Certified to receive a codebase.
When a client takes ownership of what we built for them, their source code, their data and their credentials go to a developer we have certified, and to nobody else. Anyone can apply.
- Who can apply
- Anyone: independent developers, agencies and in-house teams
- Cost
- Free
- Decision
- Within 10 working days, with the reason
- Lasts
- 12 months, then renewed
Why a codebase needs a certified hand
- What a codebase carries
- A handover is more than files. It is the source code, the database with the personal data of a client’s own customers, and the credentials and keys to every service the product runs on.
- Who it is released to
- When a client buys out what we built for them, they name the developer who will take it over. We release the codebase to that developer only once they hold this certification.
- What it protects
- The client and the people in their data. A codebase sent to an unverified inbox, or to somebody with no way to host and secure it, is how credentials and customer records are lost.
- What it never holds back
- A client’s own data. A full export of their content and data is theirs at the end of hosting at no charge, whoever their developer is and whether or not anyone is certified.
What an application is read against
Four criteria, the same for every applicant. Nothing else decides it.
- Identity
- You are who you say you are: a named person or a registered business we can identify, with a working address for it.
- Professional practice
- You build and maintain software as your work, and can show it: live sites or applications, a repository, or client references.
- Code and credential security
- Source code is kept in private, access-controlled repositories. Credentials and keys are kept in a password manager or secrets store, never in code, tickets or email. Multi-factor authentication is on for every account that holds either.
- Data handling
- You can host, back up and secure a production system that holds personal data, and you handle that data only on your client’s instructions.
How a decision is made
- Apply
- The form below takes about ten minutes. You need no Stacklumen account, and applying costs nothing.
- Read by a person
- A person at Stacklumen reads every application against the four criteria and replies within 10 working days. We may write back with a question, or ask to verify your identity.
- The decision
- You are told whether you are certified, and why. A decline names the criterion it fell short on and what would change the answer.
- If you are declined
- You can apply again 30 days after the decision. If you think we got it wrong, reply to the decision and we read it again.
- While you are certified
- A certification lasts 12 months and is renewed by confirming your answers still hold. We may withdraw it if they stop being true, and we say why.
- At each handover
- For every codebase you receive, you sign a short undertaking to keep that client’s code, data and credentials secure, and you change every credential you are given.
Apply
Tell us who you are, what you build and how you keep it safe. Plain answers are best: we are reading for how you work, not for polish.
The transfer itself is set out in the Client Portal and Services Terms, and how we handle what you send us is in the Privacy Policy. Questions go to info@stacklumen.com.
Questions
- Do I need to use Stacklumen’s products to be certified?
- No. The certification is about how you look after code, credentials and data, whatever you build with.
- Is this an official accreditation?
- No. It is a credential Stacklumen issues on its own review, for one purpose: deciding who we release a client’s codebase to. It is not an accreditation by a government body, a standards body or a professional association, and it does not say anything about your work for anyone else.
- I am a client. What does this mean for my buyout?
- A buyout is a flat $300 for each site or application. The developer you name applies here, at no charge, and the transfer is made once they are certified. If your developer is declined you can name another, and your data is never held back.
- Is this the same as the Dev Program?
- No. The Dev Program credits agencies for work made on the platform. This certification is for any developer who will receive a client’s codebase from us.
- What do you do with my application?
- It is read by Stacklumen staff to make the decision and is not shared or published. We keep it as the record that we checked, and delete it on request once no codebase you hold depends on it, as the Privacy Policy sets out.