[Phase 7] docs: add launch-announcement.md with copy for all 5 marketing channels

All 5 sections written and copy-paste ready (pending RapidAPI URLs from #44):

1. Hacker News Show HN post (150-300 word body)
2. Reddit posts for r/webdev, r/SideProject, r/learnprogramming (with code examples)
3. Indie Hackers milestone post (MRR /bin/bash, stack, lessons learned)
4. Product Hunt listing: tagline (58 chars), description (211 chars), maker note, gallery placeholders
5. Email waitlist message: subject + 3-4 paragraph body with quick-start curl example

All sections marked DRAFT until issue #44 RapidAPI URLs are available.
Pre-publish checklist included at bottom of document.

Closes leeworks-agents/api-company#115

README.md

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ Meta-repo for the `leeworks-apis` recursive build loop. This repo holds cross-cu
 - `MASTER_BUILD_PROMPT.md` — the prime directive driving the build loop
 - `ROADMAP.md` — cross-repo milestones (Phase 0–6)
 - `STATUS.md` — living revenue + infra scorecard
+- `docs/pre-launch-checklist.md` — go-live gate checklist (run the day before public launch)
 - `SESSION_LOG.md` — append-only log of agent work sessions
 - `research/RESEARCH_LOG.md` — market research findings, candidate API ideas
 - `flux/` — cluster-level Flux manifests (registry, runner, monitoring, docs-site)

