BirrJS
TypeScript billing engine for the Ethiopian market with subscription lifecycle management
Library Rated 7 Oct 2026
- Built by
Sam's Archive
Float
350/500Where it landed on the scale
0
300
400
Summary
BirrJS is a working, MIT-licensed billing library with a docs site, CLI, seven releases, and integrations for Chapa, Telebirr, verify.et and v.odit.et. It solves a real local gap and has shipped steadily for months. Revenue, support, and independent users aren't shown, so it sits in the mid-to-upper range rather than higher.
Float · Real and alive, but nothing stops a copy yet.
Breakdown
Five measures, 100 points each. Open the receipts under any of them to see the posts and pages behind the points.
Viability
Is there a real problem, someone who would pay, and a market this builder can actually reach?
The problem is real: local gateways handle one-time payments and developers have to build subscription logic themselves. It's believable that Ethiopian SaaS builders would use it, but no evidence shows anyone running it in production or paying anything.
58/100
Rubric 41–60Plausible users and a believable way to charge them. Not yet shown to work.
Receipts (3)
States the gap that gateways only handle one-time payments, with no subscriptions, entitlements or reminders.
“Introducing BirrJS A TypeScript billing engine for the Ethiopian market. Payment gateways here only handle one-time payments, so there's no built-in support for subscriptions, entitlements, or reminders. BirrJS fills that gap with a subscription lifecycle engine that handles plans, feature gating, usage tracking, expiry and reminders, and easy payment provider integration. [ Docs ] [ Github ]”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 11 Jun 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Targets unlicensed builders with a receipt-based provider and a one-line swap to Chapa once they have a license.
“New Release BirrJS 0.1.3 Includes - v.odit.et powered receipt-based provider alternative to chapa (Docs) - resend plugin (Docs) - customizable, ready made checkout ui components (Docs) not having a license shouldn't stop you from accepting payments.with this provider you can start accepting immediately. zero human intervention and no manual receipt checking. once you finally get your business”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 17 Jul 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Shows a free MIT library with a sample plan priced in birr, but no hosted paid tier or customers.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · birrjs.dev (opens in a new tab)
Moat
What stops someone copying it?
Local integrations take effort to copy: Telebirr (called hard and painful), Chapa, verify.et and v.odit.et behind one provider interface, plus plugins for SMS and Slack. There's no proprietary data or network effect, and it's open source, so a motivated developer could replicate it over time.
50/100
Rubric 41–60Local depth that takes real effort to copy: payment integrations, Amharic, regulation, partnerships, operational know-how.
Receipts (3)
Telebirr integration is described as hard, and was built with outside help.
“integrating telebirr is known to be hard and painful. birrjs abstracts all of that away. big thanks to @found_this, who helped a lot with this integration.”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 3 Oct 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Three providers can be swapped with a single config line.
“birrjs now has 3 providers. - verify.et - v.odit.et - chapa.co and you can swap between them with a single line change in your config easily.”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 21 Aug 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
An outside contributor added the SMS gateway plugin, showing a small ecosystem forming.
“New Release v0.1.4 Includes - trial subscription plugin with per-plan trial days and reminders (docs) - sms-gate plugin to send subscription notifications via sms-gate.app using your own device (docs) trial: single line in your plugins array. per-plan trial days, automatic reminders before expiry, and seamless paid conversion. enforced by email, phone, and browser fingerprint. sms-gate: alter”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 22 Jul 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Momentum
Did the updates keep coming?
The repo has commits since April and seven releases from June to October, with updates in every month. That's a steady, sustained run.
98/100
- Sustained shipping58/60
Worked on across 6 months.
- Consistency40/40
Updates in 6 of 6 months.
Receipts (2)
Earliest post about it.
“Introducing BirrJS A TypeScript billing engine for the Ethiopian market. Payment gateways here only handle one-time payments, so there's no built-in support for subscriptions, entitlements, or reminders. BirrJS fills that gap with a subscription lifecycle engine that handles plans, feature gating, usage tracking, expiry and reminders, and easy payment provider integration. [ Docs ] [ Github ]”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 11 Jun 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Most recent post about it.
