shut-down-startups
PrivateThe company has closed, but the code and its history still sit in your org. Often the strongest fit for buyers who want human-written code.
history before 2023
Invite only
License the code you already wrote.
AI labs pay for real production code and the history behind it. Connect your repos read-only, see what they could earn in minutes, and we handle the cleanup, the buyers and the paperwork. You keep the IP.
- read-only GitHub access
- you keep the IP
- you approve every deal
- withdraw before submission
codecuck estimate --org northwind
connected 14 repos (read-only)
612,408 lines · 7 years of history
41 contributors · 1,284 pull requests
3 secrets in history · will be redacted
buyerfitindicative
lab programmeeligibleup to $200k
code marketplaceeligible$0.8k to $1.9k / licence
data partnerreviewup to $10k
Estimate ready2m 14s · 14 repos scanned
Open report
What buyers ask for
- production-code
- full-git-history
- pull-requests
- code-review
- tests
- human-written
- private-repos
- commit-messages
- bug-fixes
- ci-config
Public code was scraped long ago. What buyers can't find is private, working software and the record of how it was built: the commits, the reviews, the fixes.
How it works
You connect and approve. We do the rest.
About fifteen minutes of your time across the whole process.
-
a1f3c9eConnect read-only
Install our GitHub app on your organisation and tick the repos to include. No passwords, no write access. If the org is gone, a git bundle works too.
-
7c20d14See your estimate
Size, history and fit for each buyer, including what counts and what doesn't. If the code doesn't qualify, you'll know the same day.
-
e94b0aaWe prepare a clean copy
Secrets and personal data stripped from the code and its history, contributors pseudonymised, third-party code left out. Your repositories are never touched.
-
3d5f2b8Approve, license, get paid
We take the package to buyers that fit, and you approve every deal before anything is sent.
Checks
Nothing reaches a buyer until it passes.
Every package runs the same checks across the code and its full history. You see the results first, and you decide what goes out.
Runs on an isolated copy. Your repos are never modified.
All 6 checks passednorthwind · package v1 · example
- Secrets, full history3 found · redacted
- Personal data41 contributors pseudonymised
- Third-party code2 vendored folders left out
- Licencesno copyleft in scope
- Human authorship88% of lines predate 2022
- Buyer limits14 repos · largest 2.1 GB
4 paths left out of every packageyou can review and change these before approving
vendor/third-party codeweb/dist/generated outputdesign/*.psdbinary filesseed/customers.csvpersonal data
manifest.jsonwhat the buyer receives with the code{
"codebase": "northwind",
"repos": 14,
"lines": 612408,
"history": "2018-03 to 2025-06",
"contributors": "pseudonymised (41)",
"checks": "6/6 passed",
"sha256": "9f2c41e0...e71a"
}
What you keep
A licence, not a sale.
You choose which repos take part, and you can pull a codebase out at any point before it's submitted. Your original repositories are never modified.
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ what changes
1Sell your codebase outright
1License it and keep owning it
2Hand over admin access
2Read-only GitHub access, uninstall any time
3Guess what it's worth
3See an estimate for each buyer first
4Hope nothing sensitive slips through
4Secrets and personal data stripped first
Who it's for
Built for code that's sitting idle.
running-companies
PrivateInternal tools, retired products and R&D you own outright, kept separate from what you ship today.
owned outright
studios-and-agencies
PrivateYour own frameworks and tooling, where the rights are genuinely yours. Client work stays out.
your IP only
01How do invites work?
We take on a small number of codebases at a time, and most founders come to us through people we know. If you weren't referred, request an invite. We look at the size, history and ownership of your code and send you a private link if it's a fit.
02Do I keep ownership of my code?
Yes. The company keeps ownership and can keep using, changing and shipping the code. The buyer gets a licence to use it, not ownership of it.
03What does the buyer get?
A cleaned copy of the code and its history, with broad, perpetual rights to use it, including to build products and train AI models. Those rights can't be taken back once a package is submitted, so you approve every package first. Your company also confirms that it owns the code and that it's clean, and our checks are there to help you get that right.
04Who sees my code, and when?
We review an isolated, scrubbed copy. Buyers only receive the package after you approve it and a licence is signed.
05My company has been dissolved. Can I still take part?
Possibly. In the UK, a dissolved company's assets pass to the Crown unless the company is restored. Our five-minute rights check flags this before anything else happens.
06We used Copilot or other AI tools. Does that rule us out?
Not for every buyer. Some only accept human-written code, so we show how much of your history predates AI coding tools and route the rest to buyers without that rule.
07What does it cost?
Nothing upfront. We take a share of what you receive, only when a licence closes, and you'll see the exact split before you sign anything.
By invitation
See what your code could earn.
We work with a small number of codebases at a time, so access is by invitation. Tell us where your code lives, and if it's a fit we'll send you a private link to run your estimate.
Request receivedIf it's a fit, we'll email you a private link to check your codebase.
Read-only. We never write to your repositories.How we use your email