Rapid App & Library Development

> [!WARNING] > Stay tuned. Open Beta coming soon.

Stacks is a rapid development framework, where the goal is to help you create & maintain frontends, backends, and clouds—without having to worry about the boilerplate. An all-in-one toolkit that meets all your full stack needs.

• Web & Desktop Applications (including system tray apps)
• Serverless & Traditional APIs
• Cloud Infrastructure Creation & Maintenance
• Interactive CLIs
• Framework-agnostic Component & Function Libraries
• Deployment & Release Manager (CI & CD)

In other words, Stacks helps you, as a developer, every step along the way—in beginner & expert-friendly ways, allowing you to focus on the what & why of your project, all while enabling you to always stay in control & ownership of your (& your user’s) data.

> “Convention over configuration” is the Stacks mantra. - Chris

Get Started

It’s incredibly easy to get started with this framework. Simply run the following command in your terminal:

curl -Ssf stacksjs.org/install | sh # wip

# alternatively, if Bun >= v1.1.11 is installed already,
# you may also get started via:
bunx stacks new my-project

Usage

The following list includes some of the most common ways to interact with the Stacks API.

Meet the toolkit, Buddy:

buddy install # installs all dependencies
buddy dev # starts one of the dev servers (frontend, API, components, docs, desktop, etc.)
buddy share # creates a sharable link of your local project
buddy build # follow CLI prompts to select which library (or server) to build
buddy commit # follow CLI prompts for committing changes
buddy release # creates the releases for the stack & consequently, publishes them to npm
buddy upgrade # auto-update all deps & the Stacks framework

buddy make:component HelloWorld # scaffolds a Component
buddy make:function HelloWorld # scaffolds a Function
buddy make:model Car # scaffolds a Model
buddy make:action UpdateCar # scaffolds an Action
buddy make:migration create_cars_table # scaffolds a Migration
buddy make:view Car # scaffolds a Page (https://my-project.test/car)
buddy make:command Inspire # scaffolds a Command
buddy make:job SendEmail # scaffolds a Job
buddy make:middleware Logger # scaffolds a new Middleware
buddy make:notification WelcomeEmail # scaffolds a Notification
buddy make:lang de # scaffolds a language file

buddy list # lists all available commands
buddy --help

buddy --version # get the Stacks version
buddy --help # view help menu
# please note: you may suffix any command with the
# `command --help` flag to review the help menu

buddy install # installs dependencies
buddy add # adds a stack or dependency
buddy fresh # fresh reinstall of all deps
buddy clean # removes all deps
buddy setup # sets up the project initially
buddy setup:oh-my-zsh # optional: sets up Oh My Zsh with auto-completions & "aliases"

buddy upgrade # upgrades all dependencies
buddy upgrade -i # prompts you to select which updates to apply (wip)
buddy upgrade:dependencies # auto-upgrades package.json deps
buddy upgrade:framework # auto-upgrades deps & the Stacks framework
buddy upgrade:search-engine # auto-upgrades configured search engine
buddy upgrade:shell # upgrades the shell integration
buddy upgrade:binary # upgrades the `stacks` binary
buddy upgrade:bun # upgrades to latest project-defined Bun version
buddy upgrade:all # auto-upgrades all of the above

# if you need any more info on any command listed here, you may suffix
# any of them via the "help option", i.e. `buddy ... --help`

buddy dev # starts the frontend dev server
buddy dev -i # prompts any of the dev servers (components, functions, views, docs, or api)
buddy dev:api # starts the API dev server
buddy dev:dashboard # starts the Admin/Dashboard dev server
buddy dev:desktop # starts the Desktop dev server
buddy dev:views # starts frontend dev server
buddy dev:components # starts component dev server
buddy dev:functions # stubs functions
buddy dev:docs # starts local docs dev server
buddy dev docs # also starts the local docs dev server (colon is optional for all commands)
buddy development # `buddy dev` alias

buddy share # creates a sharable link to your local project

# for Laravel folks, `serve` may ring more familiar than the `dev` name. Hence, we aliased it:
buddy serve
buddy serve:components
buddy serve:desktop
buddy serve:views
buddy serve:functions
buddy serve:docs

# building for production (e.g. AWS, Google Cloud, npm, Vercel, Netlify, et al.)
buddy build # select a specific build (follow CLI prompts)
buddy build:views # builds SSG views
buddy build:desktop # builds Desktop application
buddy build:library # builds any or all libraries
buddy build:functions # builds function library
buddy build:components # builds Vue component library & Web Component library
buddy build:web-components # builds framework agnostic Web Component library (i.e. Custom Elements)
buddy build:vue-components # builds Vue 2 & 3-ready Component library
buddy build:all # builds all your code

# `buddy build` aliases
buddy prod
buddy prod:components
buddy prod:desktop
buddy prod:library
buddy prod:views
buddy prod:functions
buddy prod:vue-components
buddy prod:web-components
buddy prod:all
buddy production # `buddy prod` alias

