# growth-loops

Converts initial manual traction into self-sustaining acquisition loops where regular product usage brings in the next wave of developers.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · ★ 327
- Author: AIDevGTM
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder/tree/HEAD/skills/18-growth-loops/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-19
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/aidevgtm-growth-loops

## What it does

The skill structures the transition from manual founder outreach to organic acquisition. It details six loop architectures for developer tools, such as README status badges and automated pull request integrations. Pick exactly one mechanism first. The built-in decision tree identifies which model matches how developers naturally share work.

Measurement tracks one concrete ratio: the share of signups produced by existing users. Anything under 10% signals linear channels. Reaching 30% confirms compounding traction.

Running a loop without proven week-2 retention accelerates churn rather than growth. The skill warns against paid referral incentives and permanent watermarks, as developers quickly reject forced virality.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --skill 18-growth-loops -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/18-growth-loops/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/18-growth-loops/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --skill 18-growth-loops -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/18-growth-loops/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --skill 18-growth-loops -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/18-growth-loops/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder 18-growth-loops
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/18-growth-loops/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --skill 18-growth-loops -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --path skills/18-growth-loops
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/18-growth-loops/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --skill 18-growth-loops -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder/tree/HEAD/skills/18-growth-loops/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- Pick a sustainable acquisition loop for a developer tool
- Stop relying on manual founder outreach and direct messages
- Track the percentage of signups triggered by active users
- Design workflow-based triggers such as pull requests or badges

## Example prompts
- Help me pick the best growth loop for an open-source linter.
- Analyze why user signups dropped right after our launch spike.
- Draft a badge loop concept for our test coverage tool.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: c4252cd907bc3750.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE c4252cd907bc3750
```text
---
name: growth-loops
description: "Turn hand-made first-50 traction into self-reinforcing acquisition loops, so the next 5,000 users come from usage, not founder hours. Use when growth stalls the moment the user stops pushing, every signup traces back to a DM or one launch spike, or they're reaching for \"more channels\" when the real gap is that using the product creates no new users."
---

# Growth loops (the next 5,000 without you)

> You got your first 50 users by hand: DMs, favors, one good launch. That was the right way to get them, and it was never supposed to scale. A growth loop is what comes next: one user's ordinary use of the product exposes it to the next user, and that user repeats it. Not a one-time referral; a continuous cycle.

**Use this when:** growth flatlines every time you stop posting, you can trace every user to a founder DM or a launch day, or you're about to add a third channel when the users you already have produce zero new ones.

## The core idea

A channel is linear: effort in, users out, stop pushing and it stops. A **loop** feeds output back into input: usage creates an artifact, a public trace, or an invitation that a new developer finds, and that developer's usage restarts the cycle. Channels deplete; loops compound.

**The rule that keeps it non-slimy:** every loop must do the *user* a service, not just you. A branded report the user is proud to send is a loop; a watermark they resent is spam with extra steps. If the loop degrades the experience, it is not a loop, it is a leak in your trust.

**The gate:** a loop amplifies whatever you feed it. If week-2 retention is broken, a loop compounds churn, not growth. Before this skill: first value in under an hour (`time-to-first-value`), first 50 real users in hand (`first-50-users`), and cohorts that come back (`know-if-its-working`, Frankl's net developer retention). If any of those fail, that failure is your Now move, not this.

## The dev-tool loop catalog

Six loops that actually work for developer tools. You need **one**, running at full strength.

1. **Showcase loop.** The product's output is shareable and carries your name with it: a CodePen link, an exported report with the logo intact, a "Generated by X" footer on docs. crowd.dev's exported community health reports carried the branding; recipients asked how the report was made, and that question was the signup.
2. **Badge loop.** A status signal developers *want* in their README: "build passing" (Travis CI, CircleCI), coverage percent (Codecov). Every visitor to every repo that uses you sees a micro-advertisement, and the badge earns its place by signaling quality, not by begging.
3. **Workflow loop.** The tool acts inside a shared workflow where non-users see it working. Snyk auto-opens pull requests with vulnerability fixes; every collaborator reviews that PR, discovers the tool, and signs up. A bot comment on a fixed issue, a summary email a dev forwards to the team: same mechanics.
```
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