Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Paywall and Upgrade Screen CRO agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The paywalls skill is a set of instructions that teaches an AI agent to act as a conversion specialist for in-app upgrade moments, such as a locked feature, a usage limit or a trial ending. It is for product managers, founders, mobile developers and growth marketers who run a freemium or trial-based product. After this guide you will know what the skill changes about the agent's behaviour, how to install it, how to phrase requests that trigger it, and what to check before you trust its output.
Paywall and Upgrade Screen CROcoreyhaines31/marketingskills · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the paywalls skill ZIP from the directory page.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Extract it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.
- 4Describe your upgrade moment. Tell the agent which moment you are designing, such as a limit reached screen or trial expiration screen.
- 5Answer the agent's questions. Share your free and paid plans, your trigger and your current conversion rate if you have one.
- 6Review the draft. Check copy, timing and prices against your own billing and product rules before you ship.
- 7Run the suggested tests. Use the A/B test ideas and track impression rate, click-through to upgrade, completion rate and revenue per user.
What the paywalls skill makes the agent do
Agent skills are folders of instructions that an AI agent loads when a task matches them. The paywalls skill tells the agent to work as an expert in in-app paywalls and upgrade flows, with the goal of converting free users to paid, or moving users to higher tiers, once they have experienced enough value.
Before recommending anything, the agent is directed to ask about your upgrade context (freemium to paid, trial to paid, tier upgrade, feature upsell or usage limit), your product model (what is free, what is behind the paywall, what triggers prompts) and the user journey. If a product marketing context file exists, such as .agents/product-marketing.md, the agent reads it first.
- Suggests when to show the upgrade prompt, for example after an aha moment rather than during onboarding.
- Drafts paywall copy and layouts, including headline, value demonstration, feature comparison, pricing, call to action and a clear way to continue free.
- Covers trigger types: feature gates, usage limits, trial expiration and time-based prompts.
- Proposes A/B tests on timing, copy, price presentation, trial length, feature emphasis and layout.
- Includes a reference for consumer iOS and Android subscription apps, covering topics such as paywalls inside onboarding, yearly-first plans, trials and store fees.
Install the paywalls skill
Download the ZIP for the paywalls skill from the directory page. Then choose one of the two install routes below.
For Claude Code, unzip the download into your personal skills folder at ~/.claude/skills/, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder if you want the skill available only in that project. For the Claude apps, upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
The download contains SKILL.md, two reference files (references/experiments.md and references/mobile-subscription-paywalls.md) and an evals/evals.json file.
- Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. The skill loads when your request matches its description. The description covers phrases such as "paywall", "upgrade screen", "upsell", "feature gate", "trial expiration screen", "limit reached screen", "free users won't upgrade" and "how do I get users to pay". It also covers mobile terms such as "mobile app paywall" and "App Store subscription pricing".
Describe the in-product moment and your current model. The more specific you are about what is free, what is locked and when users see the prompt, the more useful the agent's questions and suggestions will be.
- "Design a limit reached screen for our free plan, which allows 3 projects."
- "Our trial ends in 7 days. Write a trial expiration screen that summarises what the user built."
- "Free users never click the upgrade button on the export feature. Where should we show the prompt?"
- "Plan an App Store subscription paywall inside onboarding for our fitness app."
- "Suggest A/B tests for our upgrade modal."
What the skill needs and what it does not run
The skill lists no required tools or prerequisites. It does not run scripts and does not use the network, according to the skill's listing. Its job is advice and drafting: the agent asks questions, then writes copy, layouts, timing rules and test ideas.
The skill is for in-product upgrade moments. For public pricing pages it points to the cro skill, and for setting the actual price level or pricing model it points to the pricing skill.
- Requires: nothing listed
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
Safety notes: scripts, network and dark patterns
Because the skill runs no scripts and makes no network calls, installing it does not execute code on your machine. Review the SKILL.md and the reference files as you would any instructions you give an agent, since they shape what the agent recommends.
The skill itself lists dark patterns as anti-patterns: hiding the close button, confusing plan selection, guilt-trip copy and fake countdowns or limited offers with no real deadline. Do not ask the agent to implement these. Its guidance on respecting a no and making it easy to continue free is the approach to keep.
- No scripts are run and no network use is declared, so review the markdown files directly.
- Do not use the skill to build hidden close buttons, fake countdowns or guilt-trip copy.
- Check any suggested price, trial length or offer against your own billing rules before shipping.
Tips for better results
Give the agent real numbers where you have them, such as your current free to paid conversion rate, the features behind the paywall and your aha moment. The skill's own task questions ask for these, and answers based on your data are more useful than generic copy.
Ask for tests, not just a single winning design. The skill's experiment reference covers trigger timing, trial reminders, dismiss behaviour and frequency capping, so you can ask the agent to choose from those rather than inventing tests from scratch.
- Name the trigger: feature gate, usage limit, trial expiration or time-based prompt.
- Mention whether you sell on mobile, web or both, since the mobile reference covers app store billing.
- Ask for frequency rules, such as a limit per session and a cool-down after dismissal measured in days.
What people use it for
- Designing a usage limit screen that shows progress toward a free plan cap and what upgrading unlocks.
- Writing a trial expiration screen with early warnings and a summary of what the user has already built.
- Planning a feature lock paywall that previews a paid feature and offers a clear option to continue without it.
- Setting frequency rules so an upgrade prompt does not appear during onboarding or repeatedly after dismissal.
- Planning a subscription paywall for a consumer iOS or Android app, including yearly-first plan presentation and trials.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the paywalls agent skill?
Download the ZIP from the directory page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Does the paywalls skill require anything else to run?
The skill lists no required prerequisites. It runs no scripts and uses no network, so it works as a set of instructions that guide the agent's advice and drafting.
Is the paywalls skill free to use?
The skill is published under the MIT licence, as listed on the directory page. Check the licence file in the repository for the full terms.
What is the difference between the paywalls skill and the cro skill?
The paywalls skill focuses on in-product upgrade moments, where users have already experienced value. The cro skill covers public pricing pages, and the pricing skill covers setting price levels and pricing models.
Why won't the agent design hidden close buttons or fake countdowns?
The skill lists these as dark patterns and anti-patterns. Its guidance is to avoid trapping or pressuring users and to make it easy to continue on the free plan.
What if the agent's suggestions do not fit my app?
Give it more context, such as your free and paid features, your aha moment and your conversion rate. The skill asks for this information first, and results improve with specific answers.
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Our verdict
Use the paywalls skill if you run a freemium or trial-based app and want help designing upgrade screens, usage limit prompts, trial expiration messages and A/B tests for in-product moments. Pick something else if you need public pricing page work, which belongs to the cro skill, or help setting your actual prices, which the pricing skill covers.
Download the skill