# sets your application key
buddy key:generate

buddy make:component HelloWorld # bootstraps a HelloWorld component
buddy make:function hello-world # bootstraps a hello-world function
buddy make:view hello-world # bootstraps a hello-word page
buddy make:model Car # bootstraps a Car model
buddy make:database cars # creates a cars database
buddy make:migration create_cars_table # creates a cars migration file
buddy make:factory cars # creates a Car factory file
buddy make:table cars # bootstraps a cars data table
buddy make:notification welcome-email # bootstraps a welcome-email notification
buddy make:lang de # bootstraps a lang/de.yml language file
buddy make:stack my-project # shares logic with `bunx stacks new my-project`

buddy migrate # runs database migrations
buddy migrate:dns # sets the ./config/dns.ts file

buddy dns example.com # list all DNS records for example.com
buddy dns example.com --type MX # list MX records for example.com (proxies dog)

buddy https httpie.io/hello
# http [flags] [METHOD] URL [ITEM [ITEM]]
buddy http --help
buddy http PUT pie.dev/put X-API-Token:123 name=John # Custom HTTP method, HTTP headers and JSON data
buddy http -v pie.dev/get # See the request that is being sent using one of the output options
buddy http -f POST pie.dev/post hello=World # submitting forms
buddy http --offline pie.dev/post hello=offline
buddy http -a USERNAME POST https://api.github.com/repos/httpie/cli/issues/83/comments body='HTTPie is awesome! :heart:'
buddy http pie.dev/post < files/data.json
buddy http pie.dev/image/png > image.png
buddy http --download pie.dev/image/png
buddy http --session=logged-in -a username:password pie.dev/get API-Key:123
buddy http --session=logged-in pie.dev/headers
buddy http localhost:8000 Host:example.com

buddy lint # runs linter
buddy lint:fix # runs linter and fixes issues

buddy commit # follow CLI prompts for committing staged changes
buddy release # creates the releases for the stack & triggers the Release Action (workflow)
buddy changelog # generates CHANGELOG.md

# when deploying your app/s to a remote server or cloud provider
buddy deploy # select a specific deployment (follow CLI prompts)
# buddy deploy:docs # deploys docs to AWS (or other configured provider)
# buddy deploy:functions # deploys functions to AWS (or other configured provider)
# buddy deploy:views # deploys views to AWS (or other configured provider)
# buddy deploy:all # deploys all your code
buddy undeploy # be careful: "undeploys" removes/deletes your deployed resources

buddy cloud:remove # removes cloud setup
buddy cloud:cleanup # removes cloud setup & cleans up all potentially leftover resources
buddy cloud:add --jump-box # adds a jump box to your cloud setup

# select the example to run (follow CLI prompts)
buddy example # prompts you to select which example to run
buddy example:vue # runs the Vue example
buddy example:web-components # runs the Web Component example

# you likely won’t need to run these commands as they are auto-triggered, but they are available
buddy generate  # prompts you to select which generator to run
buddy generate:types # generates types for your components, functions, & views
buddy generate:entries # generates entry files for components, functions, & views
buddy generate:web-types # generates Web Component types
buddy generate:vscode-custom-data # generates VSCode custom data
buddy generate:ide-helpers # generates IDE helpers
buddy generate:component-meta # generates component meta
buddy generate:all # runs all generators

# generates your application key
buddy key:generate # generates your application key

# generate your TypeScript declarations
buddy types:generate # generates types for your components, functions, & views
buddy types:fix # auto-fixes types for your components, functions, & views

buddy domains # alias for `buddy domains:list`
buddy domains:add stacksjs.org # adds a domain
buddy domains:remove stacksjs.org # removes a domain
buddy domains:list # lists all domains
buddy domains:update # apply ./config/dns.ts updates
buddy domains:purchase stacksjs.org # purchase a new domain

# test your stack
buddy test # runs test suite (unit & e2e)
buddy test:coverage # runs test coverage
buddy test:types # runs typecheck

# the CLI may be triggered in any
# of the following syntax:
stx fresh
buddy fresh
bud fresh

Read more here about the Stacks CLI in the documentation.

Features

The Stacks framework is a harmony of several “engines” to build any web and/or desktop application, in highly scalable & privacy-friendly ways. It consists of the following engines:

Frontend Development

Develop dynamic UIs with helpers for atomic design, and much more.

• 🧩 Components primitive to develop user interfaces
• 🤖 Functions primitive to develop business logic (and grant your UI superpowers)
• 🎨 UI Kit modern & deeply-integrated components
• 🌐 Web “a routing & templating engine that makes sense”
• 🖥️ Desktop transforms your web app into a desktop app, plus more
• 📝 Documentation markdown-based documentation, auto-generated
• 📚 Library auto-builds & manages component & function libraries
• ⚡️ Powered by Bun, Nitro, Tauri, UnoCSS, Vite & Vue

Backend Development

Develop serverless (or server) functions with countless helpers to build scalable & fast APIs.

