Quick Start

Create your first StackKit project in under two minutes. Follow these steps to get a fully configured full-stack application up and running.

This guide walks you through creating a new project from scratch. By the end, you'll have a fully configured, running application on your machine.

Before you start — Make sure you have Node.js 20 or higher installed. Run node --version to check.

Create your project

Run the create command with your preferred package manager. StackKit will walk you through an interactive setup — no flags required.

bash npx stackkit@latest create my-app

bash pnpm dlx stackkit@latest create my-app

bash yarn dlx stackkit@latest create my-app

bash bun x stackkit@latest create my-app

Replace my-app with whatever you'd like to name your project.

Answer the prompts

StackKit will ask you a series of questions to configure your project. Each one has a sensible default, so you can press Enter to skip if you're unsure.

Prompt	Options	Notes
Framework	Next.js, Express, React	Pick the foundation for your app
Database	Prisma, Mongoose, None	Skip if you don't need a database yet
Database Provider	PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB	Only shown when Prisma is selected
Authentication	Better Auth, None	Requires a database on Express
UI Library	Shadcn UI, None	Available for Next.js and React
Storage	Cloudinary, None	Available for Express only
Language	TypeScript, JavaScript	TypeScript is recommended
Package Manager	pnpm, npm, yarn, bun	Auto-detected from your environment
Initialize Git	Yes, No	Creates a git repo with an initial commit

Once you confirm, StackKit generates your files and installs dependencies automatically.

Set up your environment

Every generated project includes a .env.example file listing all the environment variables your app needs. Copy it to .env and fill in your values.

cd my-app
cp .env.example .env

Open .env in your editor and replace the placeholder values. If you added Better Auth, you'll need a secret key — generate one with:

openssl rand -base64 32

Never commit your .env file to version control. A .gitignore entry is already included, but double-check before pushing.

Start the development server

npm run dev

Your application should now be running locally:

Framework	URL
Next.js	http://localhost:3000
Express	http://localhost:5000
React	http://localhost:5173

Verify your setup

Run the doctor command to check that your project is configured correctly. It will flag missing environment variables, uninstalled dependencies, or any misconfigured files.

npx stackkit doctor

A clean output means you're ready to build.

What was generated?

The generated files depend on the modules you chose, but every project includes:

package.json — Dependencies and npm scripts
tsconfig.json — TypeScript configuration (strict mode enabled)
.env.example — Environment variable template with comments
README.md — Project-specific setup notes and commands
.gitignore — Sensible defaults for your framework

Development commands

npm run dev      # Start the development server with hot reload
npm run build    # Build an optimized production bundle
npm start        # Serve the production build
npm run lint     # Check for code style issues

Some modules add extra scripts — check your package.json or README.md for details.

Add more features later

You don't need to add everything upfront. If you decide you need a database or authentication after the project is created, just run:

npx stackkit add

StackKit will detect your framework and show you the modules that are compatible with your setup.

Troubleshooting

The port is already in use:

# Next.js
lsof -ti:3000 | xargs kill -9

# Express
lsof -ti:5000 | xargs kill -9

# React (Vite)
lsof -ti:5173 | xargs kill -9

Something looks broken after adding a module:

npx stackkit doctor

Dependencies are in a weird state:

rm -rf node_modules && npm install