next-kit
an interactive cli that scaffolds production-ready next.js apps in one command — pick your auth, database, orm, api layer, payments, email, and analytics, and it wires them together into a typed, ready-to-run project.
role
designer, developer, and cli author
impact
the one cli that won't let you waste time on setup — auth, db, orm, api, and more, all wired up in seconds. considering your laptop's fast, of course 😉
challenge
the cli looked finished but almost nothing it generated actually built; the real work was making every prompt produce a working, type-safe project.
architecture
how the pieces connect
interface
next.js, typescript, tailwind css
workflow
studied how other clis are built, then weighed which packages and modules next-kit actually needed to support.
data and rules
treated the output build as the source of truth — if a scaffolded project didn't build, the cli wasn't done, no matter what its own tests said.
01 — approach
- studied how other clis are built, then weighed which packages and modules next-kit actually needed to support.
- scaffolded the cli with all the options and prompts first, then built each integration out one by one.
- spent most of the work on the templates — fixing them was the real problem, since they're what has to produce a working project.
02 — outcome
- every option combination scaffolds a project that builds and lints cleanly.
- published to npm as @mxrcxs17/next-kit — one command to install and scaffold a full stack.
- supports a wide menu of stacks — multiple auth, database, orm, api, payments, email, and analytics providers, all wired together.
03 — decisions
- treated the output build as the source of truth — if a scaffolded project didn't build, the cli wasn't done, no matter what its own tests said.
- kept generated code type-safe under strict mode instead of hiding behind @ts-nocheck.
- scaffolded all the options and prompts first, then built each integration out one by one — structure before details.
04 — lessons
- a generator's tests are worthless if they never compile the output.
- compiling is not the same as working.
05 — next steps
- add more templates and stack presets.
- support more providers across auth, database, and payments.
- keep generated templates current with framework updates, backed by a ci matrix that builds every stack combo on each release.
stack