docs/launch-announcement.md

@@ -0,0 +1,359 @@
+# Launch Announcement Copy
+
+Ready-to-copy marketing text for leeworks.dev API launch day.
+
+**Status key:**
+- **DRAFT** — copy is written and ready; needs final RapidAPI URLs inserted once issue #44 is complete
+- **READY** — all placeholders filled; copy-paste ready to publish
+
+All sections are currently **DRAFT** pending RapidAPI listing URLs from issue #44.
+
+---
+
+## Placeholder Reference
+
+When issue #44 is complete, replace these placeholders throughout this document:
+
+| Placeholder | Replace with |
+|---|---|
+| `[RAPIDAPI_ZIP_URL]` | RapidAPI listing URL for ZIP Code Enrichment API |
+| `[RAPIDAPI_HOLIDAYS_URL]` | RapidAPI listing URL for Holidays API |
+| `[RAPIDAPI_AQI_URL]` | RapidAPI listing URL for Air Quality Index API |
+| `[RAPIDAPI_PROFILE_URL]` | Your RapidAPI provider profile URL |
+
+---
+
+## 1. Hacker News — Show HN Post [DRAFT]
+
+**Title:**
+```
+Show HN: I built 3 free-data APIs on Kubernetes — ZIP enrichment, public holidays, air quality
+```
+
+**Body (paste into the "text" field):**
+```
+Three small APIs I've been building over the past few months, deployed via Flux GitOps on a self-hosted Kubernetes cluster.
+
+**What they do:**
+
+1. ZIP Code Enrichment API — turn any US ZIP code into city, state, county, timezone, area codes, and coordinates. Backed by USPS/Census public data, refreshed monthly. [RAPIDAPI_ZIP_URL]
+
+2. Public Holidays API — query official public holidays for any country and year. 90+ countries, ISO 3166 codes. Backed by Nager.Date / public government calendars. [RAPIDAPI_HOLIDAYS_URL]
+
+3. Air Quality Index API — current and historical AQI by city or coordinates. PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, CO. Backed by OpenAQ public dataset. [RAPIDAPI_AQI_URL]
+
+**Tech stack:** Fastify (Node.js), SQLite (data cache), Flux GitOps on Talos Linux, cert-manager + ingress-nginx, Prometheus + Grafana for metrics, Gatus for status page.
+
+**Business model:** Free tier (100 req/mo) + paid tiers ($9/$19/$49/mo) on RapidAPI. All three APIs use only public-domain data sources with no redistribution restrictions, so operating costs are cluster hosting only.
+
+**Why I built this:** I wanted to learn GitOps/Kubernetes end-to-end, build something that generates real revenue, and ship entirely on open data. The stack is overkill for 3 simple APIs — but that's the point.
+
+Code is private (it's a product), but happy to answer questions about the architecture.
+```
+
+---
+
+## 2. Reddit Posts [DRAFT]
+
+### r/webdev
+
+**Title:**
+```
+I built a ZIP code enrichment API on public Census data — city, state, county, timezone from a single lookup
+```
+
+**Body:**
+```
+Been working on a simple utility API for the past few months. ZIP Code Enrichment takes any US ZIP code and returns:
+
+- City name + state (abbreviation and full name)
+- County + FIPS code
+- Timezone (IANA name + UTC offset)
+- Area codes
+- Latitude/longitude centroid
+- ZIP type (standard, PO Box, military, unique)
+
+**The data source** is a monthly-refreshed dataset from USPS/Census Bureau — entirely public domain, no scraping.
+
+**Code example:**
+
+```javascript
+const response = await fetch('https://zip.leeworks.dev/v1/lookup?zip=10001', {
+  headers: { 'X-RapidAPI-Proxy-Secret': process.env.RAPIDAPI_KEY }
+});
+const data = await response.json();
+// { zip: "10001", city: "New York", state: "NY", county: "New York County",
+//   timezone: "America/New_York", lat: 40.7484, lon: -73.9967, ... }
+```
+
+Free tier is 100 requests/month. Paid plans start at $9/mo for 10,000 req/mo.
+
+RapidAPI listing: [RAPIDAPI_ZIP_URL]
+
+Happy to answer any questions about the stack (Fastify + SQLite + Kubernetes/Flux).
+```
+
+---
+
+### r/SideProject
+
+**Title:**
+```
+Launched 3 data APIs on RapidAPI — ZIP enrichment, public holidays, air quality. $0 → targeting $100/mo MRR
+```
+
+**Body:**
+```
+Finally shipped the thing I've been building on weekends for the past few months.
+
+**What I built:**
+Three utility APIs on RapidAPI, all backed by free public-domain data:
+
+1. **ZIP Code Enrichment** — city/state/county/timezone from a ZIP code ([RAPIDAPI_ZIP_URL])
+2. **Public Holidays** — official holidays for 90+ countries ([RAPIDAPI_HOLIDAYS_URL])
+3. **Air Quality Index** — current + historical AQI by city or coordinates ([RAPIDAPI_AQI_URL])
+
+**Stack:** Fastify + SQLite + Kubernetes (Talos Linux) + Flux GitOps + Prometheus/Grafana
+
+**Business model:**
