About
The stack-baseline skill provides the predefined default technology stack and one sanctioned alternative for all key components (framework, database, auth, etc.) to eliminate repetitive decision-making. Developers should use it when scaffolding a new product or writing architecture docs to ensure consistent stack choices across projects. It serves as the single source of truth, preventing ad-hoc selections and saving significant time otherwise spent re-evaluating options.
Quick Install
Claude Code
Recommendednpx skills add avelikiy/great_cto -a claude-code/plugin add https://github.com/avelikiy/great_ctogit clone https://github.com/avelikiy/great_cto.git ~/.claude/skills/stack-baselineCopy and paste this command in Claude Code to install this skill
Documentation
Stack baseline — decide once, build on it
Every SMB product builds on the SAME proven stack unless there's a concrete reason not to. Re-deciding framework/ORM/auth/host per build wastes the first hour of every project and fragments the codebase across products. This is the default; deviate only with a written reason in ARCH.
The pinned stack
| Layer | Default | Sanctioned alternative | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Framework | Next.js (App Router, TS) | Remix | Server actions + RSC; one repo front+back |
| UI | Tailwind + shadcn/ui | — | matches the site; design-advisor tokens map to it |
| DB | Postgres | — | the only DB; integer cents, tz-aware timestamps |
| ORM / migrations | Drizzle | Prisma | typed schema + SQL migrations; migration-ready-schema applies |
| Auth | Auth.js (NextAuth v5) | Clerk (fast path, per-MAU cost) | owned by auth-engineer; session + RBAC + multi-tenant |
| Payments | Stripe (+ Connect) | — | owned by subscription-billing-engineer / integrations-engineer |
| Resend | Postmark | transactional; SPF/DKIM/DMARC via lifecycle-messaging | |
| SMS | Twilio (Messaging Service) | Telnyx | 10DLC; consent via lifecycle-messaging |
| File storage | Cloudflare R2 / S3 | — | private buckets, presigned URLs |
| Background jobs | Inngest | a Postgres-backed queue | reminders, syncs, dunning |
| Testing | Vitest (unit) + Playwright (e2e) | — | senior-dev unit; e2e-test-engineer browser |
| Hosting | Vercel | Cloudflare Pages/Workers | Next.js-native; preview per PR |
| DB host | Neon (serverless PG) | Supabase | branchable; env-wired by infra-provisioner |
| Observability | Sentry | — | errors + traces on the deployed product |
| Analytics | privacy-light (Plausible) | — | no heavy 3rd-party trackers |
Rules
- One framework, one DB, one ORM, one auth lib across all products. Consistency > per-product optimization.
- Pin it in
.great_cto/PROJECT.mdat scaffold time (stack:line) so every later agent reads it instead of guessing — and an existing PROJECT.md's stack always wins. - Money in integer cents; timestamps tz-aware; IDs are stable (compose with
migration-ready-schema). - Auth, payments, email/SMS, jobs are owned by their specialist (auth-engineer, billing/integrations, lifecycle-messaging) — this skill only names the default library; the specialist owns the contract.
- Deviation needs a written reason in ARCH's Components section (e.g. "Clerk over Auth.js because the customer needs SSO/SCIM on day one").
Output
When applied, write the stack into ARCH's Components section and PROJECT.md:
## Stack (baseline)
framework: Next.js (App Router, TS) · UI: Tailwind + shadcn
db: Postgres (Neon) · orm: Drizzle · auth: Auth.js (→ auth-engineer)
payments: Stripe · email: Resend · sms: Twilio · files: R2 · jobs: Inngest
test: Vitest + Playwright · host: Vercel · obs: Sentry
deviations: <none | reason>
GitHub Repository
Frequently asked questions
What is the stack-baseline skill?
stack-baseline is a Claude Skill by avelikiy. Skills package instructions and resources that Claude loads on demand, so Claude can perform stack-baseline-related tasks without extra prompting.
How do I install stack-baseline?
Use the install commands on this page: add stack-baseline to Claude Code as a plugin, or clone its repository into your skills directory, then restart Claude so it picks up the skill.
What category does stack-baseline belong to?
stack-baseline is in the Meta category, tagged ai, testing and design.
Is stack-baseline free to use?
Yes. stack-baseline is listed on AIMCP and free to install. It runs inside Claude, so no separate service account is required to use the skill itself.
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