🎧 Recorded a new morning walk this morning, hard one to share because I'm sure people will want to roast me for it but have been transparent up until now so publishing it anyways.
Cult Pro is going open source. Read the letter
cult pro, 2023–2026
Jordan Gilliam
Creator of Cult UI and AI SDK Agents
Cult Pro goes back to its roots: open source
I started Cult UI almost three years ago. In 2024, Cult Pro made enough for me to get married and travel the world with my wife as an indie hacker. That still feels unreal to write.
Bought Cult Pro? You keep everything, permanently. See what it means for you
How we got here
Free, open-source animated components built on shadcn/ui. This is where it all started, and I’ve shipped in public nonstop ever since.
Full-stack Next.js templates built with shadcn components. The first time I charged for my work.
- 03
Full-stack blocks
When React Server Components came out, I tested full-stack blocks as their own product. Some ideas worked and some didn’t. Every round made me a better designer and product maker.
- 04
Cult UI + Cult Pro
2024With better product and design sense, I brought it together: the free library at cult-ui.com and a paid tier of blocks, sections and templates.
Building newcopy.ai pulled me deep into the Vercel AI SDK. Late one night in a hostel in Oaxaca, Mexico, I decided to go all in on full-stack AI SDK patterns built with shadcn. That became aisdkagents.com.
- 06
Everything shifted
Jan 2026Premium shadcn registries launched everywhere, and AI coding models got good enough that people generate UI on request instead of buying a kit. Cult Pro sales fell off a cliff.
- 07
Back to open source
September 30, 2026No more Cult Pro sales. The components are free, and my focus is on open source and AI SDK Agents.
A sign of things to come
In January 2026, Adam Wathan shared that Tailwind Labs had laid off most of its engineering team. Tailwind was more popular than ever, but AI tools were writing Tailwind code without anyone visiting the docs where people discovered the paid products. Docs traffic was down about 40% since 2023, revenue was down close to 80%, and 75% of the engineering team was let go. When the company behind the CSS framework everyone uses says this, it’s hard to ignore.
The same thing was happening to Cult Pro. AI is great at generating a single component or a landing section, so a kit of UI pieces stopped being worth paying for. AI has changed how we build software for good.
What I’m doing about it
Cult Pro is no longer for sale, and I’m not planning to build new Cult Pro templates, blocks or components. I’m focusing on two things instead.
Open source
Cult UI goes back to its roots. The 58 Pro components are already free in the registry, 137 components in total. I plan to open-source more of Cult Pro over the coming months.
Browse free componentsAI SDK Agents
AI writes a button just fine. What it still struggles with is the full-stack work around it: agents, tool calling, streaming, human-in-the-loop, and the wiring that holds up in production. AI SDK Agents gives your AI coding tools that foundation, and it’s what keeps Cult UI free.
Explore AI SDK AgentsIf you bought Cult Pro
- You keep permanent access to everything you bought. Log in as usual.
- You get 75% off AI SDK Agents as a thank-you. The code is on your downloads page.
Questions about your purchase? Email hello@cult-ui.com.
Thank you
This is bittersweet, but I couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who joined me on this crazy journey: those who bought, shared, sent feedback, or just watched along as I built in public. You made all of this possible.
Jordan · @nolansym
cult pro
2023–2026
today
cult pro
Thanks for three years.