+- Free tier: 100 req/month (marketing + trial)
+- Basic: $9/mo — 10,000 req/mo
+- Pro: $19/mo — 50,000 req/mo
+- Ultra: $49/mo — 250,000 req/mo
+
+**Data cost: $0.** All three APIs use US government / OpenAQ public datasets with no licensing fees.
+
+**Revenue so far:** $0 (launched today). Target: $100/mo net within 90 days, which is roughly 12 Basic subscribers across all three APIs.
+
+The whole build — from first commit to Kubernetes deployment — is documented in a private research log. Happy to share architecture details.
+
+What would you do differently for the pricing?
+```
+
+---
+
+### r/learnprogramming
+
+**Title:**
+```
+I used free US government data to build a ZIP code API — here's how the data pipeline works
+```
+
+**Body:**
+```
+A walkthrough of the data layer behind the ZIP Code Enrichment API I just launched.
+
+**The problem:** ZIP codes change. Cities merge. New ZIPs are added. Any ZIP lookup service needs to stay fresh.
+
+**The solution:** A monthly seed script that:
+1. Downloads the latest US ZIP code dataset from USPS/Census Bureau (public domain)
+2. Parses and normalizes ~43,000 records
+3. Inserts into SQLite with upsert logic (new ZIPs added, old ones retired)
+4. Runs automatically via a Kubernetes CronJob on the 1st of each month
+
+**The API itself** is a Fastify (Node.js) server that queries SQLite. Cold query: ~5ms. The whole thing runs in a 128MB container.
+
+**Code snippet** (the seed script core logic):
+
+```javascript
+// Fetch and parse Census ZIP dataset
+const stream = await fetch(CENSUS_ZIP_URL);
+const records = await parseCSV(stream.body);
+
+// Upsert into SQLite
+const stmt = db.prepare(`
+  INSERT INTO zips (zip, city, state, county, lat, lon, timezone, type)
+  VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
+  ON CONFLICT(zip) DO UPDATE SET
+    city=excluded.city, state=excluded.state,
+    updated_at=CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+`);
+
+for (const record of records) {
+  stmt.run([record.zip, record.city, record.state, record.county,
+            record.lat, record.lon, record.timezone, record.type]);
+}
+```
+
+The API is live on RapidAPI with a free tier: [RAPIDAPI_ZIP_URL]
+
+Happy to answer questions about SQLite performance, the seed pipeline, or the Kubernetes/Flux deployment.
+```
+
+---
+
+## 3. Indie Hackers Milestone Post [DRAFT]
+
+**Title:**
+```
+Launched 3 data APIs on RapidAPI: $0 MRR, targeting $100/mo in 90 days
+```
+
+**Body:**
+```
+### What I built
+
+Three utility APIs backed entirely by free public-domain data:
+
+- **ZIP Code Enrichment** — city/state/county/timezone/coordinates from any US ZIP ([RAPIDAPI_ZIP_URL])
+- **Public Holidays** — official holidays for 90+ countries + year ([RAPIDAPI_HOLIDAYS_URL])
+- **Air Quality Index** — current + historical AQI by city or coordinates ([RAPIDAPI_AQI_URL])
+
+### Revenue: $0 → targeting $100/mo
+
+The $100/mo target is ~12 Basic subscribers ($9/mo) across all three APIs after RapidAPI's 25% cut. Stretch: 4 Pro subscribers ($19/mo each).
+
+### Stack
+
+- **API servers:** Fastify (Node.js) + SQLite for data cache
+- **Infrastructure:** Talos Linux Kubernetes cluster (self-hosted, single-node)
+- **GitOps:** Flux CD — everything is declared in YAML, zero manual kubectl
+- **Observability:** Prometheus + Grafana, Gatus status page at status.leeworks.dev
+- **Data sources:** USPS/Census (ZIP), Nager.Date (Holidays), OpenAQ (AQI) — all public domain, $0 licensing cost
+
+### What I learned
+
+1. **GitOps is excellent for solo projects.** Flux means my cluster is always in sync with git. I've done zero manual deploys.
+2. **SQLite is underrated for read-heavy APIs.** Sub-5ms query times for cached lookups, zero infrastructure overhead vs PostgreSQL.
+3. **Public-domain data has a moat.** Anyone can build this, but most people don't bother. The data is stable, legal, and free forever.
+4. **Kubernetes is overkill — and that's fine.** I did it to learn. I now know Talos, Flux, cert-manager, ingress-nginx, Prometheus, Grafana from first principles.
+
+### What's next
+
+- Monitor first 30 days for subscriber growth
+- Build VIN Decoder as API #4 (NHTSA vPIC data, also public domain)
+- Add batch endpoints to ZIP and Holidays
+
+Would love feedback on pricing — is $9/mo entry too high or too low for a utility API with a free tier?
+```
+
+---
+
+## 4. Product Hunt Listing [DRAFT]
+
+### Tagline (60 chars max)
+```
+3 utility APIs on public data — ZIP, Holidays, Air Quality
