketplace
- Pricing: https://theblock.me/pricing
- Figma integration: https://theblock.me/integrations/figma
- Stripe integration: https://theblock.me/integrations/stripe
- Gmail integration: https://theblock.me/integrations/gmail
- Privacy Policy: https://theblock.me/privacy
- Terms and Conditions: https://theblock.me/terms

### Microsoft 365 connection

When enabled, a client can connect one Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com mailbox using Microsoft sign-in. The Block reads recent inbox email and sends email the user writes. It requests delegated offline_access, User.Read, Mail.Read and Mail.Send. Attachments are not downloaded. Disconnecting deletes stored email; users can remove Microsoft app consent at https://myapps.microsoft.com. Work tenants may require admin consent.