CraftCraft
ā† Back to home

Getting Started with Craft

Learn how to create your first SaaS project with Craft in less than 5 minutes. Full-stack boilerplate with Next.js 15, tRPC, Prisma, TanStack Query, Zustand, and more.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • Node.js 20+ installed
  • npm or pnpm package manager
  • Git for version control
  • A code editor (VS Code recommended)

Installation

# Install the CLI globally
npm install -g @getcraft-dev/craft-cli
# Or use with npx (no installation needed)
npx @getcraft-dev/craft-cli new

Authentication

Get your API key from craft.dev/dashboard and login:

# Login with your API key
craft login craft_your_api_key_here

Free Tier: No license activation needed. You'll have access to the Rapid Web template with 2 AI agents and 4 basic MCP servers.

Create Your First Project

# Create a new project
craft new my-saas
# Follow the interactive prompts:
? Select a template: šŸš€ Rapid - Web Only
# Navigate to your project
cd my-saas
# Install dependencies
pnpm install

šŸ’Ž Craft Pro ($149): Activate your license with craft license activate to unlock all 6 templates (3 levels Ɨ web/mobile) + 16 AI Skills + 10 MCP servers. Get Craft

Project Structure

Your new Craft project will have the following structure:

my-saas/
ā”œā”€ā”€ apps/
ā”‚   ā””ā”€ā”€ web/              # Next.js application
ā”‚       ā”œā”€ā”€ src/
ā”‚       ā”‚   ā”œā”€ā”€ app/      # App Router pages
ā”‚       ā”‚   ā””ā”€ā”€ trpc/     # tRPC client setup
ā”‚       ā””ā”€ā”€ package.json
ā”œā”€ā”€ packages/
ā”‚   ā”œā”€ā”€ api/              # tRPC routers
ā”‚   ā”œā”€ā”€ database/         # Prisma schema & client
ā”‚   ā””ā”€ā”€ validators/       # Zod schemas
ā”œā”€ā”€ .claude/
ā”‚   ā””ā”€ā”€ skills/           # AI Skills for development
ā”œā”€ā”€ package.json
ā””ā”€ā”€ turbo.json            # Turborepo config

Start Development Server

# Start all apps in development mode
pnpm dev
# Or start specific app
pnpm dev --filter=web

Your app will be running at http://localhost:3000

Environment Setup

Copy the example environment file and configure your variables:

cp apps/web/.env.example apps/web/.env.local

Key environment variables you need to set:

  • DATABASE_URL - Your PostgreSQL connection string (Supabase)
  • NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL - Supabase project URL
  • NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY - Supabase anonymous key

Database Setup

# Generate Prisma client
pnpm db:generate
# Push schema to database
pnpm db:push
# (Optional) Seed database with sample data
pnpm db:seed

Setup AI Development Tools

Install MCP servers and AI skills for enhanced development:

# Install all AI tooling (MCP servers + skills)
craft setup ai
# Or install separately:
craft setup mcp # MCP servers only
craft setup skills # Skills only (paid tier)

Community tier includes 4 basic MCP servers. paid tier includes 10 MCP servers and 17+ skills. See the CLI Reference for full tier comparison.

Next Steps

CLI Reference ā†’

Complete guide to all Craft CLI commands and features

Understanding Quality Levels ā†’

Learn about Rapid, Balanced, and Crafted quality levels

Architecture Guide ā†’

Understand the project architecture and folder structure

Working with AI Skills ā†’

Use AI-powered development with Claude Code

šŸ’” Pro Tip

Start with the Rapid quality level to validate your idea quickly. You can seamlessly upgrade to Balanced or Crafted as your product grows.