TWELVETAKE CART
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about TwelveTake Cart.
General
What is TwelveTake Cart?
TwelveTake Cart is a self-hosted, white-label e-commerce platform built by TwelveTake Studios. It includes every feature you'd need — product management, checkout, payments, subscriptions, returns, loyalty programs, email marketing, analytics, and more — all built into the core. No plugins, no app marketplace, no add-on fees.
What does "self-hosted" mean?
Self-hosted means you run TwelveTake Cart on your own server or infrastructure. Your data stays on your hardware, under your control. You're not locked into a third-party SaaS platform that can change pricing, terms, or features at any time. If you don't want to manage servers yourself, we also offer managed hosting where we handle the infrastructure for you.
What's the current status of the product?
TwelveTake Cart is in early access (v1.0.0-beta1 as of March 2026). All core features are built and functional. We're onboarding early customers and collecting feedback before general availability. Early access customers get direct access to the development team.
Who is TwelveTake Cart for?
Anyone selling products online who wants a complete, all-in-one platform without the recurring costs of Shopify apps or the fragility of WooCommerce plugins. It's especially well-suited for businesses that sell custom merchandise (the built-in merch builder is unique to TwelveTake Cart), run multi-vendor marketplaces, need B2B features, or want full control of their infrastructure and data.
What's the tech stack?
Astro 5 SSR with the Node.js adapter, SQLite via better-sqlite3, Tailwind CSS 4, Nodemailer for email, Sharp for image processing, and PDFKit for invoices and packing slips. All pages are server-rendered with vanilla JavaScript for interactivity — no client-side framework.
Hosting & Deployment
Can I host it myself?
Yes. TwelveTake Cart is designed to be self-hosted. You need Node.js 18+ and that's it. The database is SQLite (file-based), so there's no separate database server to configure. Build, deploy, and run it on any Linux VPS, dedicated server, or Docker container.
Do you offer managed hosting?
Yes. If you'd rather not deal with servers, we'll install, configure, and manage TwelveTake Cart for you on dedicated infrastructure. You focus on selling; we handle uptime, updates, and backups.
What are the server requirements?
Node.js 18 or higher (22 recommended), npm or pnpm, and enough disk space for your product images and database. A basic VPS with 1GB RAM is enough for most small-to-medium stores. There's no external database dependency — SQLite runs embedded in the application.
How do I deploy it?
Run npm run build to produce a standalone Node.js server, then run it with node dist/server/entry.mjs. Put it behind a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy) for HTTPS. Use PM2 or systemd for process management. A full deployment guide is included in the developer documentation.
How do backups work?
Your entire store — database, settings, and uploaded files — lives in a single data/ directory. Back up that directory and you've backed up everything. SQLite supports hot backups, so you can copy the file while the server is running.
Features
What features are included?
Everything. Product management with variants and options, shopping cart and checkout, order management and fulfillment, returns and exchanges, subscriptions, gift cards, digital downloads, multi-vendor marketplace, B2B with quotes and net terms, loyalty program, affiliate program, email marketing, SMS marketing, abandoned cart recovery, analytics and reporting, merch builder, CMS and blog, multi-currency, multi-language, and more. See the product page for the full list.
What is the merch builder?
The merch builder is a product configurator for custom merchandise. You define product types (t-shirts, hoodies, mugs), blank images, and print zones. Customers upload their artwork, place it on the product, choose sizes and quantities, and see real-time pricing. It includes S&S Activewear integration for wholesale blank sourcing with catalog sync and auto-ordering. No competitor offers anything like this.
What payment processors are supported?
Square, Stripe, and PayPal are built in. There's also an offline/manual processor for checks, bank transfers, and purchase orders. The payment system uses a pluggable registry pattern — you can add your own processor by implementing a single interface. See the developer guide for details.
Does it support B2B / wholesale?
Yes. Company accounts with multiple contacts, purchase order numbers, quote-to-invoice workflow with dual approval, net terms payment (Net 15/30/60/custom), customer groups with tiered pricing, and built-in tax compliance (W-9 collection, $599 payout cap enforcement, 1099-NEC PDF generation). Shopify charges $2,300/mo for B2B features. We include them at every tier.
Does it support subscriptions?
Yes. Recurring billing with configurable intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly), customer self-service (pause, resume, cancel, skip, swap plan), dunning management with automatic payment retries and escalating email notifications, and proration on mid-cycle plan changes. Stripe and PayPal subscription adapters are included.
Does it have email and SMS marketing?
Yes, both. Email marketing includes campaign builder, customer segmentation, A/B testing, automation rules (welcome series, post-purchase, win-back, birthday), and open/click/conversion tracking. SMS marketing includes Twilio integration, campaigns, automations, A/B testing, opt-in/opt-out management, and quiet hours.
Can I run a multi-vendor marketplace?
