About

Apps that actually help shop owners.

PackMate is the second app from a small indie shop run by one founder. We build for Shopify merchants the way we'd want tools built for us: honest pricing, every feature included, real support from the person who shipped it.

Founder

Valerian Huber

Indie dev — Luvex / Alpin-Code

I'm Valerian — full-stack dev, mountain person, indie founder. I run two micro-brands: Luvex (luvex.tech) for the consulting side, Alpin-Code (alpin-code.de) for the dev side. PackMate is the second Shopify app I've shipped — the first is Etchify (laser-engraving customizer). Both ship from Germany, both built solo.

I'm not building a venture-funded SaaS. I'm building tools I'd use myself if I ran a Shopify shop. That sets the bar: honest about what I can deliver, accessible by email, ship features that solve real problems instead of inflating a pitch deck.

Based in: Germany
Apps shipped: Etchify, PackMate
Solo since: 2024
Stack: TypeScript / Postgres / Shopify

luvex.tech alpin-code.de GitHub valerian@luvex.tech

Origin

Why PackMate exists

Talking to German Shopify shop owners while building Etchify, I kept hearing the same story: shipping costs eat margin, packing decisions are guesswork, and LUCID (the German packaging registry) is a recurring source of dread. The market had Boxify for box-picking, but at $39+/month with no LUCID and no DHL business labels — too expensive for the average shop, missing what German shops actually need.

I started PackMate because the tooling gap was concrete and fixable. A 3D bin-packing algorithm with gravity simulation, Multi-Package-Split that picks the cheapest combination, LUCID CSV export from day one, DHL business labels via the Geschäftskunden API, AI integration via Claude or ChatGPT — these aren't moonshot features. They're table stakes for a Shopify shop in 2026, and somehow nobody had built them in one place at a fair price.

The Volume-only pricing came later. The first plan I drew up had three tiers with feature walls — the standard SaaS playbook. Then I asked myself: would I, as a shop owner, trust a vendor that hides LUCID export behind a $29 paywall? No. So I tore it up and built what you see now. Every feature in every plan. You only pay for the order volume your shop actually does.

LUCID context (background, not a pitch)

LUCID is the German packaging registry — every online merchant selling into Germany is legally required to register and report annual packaging volumes by material type. It's not optional, even for solo founders. Most shops do it manually in spreadsheets, which costs hours and creates errors. PackMate captures the data on every pack and exports a CSV in the official format. That's it — we're not selling fear, we're selling five minutes instead of five hours.

Vision

What drives Luvex / Alpin-Code

PackMate is one app in a planned series. Each one solves a specific Shopify-merchant pain. Each one ships when it's ready, not when a roadmap says so.

PackMate

Live

Smart packing, LUCID compliance, DHL business labels, AI integration. Every Shopify shop that puts goods in boxes.

Etchify

Live

Laser-engraving customizer for Shopify. The first app — still actively maintained at etchify.app.

Billing app (working title)

Planned

DE-§14-UStG-compliant invoicing for Shopify merchants. Solving German B2B billing requirements that Shopify doesn't cover natively.

Customer tracking hub

Planned

One dashboard for all carrier tracking events across DHL/DPD/GLS. Solves the multi-carrier visibility gap.

Planned apps are intent, not promises. We ship when each one is ready.

Pricing manifesto

Why Volume-only pricing.

The standard SaaS playbook is to build feature walls between tiers. You upgrade to Pro, hit a wall, upgrade to Premium, hit another wall. Each upgrade feels like a punishment, not a reward.

PackMate flips it. Every plan ships every feature — LUCID, AI, DHL business labels, REST API, Multi-Split, 3D animation, the lot. The only difference between Free and Business is the order cap and how long we keep your pack history.

This costs us. Some shops will run on Free forever, some will downgrade after a busy season. We're betting that honest pricing earns trust, trust earns retention, and retention compounds. So far the bet looks right.

Our principles

Every feature, every plan — no walls
Pay for volume your shop actually does
Direct line to the founder for any issue
An honest roadmap instead of promises we can't keep

"Apps that actually help shop owners" — that's the one-line spec.

Trust signals

We're new. Honest about it.

Direct founder access

Reply to any support email and you reach me — Valerian — directly. No tier-gated routing.

EU hosting (Hetzner)

PostgreSQL in Frankfurt am Main. ISO-certified data centre, EU-only data flow.

GDPR-compliant

Data deleted within 30 days of uninstall. DPA available on request for B2B customers.

Got a question? Ask me directly.

Email goes straight to my inbox, not a ticket queue. I read every message and reply within 1–2 business days.

Email valerian@luvex.tech Install PackMate