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Your First Project

Let's build a complete SaaS application from scratch.

What We're Building​

A SaaS starter with:

  • User authentication
  • Admin dashboard
  • Subscription management (Stripe)
  • Email notifications
  • PostgreSQL database

Step 1: Create the Project​

npx autodeploybase init my-saas \
  --framework next \
  --archetype saas \
  --database postgresql

You'll see output like:

Creating project: my-saas
Framework: Next.js 14
Archetype: SaaS
Database: PostgreSQL

✓ Created project structure
✓ Generated Next.js app
✓ Added authentication plugin
✓ Added admin dashboard plugin
✓ Generated Prisma schema
✓ Created environment template

Project created successfully!

Next steps:
  cd my-saas
  cp .env.example .env
  npm install
  npx prisma migrate dev
  npm run dev

Step 2: Explore the Structure​

my-saas/
├── prisma/
│   └── schema.prisma         # Database schema
├── src/
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── api/              # API routes
│   │   │   ├── auth/         # Auth endpoints
│   │   │   └── admin/        # Admin endpoints
│   │   ├── (auth)/           # Auth pages
│   │   │   ├── login/
│   │   │   └── register/
│   │   ├── admin/            # Admin pages
│   │   └── dashboard/        # User dashboard
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── admin/            # Admin components
│   │   └── ui/               # UI components
│   └── lib/
│       ├── auth.ts           # Auth utilities
│       └── db.ts             # Database client
├── .env.example              # Environment template
├── autodeploy.config.json    # Project configuration
└── package.json

Step 3: Configure Environment​

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env:

.env
# Database
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:password@localhost:5432/my_saas"

# Authentication
JWT_SECRET="your-super-secret-key-at-least-32-characters"
JWT_EXPIRY="7d"

# App
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL="http://localhost:3000"

Step 4: Set Up Database​

Start PostgreSQL (if using Docker):

docker run -d \
  --name my-saas-db \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=my_saas \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  postgres:16

Run migrations:

npm install
npx prisma generate
npx prisma migrate dev --name init

Step 5: Start Development​

npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000

Step 6: Add Stripe Payments​

npx autodeploybase add payments-stripe

Configure Stripe:

.env
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_...
STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_...
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_...

Step 7: Add Email​

npx autodeploybase add email

Configure email provider:

.env
EMAIL_PROVIDER=resend
RESEND_API_KEY=re_...
EMAIL_FROM="noreply@myapp.com"

Step 8: Regenerate​

After adding plugins, regenerate:

npx autodeploybase generate

Step 9: Test Everything​

# Run tests
npm run test

# Type check
npm run typecheck

# Lint
npm run lint

Step 10: Deploy​

npm i -g vercel
vercel

Set environment variables in Vercel dashboard.

Docker​

# Build
docker build -t my-saas .

# Run
docker run -p 3000:3000 \
  -e DATABASE_URL="..." \
  -e JWT_SECRET="..." \
  my-saas

Your Configuration File​

autodeploy.config.json
{
  "$schema": "https://autodeploybase.dev/schema.json",
  "name": "my-saas",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "framework": "next",
  "database": "postgresql",
  "plugins": {
    "auth-jwt": {
      "enabled": true,
      "settings": {
        "tokenExpiry": "7d"
      }
    },
    "admin-dashboard": {
      "enabled": true
    },
    "payments-stripe": {
      "enabled": true,
      "settings": {
        "currency": "usd"
      }
    },
    "email": {
      "enabled": true,
      "settings": {
        "provider": "resend"
      }
    }
  }
}

What's Next?​

Customize

Modify components and add your business logic.

Add Plugins

Explore available plugins to add features.

Build Plugins

Create custom plugins for your needs.