Full-Stack SaaS Starter Kit

A Monorepo B2B SaaS starter template for AI-powered microservices.

Implementation Note: This is a starter template with some components fully implemented and others in various stages of implementation. See the "Current Implementation Status" section for details.

🚀 Features

• 🔐 Authentication: Clerk with organization/team support (NextAuth fallback)
• 🎨 CMS: Directus in Docker container (integration in progress)
• 🧠 Database: Neon Postgres with Drizzle ORM
• ⚙️ Backend API: Express + tRPC + Zod with OpenAPI generation
• 🧾 API Docs: Scalar-hosted documentation
• 🔁 Async Workflows: Upstash Workflows framework (implementation in progress)
• 💌 Email: Resend for transactional emails (with development mode)
• 📈 Analytics: PostHog for product analytics
• 🧪 Type Safety: End-to-end type safety between frontend and backend

📁 Project Structure

/apps
  /frontend       → Next.js (marketing, dashboard, auth UI)
  /api            → Express + Zod + tRPC backend
  /workflows      → Upstash Workflow handlers
  /cms            → Directus headless CMS configuration (Docker)
  /docs           → Scalar, built from OpenAPI spec
  /scripts        → Helper scripts

/packages
  /types          → Shared Zod schemas + OpenAPI types
  /utils          → Shared fetchers, helpers, validators

🧰 Tech Stack

Concern	Tool	Status
Frontend	Next.js 14, Tailwind, ShadCN	Fully implemented
CMS	Directus (Docker)	Container setup complete, content integration in progress
Auth	Clerk (fallback: NextAuth)	Fully implemented, API validation in progress
API	Express + tRPC + Zod	Fully implemented
DB	Neon + Drizzle ORM	Basic setup complete, schema and migrations needed
Async/Queue	Upstash Workflow + QStash	Framework setup, implementation in progress
Emails	Resend	Implemented with dev mode
API Docs	Scalar + zod-to-openapi	Fully implemented
Analytics	PostHog	Configuration ready

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• PNPM
• Docker (for local development of Directus CMS)

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/digiphd/full-stack-saas-nextjs-1.git

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Set up environment variables
cp .env.example .env

# Start development servers (including Directus CMS in Docker)
pnpm dev

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory with the following variables:

AUTH_PROVIDER=clerk
QUEUE_PROVIDER=upstash
CMS_ENDPOINT=https://cms.yourdomain.com
FRONTEND_URL=https://app.yourdomain.com
RESEND_API_KEY=your_resend_api_key
NEON_DATABASE_URL=your_neon_db_url
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=your_clerk_secret_key

📄 Development Workflow

Generate OpenAPI Docs

pnpm generate:openapi

Local Directus CMS

The Directus CMS runs in a Docker container locally for development. When you run pnpm dev, the container will be started automatically.

Note: While the Directus container is fully functional, the integration with blog and marketing pages is still in progress. The frontend currently uses mock data for these sections.

Current Implementation Status

For a detailed list of planned improvements and remaining work items, please see our TODO.md file.

AI Feature Example

This template includes a working example of OpenAI integration with the SaaS Idea Generator on the Home Page.

The example demonstrates:

• Integration with OpenAI's API
• API Handling
• Error Handling
• Input Validation
• Frontend-to-backend communication

Blog and Marketing Pages

• The blog currently uses hardcoded mock data
• Directus integration is planned but not fully implemented
• Revalidation API routes are set up for future CMS integration

Upstash Workflows

• Framework and handlers are set up
• Uses placeholder/mock configurations for local development
• Requires additional configuration for production use

Email with Resend

• Fully implemented with proper configuration
• Development mode logs emails instead of sending them
• Ready for production with proper API keys

Deployment Options

Directus CMS Deployment

For production deployment of Directus CMS, you have several options:

• fly.io: A cost-effective on-demand service that's easy to set up and scale. Recommended for most use cases.
• Self-hosted Docker: Deploy the Docker container to your own infrastructure.
• Directus Cloud: Official managed service from Directus (https://directus.cloud).

Revalidate Pages

After CMS updates, trigger revalidation (once CMS integration is complete):

curl -X POST https://app.yourdomain.com/api/revalidate?secret=your_secret&path=/blog/your-post-slug

📃 Product Requirements Document

This project includes a PRD template (PRD.md.example) to help you customize the starter kit for your specific needs. When integrating with AI tools like Claude or Tempo Labs:

1. Copy PRD.md.example to PRD.md
2. Customize the PRD with your specific project details
3. Use the PRD to provide context when working with AI tools

The template includes sections on technical requirements, customization points, and example prompts for AI integration.

👥 Contributing

Contributions to this project are managed through a controlled process. Please read our CONTRIBUTING.md file for details on how to request access to contribute.

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

⚠️ Disclaimer

This software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, express or implied. The authors or copyright holders shall not be liable for any claim, damages or other liability arising from the use of the software. No support or maintenance will be provided for this template.