“and if you haven't starred the repo yet, please do it means a lot :)”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 3 Oct 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Infrastructure
Does a real, working product exist?
A full working library exists: CLI, plan and entitlement engine, webhooks, database schema, several payment providers and notification plugins, all documented.
96/100
- It's live20/20
http://github.com/Samuel-Fikre/BirrJS responded when checked.
- HTTPS5/5
Hosted on a platform (store, GitHub or Telegram), so HTTPS is the platform's.
- Real product35/35
A full working library: CLI scaffolding, plans and metered features, entitlements, webhooks, a Postgres-backed schema, provider and notification plugins, and published releases.
- Own home10/10
Lives on its own domain (www.birrjs.dev).
- Maintained15/15
Last sign of shipping 2026-10-03.
- Operations11/15
It has a docs site with per-provider and per-plugin pages, a CLI, changelogs and releases, and a webhook and database layer. There's no status page or hosted accounts, since it's a library.
Receipts (5)
http://github.com/Samuel-Fikre/BirrJS responded when checked.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · github.com/Samuel-Fikre/BirrJS (opens in a new tab)
Documents the CLI, plan and feature definitions, verified and deduplicated webhooks, and entitlement checks.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · birrjs.dev (opens in a new tab)
The repo has seven tagged releases and regular commits.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · github.com/Samuel-Fikre/BirrJS (opens in a new tab)
A trial plugin with per-plan days, reminders and abuse checks shows depth beyond basics.
“New Release v0.1.4 Includes - trial subscription plugin with per-plan trial days and reminders (docs) - sms-gate plugin to send subscription notifications via sms-gate.app using your own device (docs) trial: single line in your plugins array. per-plan trial days, automatic reminders before expiry, and seamless paid conversion. enforced by email, phone, and browser fingerprint. sms-gate: alter”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 22 Jul 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Links docs pages for the provider, Resend plugin and UI components, plus a changelog.
“New Release BirrJS 0.1.3 Includes - v.odit.et powered receipt-based provider alternative to chapa (Docs) - resend plugin (Docs) - customizable, ready made checkout ui components (Docs) not having a license shouldn't stop you from accepting payments.with this provider you can start accepting immediately. zero human intervention and no manual receipt checking. once you finally get your business”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 17 Jul 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Sustainability
Is it being set up to last?
It's distributed through a documented site and npm-style CLI, with a clear niche and a swappable provider model. There's no sign of revenue, no privacy or terms pages, and no support contact, and so far only one maintainer plus a couple of helpers.
48/100
- Distribution25/30
A web app on its own domain.
- Payments0/15
No payment provider found.
- Pricing10/10
A pricing page or stated prices on the site.
- Revenue0/5
No post mentions paying customers, revenue, or anyone using it in production.
- Privacy policy0/7
No privacy policy found.
- Terms0/5
No terms of service found.
- Support0/8
No support contact found.
- Commitment13/20
Sustained release cadence across months and two outside contributors credited. The roadmap is announced and delivered (trials, Slack, Telebirr). There's a Telegram community link on the site, but no funding or formal team.
Receipts (5)
A web app on its own domain.
Checked 7 Oct 2026 · birrjs.dev (opens in a new tab)
Pitches the product but gives no sign of paying users.
“birrjs gives you the full stack for subscriptions in ethiopia. just add your plans and ship :)”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 21 Aug 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
Announced trials as next, and P7 delivered them days later.
“next on birrjs, trials”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 18 Jul 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
First outside contribution credited.
“New Release v0.1.4 Includes - trial subscription plugin with per-plan trial days and reminders (docs) - sms-gate plugin to send subscription notifications via sms-gate.app using your own device (docs) trial: single line in your plugins array. per-plan trial days, automatic reminders before expiry, and seamless paid conversion. enforced by email, phone, and browser fingerprint. sms-gate: alter”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 22 Jul 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)
A second helper is credited on the Telebirr integration.
“integrating telebirr is known to be hard and painful. birrjs abstracts all of that away. big thanks to @found_this, who helped a lot with this integration.”
Post · @Samuel_Dumps · 3 Oct 2026 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)