zerostarter

Go from zero to a production-ready SaaS, rebranded and ready to ship.

zerostarter scaffolds ZeroStarter, a full-stack TypeScript starter (Next.js web, Hono API, Drizzle + Postgres, better-auth), into a fresh, rebranded project in one command. It fetches the latest starter, renames it to your directory, installs dependencies, and (when Docker is running) provisions a local Postgres and runs migrations.

Quick start

# In a new, empty directory (its name becomes your project name):
bunx zerostarter init

# Start the dev servers on named portless .localhost URLs (bunx portless list to see them)
bun run dev

That is the whole setup. When Docker is running, init provisions a local Postgres and migrates for you; otherwise set POSTGRES_URL in .env (a hosted database like Neon works) and run bun run db:migrate.

Commands

bunx zerostarter <command> [dir] [options]

| Command | What it does | | -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | init [dir] | Scaffold ZeroStarter into dir (default .) as a fresh product. Fetches, rebrands to the dir name, installs, and optionally provisions Postgres. | | reinit [dir] | Re-scaffold an existing git repo (default .) as a fresh ZeroStarter, keeping .git and your .env* files so history, remote, and secrets survive. | | sync [dir] | Re-baseline an existing fork (default .) on the latest ZeroStarter, preserving your content, branding, package.json identity, and favicon. |

init

Scaffold a new product. Run it in an empty directory (its name becomes the project name), or pass a name: bunx zerostarter init my-app.

| Option | Description | | -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | -y, --yes | Skip prompts, taking defaults (provisions Postgres when Docker is up) | | --db | Provision a local Postgres (via pglaunch) and migrate; needs Docker | | --dry-run | Print the plan without writing anything | | -h, --help | Display help |

reinit

Re-scaffold an existing repo in place. Every file is deleted (except .git and .env*), the latest ZeroStarter is fetched, and it is rebranded to the directory name. The commit lands on the current branch; push when ready. Requires a clean tree.

| Option | Description | | -------------- | ---------------------------- | | -y, --yes | Skip the confirmation prompt | | -h, --help | Display help |

sync

Re-baseline a fork on the latest ZeroStarter. A gitpick overlay updates the starter files while your content, public/marketing, branding, package.json identity, dev-URL names, and favicon are preserved. Requires a clean tree; lands as a reviewable diff you commit yourself.

Skills you own are preserved too: sync only rewrites a skill whose source is this repo. One you authored, one you vendored from a tool, one you took from another upstream, one you edited, or one whose sync note you removed keeps your version, and sync names it in the summary rather than replacing it.

AGENTS.md ships to a fork whole, rebranded, and follows the same contract: sync hands you the starter's latest while your copy is unedited, and keeps yours once you have changed it.

Requirements

• Bun runs the scaffolded project. If it is missing, the CLI offers to install it for you.
• Docker (optional) lets init provision a local Postgres and migrate automatically. Without it, point POSTGRES_URL at any Postgres and run bun run db:migrate.

Links

• Docs: zerostarter.dev/docs
• Repository: github.com/nrjdalal/zerostarter

License

MIT