+```
+*(58 characters ✓)*
+
+### Description (260 chars max)
+```
+Look up ZIP codes, public holidays for 90+ countries, and air quality index data — all via clean REST APIs backed by free government datasets. Free tier included. No API keys to generate — available on RapidAPI.
+```
+*(211 characters ✓)*
+
+### First Comment (Maker Note)
+```
+Hey Product Hunt! 👋
+
+I'm the developer behind leeworks.dev — three utility APIs I've been building over the past few months:
+
+**ZIP Code Enrichment** [RAPIDAPI_ZIP_URL]
+Turn any US ZIP code into city, state, county, timezone, area codes, and GPS coordinates. 43,000+ ZIP codes, refreshed monthly from USPS/Census Bureau public data.
+
+**Public Holidays API** [RAPIDAPI_HOLIDAYS_URL]
+Query official public holidays for any country and year. 90+ countries, ISO 3166 codes, backed by government calendar data. Great for payroll software, scheduling tools, and calendar apps.
+
+**Air Quality Index API** [RAPIDAPI_AQI_URL]
+Current and historical AQI readings by city or coordinates. PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, CO — backed by the OpenAQ public dataset covering thousands of monitoring stations worldwide.
+
+**What makes these different:**
+- All data is 100% public domain — no licensing fees, no terms restrictions
+- Free tier (100 req/mo) to try before you buy
+- Paid plans start at $9/mo for 10,000 requests/month
+- Running on Kubernetes with Prometheus monitoring and a public status page at status.leeworks.dev
+
+Happy to answer questions about the data sources, the tech stack (Fastify + SQLite + Flux GitOps), or the pricing model. Thanks for checking it out!
+```
+
+### Gallery / Screenshot URL Placeholders
+```
+1. docs-site homepage: https://docs.leeworks.dev (screenshot)
+2. Grafana dashboard: https://grafana.leeworks.dev (screenshot)
+3. status.leeworks.dev (screenshot)
+4. Example API response (ZIP lookup): code screenshot
+5. RapidAPI listing page: [RAPIDAPI_PROFILE_URL] (screenshot)
+```
+
+---
+
+## 5. Email Waitlist Message [DRAFT]
+
+**Subject line:**
+```
+leeworks.dev APIs are live — here's your free tier access
+```
+
+**Body:**
+```
+Hi there,
+
+The three APIs I've been building are now live on RapidAPI. Here's what's available and how to get started:
+
+---
+
+**ZIP Code Enrichment API**
+Turn any US ZIP code into city, state, county, timezone, area codes, and GPS coordinates — in a single API call.
+→ [RAPIDAPI_ZIP_URL]
+
+**Public Holidays API**
+Query official public holidays for any country and year. 90+ countries, ISO 3166 codes.
+→ [RAPIDAPI_HOLIDAYS_URL]
+
+**Air Quality Index API**
+Current and historical AQI by city or coordinates. PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, CO.
+→ [RAPIDAPI_AQI_URL]
+
+---
+
+**How to try for free:**
+1. Click any link above
+2. Subscribe to the **Free tier** (100 requests/month, no credit card needed)
+3. Copy your RapidAPI key from the dashboard
+4. Make your first request — full docs at https://docs.leeworks.dev
+
+---
+
+**Quick start (ZIP enrichment):**
+
+```bash
+curl "https://zip.leeworks.dev/v1/lookup?zip=90210" \
+  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
+  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: zip-enrichment.p.rapidapi.com"
+```
+
+---
+
+**Want more than 100 requests/month?**
+Paid plans start at $9/mo for 10,000 requests. See the full pricing table on each API's RapidAPI listing page.
+
+Questions? Reply to this email or open an issue at https://docs.leeworks.dev/support.
+
+Thanks for your interest,
+Wyatt
+leeworks.dev
+
+---
+
+*You're receiving this because you signed up for early access. To unsubscribe, reply with "unsubscribe".*
+```
+
+---
+
+## Checklist Before Publishing
+
+Before changing any section from DRAFT to READY:
+
+- [ ] Issue #44 complete — RapidAPI listing URLs obtained
+- [ ] Replace all `[RAPIDAPI_ZIP_URL]` placeholders
+- [ ] Replace all `[RAPIDAPI_HOLIDAYS_URL]` placeholders
+- [ ] Replace all `[RAPIDAPI_AQI_URL]` placeholders
+- [ ] Replace all `[RAPIDAPI_PROFILE_URL]` placeholders
+- [ ] Verify code examples work against live endpoints
+- [ ] Confirm free tier limit is accurate (currently documented as 100 req/mo)
+- [ ] Confirm all three APIs pass pre-launch-checklist.md
+- [ ] Product Hunt gallery screenshots captured
+- [ ] Email list exported from whatever signup form was used
+
+Once all items above are checked, update the Status key at the top of this document from DRAFT to READY for each section.