Yes. Vendors get their own dashboard to manage products, view orders, and track earnings. Commission types include margin, percentage, and flat fee. Features include on-demand cashout, payout processing (PayPal, Venmo, manual), product approval queue, and 1099-NEC generation for US tax compliance.
Is it accessible?
Yes. TwelveTake Cart targets WCAG 2.1 AA compliance with keyboard navigation, screen reader support, focus management, non-color status indicators, and automated accessibility testing with axe-core.
Does it support multiple languages?
Yes. Full multi-language support with translation management, RTL/LTR direction support, product and category translations, URL prefixes per language, and JSON import/export for translation files.
Can I sell on social media platforms?
Yes. TwelveTake Cart includes Google Shopping feed generation (XML, TSV, CSV formats with filtering rules), social login via OAuth2/OIDC, and bidirectional catalog sync with Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok shops including order import and fulfillment push.
Pricing & Licensing
How much does it cost?
Pricing is being finalized during early access. There will be multiple tiers (Starter, Professional, Enterprise, Enterprise Custom), but every tier includes every feature. Tiers differ by number of sites, support level, and API rate limits — not by features. Contact us for early access pricing.
Are there transaction fees?
No. TwelveTake Cart never takes a percentage of your sales. Your payment processor (Square, Stripe, PayPal) charges their standard processing fees, but those go to them, not to us.
Are features gated by tier?
No. Every tier gets every feature. The merch builder, B2B, subscriptions, email marketing, SMS marketing, analytics, multi-vendor marketplace, affiliate program, loyalty program — all included at every tier. Tiers differ only by operational limits: number of sites, support response time, and API rate limits.
Is there a free trial?
During early access, we're working directly with customers to determine the right onboarding experience. Contact us to discuss options.
Migration
Can I migrate from Shopify or WooCommerce?
Yes. Built-in import tools for WooCommerce CSV exports, Shopify CSV exports, and generic CSV files with column mapping. Import products, customers, and order history. The CSV mapper includes auto-matching to suggest column mappings based on header names.
How long does migration take?
Depends on your catalog size, but the import tools are designed to be fast. Upload your CSV, preview the data, confirm, and it's done. Most stores can migrate products in under an hour. Order history and customer data can be imported separately.
Developer & API
Does it have an API?
Yes. A full REST API with 230+ endpoints covering products, orders, customers, inventory, settings, and every feature module. Standardized JSON response format with pagination and error codes. An OpenAPI 3.0 specification is included, and interactive API documentation is served from the admin panel via ReDoc.
Can I use it headless?
Yes. CORS support is built in. Use the REST API as a headless backend with your own frontend (React, Vue, Next.js, whatever you want). Or use the included Astro storefront with View Transitions for SPA-like navigation.
How does authentication work for integrations?
API keys with scoped permissions. Create keys in the admin panel, grant read/write access per resource type (products, orders, customers, inventory, settings), and authenticate with a Bearer token. Keys can be revoked at any time.
Does it support webhooks?
Yes. 14+ event types (order created, shipped, completed, product updated, inventory low stock, subscription renewed, etc.). HMAC-SHA256 signed payloads, exponential backoff retry on failure, and delivery logs viewable in the admin panel.
Can I extend it with custom code?
Yes, multiple ways. Event hooks let you run custom code before or after key operations (orders, payments, shipping, inventory) — just drop a file in the hooks/ directory. You can add custom payment processors by implementing a single interface. Custom fields can be defined on products, orders, and customers without schema changes. And since it's self-hosted, you have full access to the source code.
Where's the documentation?
Right here. The developer guide covers architecture, API, webhooks, payment integration, database, deployment, and extending the platform. The admin guide covers every feature module from the store operator's perspective.
White-Label & Customization
Is it white-label?
Yes. No TwelveTake branding is visible to your customers. Every label, color, logo, and URL is configurable. Your store looks like your store.
Can I customize the look and feel?
Yes. The theming system uses CSS custom properties. Change brand colors, fonts, border radius, and more from the admin panel — no code required. Upload your logo and favicon in Settings > Appearance.
Can I use it for multiple stores?
Yes, depending on your license tier. Each store is a separate instance with its own database and configuration. Professional tier supports up to 3 sites, Enterprise supports unlimited.
Security
How is security handled?
CSRF protection on all form submissions, HTTP-only session cookies, rate limiting on authentication endpoints (login and registration), brute-force protection, RBAC with granular permissions, two-factor authentication for admin accounts, a full audit log of every admin action, and HMAC-SHA256 signed webhook payloads.
Is customer data encrypted?
Social login tokens are encrypted with AES-256-GCM. Payment credentials are stored in the settings table (not in the database in plaintext for production — use environment variables). Since the platform is self-hosted, you control your own encryption, backup, and data retention policies.
Does it handle PCI compliance?
TwelveTake Cart never touches raw credit card numbers. Payment processing is handled entirely by your chosen processor (Square, Stripe, PayPal) using their client-side SDKs. Card data goes directly from the customer's browser to the processor — it never passes through your server.