# Don't sign up for custom work

If you discover that something is doable, but only by building something not already on our List Of Well-Formed Things We Own And Operate As A Natural Part Of Maintaining Our [Health](https://www.lightward.guide/priorities) (tm), you've found CUSTOM WORK.

Simpler definition: if you discover something that is doable by building a *new* product, instead of by [evolving our *existing* products](https://www.lightward.guide/product/3-save/3a-record), you've found custom work.

**We don't do custom work here!** You can do custom work independently if you want (seriously, go for it!), but we only work on products that are our own. That's how we help the world: by working on the products and relationships we can hold.

The only thing we make for customers (whether at their behest or in the course of supporting them) is improvement to our own products. Documentation is a product too, and may well be updated more often than the products themselves. Strictly speaking, maybe our relationship with the customer is a product as well? Maybe?

### Redirect the energy

If you've discovered a thing that feels like it wants to be done but isn't in scope for *us*, there are two ways this can go:

1. We add to our product list, and commit to its ongoing health.
   * Possible, but rare.
   * Examples of this happening: Mechanic, Lightward AI, Guncle Abe
2. We write a quick sketch of the potential thing to be done, save it in the docs (so that this never has to be written again), and send doc link to the customer.
   * This may happen often. That's okay.
   * Remember: [documentation-free email](https://www.lightward.guide/product/3-save/3b-push).
   * Since we're not the ones who are gonna build this, point the customer toward a path that may be helpful to them for that journey.
     * Mechanic: <https://learn.mechanic.dev/custom>
     * Locksmith: todo