docs/pre-launch-checklist.md

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+# Pre-Launch Checklist
+
+Use this checklist as the final go-live gate — run through every item the day before flipping the public switch. All items must be ✅ before announcing public availability.
+
+---
+
+## Infrastructure
+
+- [ ] All Flux components `READY=True` (`flux get all`)
+- [ ] All three API pods Running and READY
+  - [ ] `zip-enrichment` pod `READY=1/1` (`kubectl get pods -n zip-enrichment`)
+  - [ ] `holidays` pod `READY=1/1` (`kubectl get pods -n holidays`)
+  - [ ] `air-quality` pod `READY=1/1` (`kubectl get pods -n air-quality`)
+- [ ] `docs-site` pod Running and READY (`kubectl get pods -n docs-site`)
+- [ ] Prometheus scraping all three API services (check Prometheus Targets UI)
+- [ ] Grafana dashboard accessible at `grafana.leeworks.dev`
+
+---
+
+## DNS & TLS
+
+- [ ] `zip.leeworks.dev` → cluster ingress IP (`dig zip.leeworks.dev +short` + `curl -I https://zip.leeworks.dev`)
+- [ ] `holidays.leeworks.dev` → cluster ingress IP
+- [ ] `aqi.leeworks.dev` → cluster ingress IP
+- [ ] `docs.leeworks.dev` → cluster ingress IP
+- [ ] `status.leeworks.dev` → cluster ingress IP
+- [ ] `registry.leeworks.dev` → cluster ingress IP
+- [ ] `grafana.leeworks.dev` → cluster ingress IP
+- [ ] TLS certificates issued for all 7 subdomains (`kubectl get certificates -A`)
+
+---
+
+## Functional Verification
+
+- [ ] `GET /health` returns HTTP 200 on **zip-enrichment** (`curl https://zip.leeworks.dev/health`)
+- [ ] `GET /health` returns HTTP 200 on **holidays** (`curl https://holidays.leeworks.dev/health`)
+- [ ] `GET /health` returns HTTP 200 on **air-quality** (`curl https://aqi.leeworks.dev/health`)
+- [ ] `GET /zip/{zip}` returns correct data for a sample ZIP code (e.g. `curl https://zip.leeworks.dev/zip/10001`)
+- [ ] `GET /holidays/{year}` returns correct data (e.g. `curl https://holidays.leeworks.dev/holidays/2026`)
+- [ ] `GET /aqi/{city}` returns correct data (e.g. `curl https://aqi.leeworks.dev/aqi/New%20York`)
+- [ ] Request **without** `X-RapidAPI-Proxy-Secret` returns HTTP 403 on all three APIs
+- [ ] `docs.leeworks.dev/pricing` loads correctly
+- [ ] `status.leeworks.dev` shows all three APIs as **UP**
+
+---
+
+## Legal & Monetisation
+
+- [ ] `docs/legal/terms-of-service.md` committed and reachable at `docs.leeworks.dev/legal/terms-of-service`
+- [ ] `docs/legal/privacy-policy.md` committed and reachable at `docs.leeworks.dev/legal/privacy-policy`
+- [ ] `docs/legal/acceptable-use-policy.md` committed and reachable at `docs.leeworks.dev/legal/acceptable-use-policy`
+- [ ] All three APIs listed on RapidAPI with **Free + 3 paid tiers** (leeworks-agents/api-company#44)
+- [ ] PayPal linked to RapidAPI (leeworks-agents/api-company#19)
+- [ ] `rapidapi-proxy-secret` updated with **real** RapidAPI values in all 3 namespaces (leeworks-agents/api-company#81)
+
+---
+
+## Post-Launch
+
+- [ ] Alert channel confirmed — Slack webhook active (leeworks-agents/api-company#73)
+- [ ] Grafana alert rules firing correctly on synthetic test downtime
+- [ ] First STATUS.md post-launch update committed
+
+---
+
+## Quick Commands Reference
+
+```bash
+# Flux overview
+flux get all
+
+# Check API pod health
+for ns in zip-enrichment holidays air-quality docs-site; do
+  echo "=== $ns ==="
+  kubectl get pods -n $ns
+done
+
+# Verify TLS certs
+kubectl get certificates -A
+
+# Check all 7 DNS subdomains
+for sub in zip holidays aqi docs status registry grafana; do
+  echo "$sub.leeworks.dev -> $(dig $sub.leeworks.dev +short)"
+done
+
+# Smoke test health endpoints
+for svc in "zip.leeworks.dev/health" "holidays.leeworks.dev/health" "aqi.leeworks.dev/health"; do
+  echo "$svc: $(curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' https://$svc)"
+done
+
+# Verify 403 on missing proxy secret
+curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://zip.leeworks.dev/zip/10001
+# Expected: 403
+```
+
+---
+
+_References: ROADMAP.md §Phase 6; leeworks-agents/api-company#33, #44, #19, #81, #73, #7, #8, #18_