Before diving in, make sure you have completed the Software Engineer roadmap or have equivalent experience (HTML, CSS, JS/TS, React at a bare minimum)

This guide will prepare you with the tech stack needed to build products using our opinionated codebases for rapidly building and launching full-stack products.

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Choose Your Stack

We offer two battle-tested stacks depending on your preferences:

Estimated time to complete: 2-3 weeks

Or just a few hours if you’re semi-familiar with some of the technologies and just want to rapidly build something. (Looking at you, indie hackers! ;)

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(Recommended) Option 1: Kaizen (React Router v7 + Convex)

Kaizen is our modern React Router v7 boilerplate designed for speed and correctness:

Tech Stack:

  • React Router v7 for full-stack React development
  • Convex for real-time database and serverless functions
  • Clerk for authentication as a service
  • Polar.sh for subscription billing and payments
  • Resend for email as a service
  • OpenAI for AI chat capabilities (optional)

Best for: Developers who want maximum type safety, real-time features, and AI-friendly code generation with minimal backend complexity.

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Option 2: Titan (Next.js + Supabase)

Titan is our Next.js-based stack for rapid product development:

Tech Stack:

  • Next.js 15 for full-stack development
  • Drizzle for type-safe database access
  • Supabase for authentication and realtime features
  • Tanstack Query for data fetching
  • Webhooks for third-party integrations

Best for: Developers who prefer Next.js, want direct SQL control, or need specific Supabase features.

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Getting Up to Speed Quickly

Choose your learning path based on the stack you selected:

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📚 Kaizen Stack Learning Path

Kaizen Stack Tutorial Playlist - Complete tutorial series for the Kaizen stack

Core Technologies:

  • React Router v7 for full-stack React development
  • Convex for real-time database and serverless functions
  • Clerk for authentication as a service
  • Polar.sh for subscription billing and payments

After completing this playlist, you’ll be ready to start building with Kaizen.

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🔧 Titan Stack Learning Path

NextJS Crash Course - Learn NextJS fundamentals
PostgreSQL Course - Database fundamentals
Tanstack Query Crash Course - Data fetching library
Drizzle Crash Course - Type-safe ORM for PostgreSQL
Supabase Course - Database as a Service

For Supabase, focus on authentication, real-time subscriptions, and database sections most relevant to your project.

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🌐 Universal Concepts (Both Stacks)

How Webhooks Work - Essential for third-party integrations

After completing your chosen learning path, you’ll be able to build production-ready applications with authentication, database, and payment processing.

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Extra helpful content:
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Which Stack Should You Choose?

Choose Kaizen if you:

  • Want the fastest development experience
  • Prefer type-safety across the entire stack
  • Like real-time features out of the box
  • Want AI to help generate backend code
  • Prefer managed services over database management

Choose Titan if you:

  • Already know Next.js well
  • Want direct control over your database
  • Need specific PostgreSQL features
  • Prefer SQL over TypeScript functions
  • Want more granular control over your backend

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Design & Development Tools

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Visual Development

  • Onlook - “Cursor for Designers” - Visual React editor:
    • Visually edit React websites with real-time code changes
    • AI-powered website building and design
    • Figma-like interface for React apps styled with Tailwind
    • Local development environment that writes code back to your files
    • Open source with full code ownership

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Next Steps

After completing this tech stack guide, you’ll be ready to start building entire products.

If you chose Kaizen: Head to Building with Kaizen to get started.

If you chose Titan: Head to Building with Titan to get started.

If you want to build your own startup, continue to the Philosophy section to understand our approach to company building and then register a company.