• 🪄 AI deep AI integrations & foundational model access
• 🤖 APIs scalability & maintainability built-in
• 🏎️ Cache Redis, DynamoDB, and more—serverless
• ⚙️ CLIs create beautiful CLIs for Linux, Windows, and Mac (dependency-free binaries)
• 📀 Database SQLite, MySQL, Postgres, and more
• 👾 Errors native type-safe error handling
• 🗓️ Events functional event (front & backend) communication
• 📢 Notifications emails, SMSs, direct, and push notifications & webhooks
• 🗺️ ORM supercharged, fully-typed models & relations (including automated migrations)
• 💳 Payments unified API for one-off & subscription billing methods for Stripe
• ⚙️ Queues run any heavy workload in the background
• 🛠️ Query Builder powerful, type-safe SQL query builder
• 💬 Realtime “everything you need to build dynamic real-time apps”
• 🧭 Router smart routing, file-based or Laravel-like
• 🔎 Search Engine smart searching, advanced filtering & sorting, pagination, headless UI
• 💾 Storage a secure-by-default File API that feels right
• 🧪 Tinker a powerful TypeScript REPL
• 🌪️ Validation e2e type-safety (true frontend & backend harmony)
• 🎯 X-Ray all you need to debug, log & analyze

Cloud Development

Develop & maintain cloud infrastructure with ease. “Imagine Vercel, Vapor and Forge having been unified.”

• ☁️ Server local development server & production-ready servers out-of-the-box
• ⛅️ Serverless on-demand, auto-scaling, zero maintenance
• ⏰ Alarms built-in cloud infrastructure monitoring to avoid surprises
• 🚏 CDN zero-config, low-latency, request life-cycle hooks, optimized request compressions (Brotli & gzip)
• 🔀 Domain version-controlled & zero-config domain management (e.g. DNS management)
• 🤖 AI fine-tune a foundational model using your application data
• 📧 Email secure & zero-setup mailboxes
• 🔐 Firewall native web application firewall support
• 📦 Storage unlimited cloud storage & automatic backups
• 🚜 Maintenance maintain your cloud infrastructure with ease using Buddy & Stacks
• 🚦 Infrastructure as Code version-controlled cloud infrastructure (AWS, Google next?)

CI/CD

Focus on coding, not publishing.

• 🚀 Deployment Manager takes the sweat out of production deployments—zero-setup push-to-deploy
• 0️⃣ Zero Downtime deploy with confidence using a zero-downtime deployment strategy
• 📫 Release Manager libraries (component & function) auto-published to npm, git helpers, and more

Developer Experience (DX)

Convention over configuration, while staying wholly configurable. No more boilerplate.

• 💎 Automated Upgrades no need to worry about upgrading to the latest versions, Stacks upgrades you
• 🦋 Pretty Dev URLs your-project.localhost instead of localhost:3000
• 💡 IDE Integration auto-completions, inline docs & a powerful VS Code setup
• 🪄 Zero-Config yet highly configurable—convention over configuration
• 💅 Linter & Formatter auto-configured & built into your IDE
• 💪🏼 Type Strong built-in e2e type-safety
• ✨ Git Workflows committing with ease
• 🚗 Auto Imports your components & functions, including date, string, array, & object helpers
• ⏩ Code Snippets goodbye to the boilerplate code—thank you Sarah Drasner
• 🔤 Spell Checker be notified once there are typos
• 🛠️ Essential Utilities powers at your fingertips. Collections, VueUse, and more
• 👥 Team Management manage your team & their permissions
• 🧪 Streamlined Testing unit & e2e tests powered by Bun, Vitest & Playwright

No matter whether you are a beginner or an expert, the approachable Stacks design allows you to learn at your own pace, using our thorough documentation covering every aspect of the framework. Stacks is extremely beginner & expert-friendly.

Develop beautiful, reactive, composable UIs without learning a new set of languages. HTML, CSS, and minimal JavaScript—that’s all you need to dive in now! Or TypeScript ✌🏼

> An actual rapid application development framework for all Full Stack needs. Next-level simplicity & DX.

Testing

./buddy test

Changelog

Please see our releases page for more information on what has changed recently.

Contributing

Please see the Contributing Guide for details.

Community

For help, discussion about best practices, or any other conversation that would benefit from being searchable:

Discussions on GitHub

For casual chit-chat with others using this package:

Join the Stacks Discord Server

Postcardware

Two things are true: Stacks OSS will always stay open-source, and we do/would love to receive postcards from wherever Stacks is used! 🌍 And we also publish them on our website. -Thank you, Spatie

Our address: Stacks.js, 5710 Crescent Park #107, Playa Vista 90094, CA, USA

Sponsors

We would like to extend our thanks to the following sponsors for funding Stacks development. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please reach out to us.

• JetBrains
• The Solana Foundation

Credits

• Chris Breuer
• All Contributors

And a special thanks to Dan Scanlon for donating the stacks name on npm ✨

License

The MIT License (MIT). Please see LICENSE for more information.

Made with 💙