Feature requests and sponsored features
This page is for partners whose customers need something Exponential does not yet do.
Five ways a feature gets built
| Way | Cost | Speed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public feature request | None | Unpredictable | https://github.com/se7enxweb/exponential/issues |
| Your own pull request | Your developers' time | You control it | CONTRIBUTING.md, Contributing code back |
| Paid development by 7x | A quote from 7x | Agreed | https://exponential.earth/support ("Hire 7x!") |
| A bounty through GitHub Sponsors | One-time tiers as listed | Agreed | "One bug or medium sized bounty" ($1,000 one time) on both sponsor pages |
| A sponsor tier with backlog influence | Monthly | Priority, not a promise | 7x tier "$750 a month": "a bounty for the development of a feature ... tailored to your needs" |
Sponsor tiers were read from the GitHub Sponsors pages https://github.com/sponsors/se7enxweb and https://github.com/sponsors/exponentialcms on 18 October 2026; the live pages are authoritative. Details: Sponsoring 7x on GitHub and Sponsoring the Exponential Foundation.
The sponsors page of the project says "Sponsors take advantage of inside access to 7x Team and get their features considered" (https://exponential.earth/about/project/sponsors). "Considered" is the right word to use with customers: funding raises priority; it does not buy a guarantee unless a written contract says so.
Keeping it open
A feature paid by one customer and published for all is the best outcome for everyone: the customer gets maintenance by the community, the community gets the feature. Agree in the customer contract that generic features may be published under the GPL (Open source values in daily partner work).
Decision guide
| The feature is | Then |
|---|---|
| Small, general, and you have developers | Send a pull request |
| General but large | Discuss in an issue first, then fund or build it with others |
| Specific to one customer | Build it as a customer extension; do not push it into the kernel |
| Urgent and critical | Paid development with a written agreement |
| A change to existing, deliberate behavior | Treat it as a negative feature: other sites depend on it, so justify it clearly, expect several rounds of review, and propose an option rather than a new default |
Related pages
- Taking part in the roadmap
- Contributing code back
- What sponsorship funds
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.