Quick Start

Philosophy

Roll your own stack: pick only what you need, nothing extra.
Minimal templates: bare-bones scaffolds with zero bloat.
Latest dependencies: always current and stable by default.
Free and open source: forever.

Get Started

Prerequisites

Node.js LTS - Download from nodejs.org
Git (optional) - Download from git-scm.com - if you want to initialize a git repository
Bun (optional) - Download from bun.com - if you want to use Bun as your package manager

CLI (prompts)

npx create-better-t-stack@latest

pnpm create better-t-stack@latest

bun create better-t-stack@latest

Follow the interactive prompts to choose your frontend, backend, database, ORM, API layer, and addons.

Skip prompts and use the default stack:

npx create-better-t-stack@latest  --yes

pnpm create better-t-stack@latest  --yes

bun create better-t-stack@latest  --yes

Stack Builder (UI)

Visit /new to pick your stack and copy the generated command
Or open it via:

npx create-better-t-stack@latest builder

pnpm create better-t-stack@latest builder

bun create better-t-stack@latest builder

Common Setups

Default Stack

npx create-better-t-stack@latest my-webapp \
  --frontend tanstack-router \
  --backend hono \
  --database sqlite \
  --orm drizzle \
  --auth better-auth \
  --addons turborepo

pnpm create better-t-stack@latest my-webapp \
  --frontend tanstack-router \
  --backend hono \
  --database sqlite \
  --orm drizzle \
  --auth better-auth \
  --addons turborepo

bun create better-t-stack@latest my-webapp \
  --frontend tanstack-router \
  --backend hono \
  --database sqlite \
  --orm drizzle \
  --auth better-auth \
  --addons turborepo

Convex + React + Clerk

npx create-better-t-stack@latest my-api \
  --frontend none \
  --backend fastify \
  --runtime node \
  --database postgres \
  --orm prisma \
  --api trpc

pnpm create better-t-stack@latest my-api \
  --frontend none \
  --backend fastify \
  --runtime node \
  --database postgres \
  --orm prisma \
  --api trpc

bun create better-t-stack@latest my-api \
  --frontend none \
  --backend fastify \
  --runtime node \
  --database postgres \
  --orm prisma \
  --api trpc

Mobile App (Expo)

npx create-better-t-stack@latest my-native \
  --frontend native-nativewind \
  --backend hono \
  --database sqlite \
  --orm drizzle \
  --auth better-auth

pnpm create better-t-stack@latest my-native \
  --frontend native-nativewind \
  --backend hono \
  --database sqlite \
  --orm drizzle \
  --auth better-auth

bun create better-t-stack@latest my-native \
  --frontend native-nativewind \
  --backend hono \
  --database sqlite \
  --orm drizzle \
  --auth better-auth

Empty Monorepo

npx create-better-t-stack@latest my-workspace \
  --frontend none \
  --backend none

pnpm create better-t-stack@latest my-workspace \
  --frontend none \
  --backend none

bun create better-t-stack@latest my-workspace \
  --frontend none \
  --backend none

Flags Cheat Sheet

See the full list in the CLI Reference. Key flags:

--frontend: tanstack-router, react-router, tanstack-start, next, nuxt, svelte, solid, native-nativewind, native-unistyles, none
--backend: hono, express, fastify, elysia, next, convex, none
--runtime: bun, node, workers, none
--database: sqlite, postgres, mysql, mongodb, none
--orm: drizzle, prisma, mongoose, none
--api: trpc, orpc, none
--auth: better-auth, clerk, none
--addons: turborepo, pwa, tauri, biome, husky, starlight, fumadocs, ultracite, oxlint, ruler, none
--examples: todo, ai, none

Next Steps

CLI (per-command)

Flags, usage, and examples for each command

Project Structure

See how web/server/native and Convex layouts are generated

Compatibility

Valid combinations for backend, runtime, database, ORM, API

bts.jsonc

Required for the add command; safe to delete if you don’t use add

Contributing

Dev setup and contribution flow