Claude Code integration
Scaffold, deploy, and build with AI
Coldstart is designed to work with Claude Code at every stage — scaffolding, infrastructure setup, and development.
The /coldstart skill
Install the skill once:
pnpm dlx skills add yabbal/cold-startThen in Claude Code, type /coldstart or just describe what you want:
> /coldstart
> A fitness tracking app with web and mobile,
freemium billing via Stripe, Google OAuthClaude Code cannot run coldstart init (it requires an interactive terminal). Instead, it gathers your options conversationally, writes a .coldstart.json, and runs coldstart replay.
What Claude Code does
Gathers your config
Asks about platforms, billing, domain, OAuth — same options as the interactive CLI, but as a conversation.
Scaffolds the project
Writes the config to a temp file and runs coldstart replay /tmp/config.json. You get the same deterministic output as coldstart init.
Post-scaffold setup
Runs pnpm install, bash scripts/install-skills.sh, and bash scripts/setup-mcps.sh automatically.
Offers infrastructure setup
With the MCP servers now configured, Claude Code can set up your entire stack conversationally:
> Set up my database with Neon
> Configure Stripe billing
> Deploy to Vercel
> Set up Resend for emailsAfter scaffold workflow
The ideal workflow after scaffolding follows four phases:
Scaffold
Use /coldstart or coldstart init to generate your project. This creates the monorepo structure, all apps, and glue code.
Install skills
Skills are auto-installed during scaffold. If you need to re-run:
bash scripts/install-skills.shThis gives Claude Code deep context about your stack — Better Auth patterns, Drizzle queries, Hono middleware, Expo deployment, etc.
Set up infrastructure via MCP
Use Claude Code conversationally to provision services:
> Create a Neon database, run migrations, configure Resend
email, set up Stripe products, and deploy to VercelClaude Code uses the configured MCP servers to do this without you leaving your terminal.
Build features
With infrastructure in place, start building your app. Claude Code has full context from CLAUDE.md, skills, and your codebase:
> Add a team dashboard page with member list and invite form
> Create an API route for file uploads with S3
> Add push notifications for mobileReal-world examples
Here are complete conversation examples showing what you can build with Claude Code and Coldstart:
Tips for best results
Be specific about your domain. Instead of "a SaaS app", say "a project management tool for design teams". Coldstart generates 15-20 domain-specific rules in CLAUDE.md — the more specific you are, the better the guidelines.
Mention your billing model explicitly. "Subscription via Stripe" gives you recurring billing with customer portal. "Credits via Polar" gives you pay-as-you-go with credit balance tracking. The billing model affects database schema, middleware, and UI.
Specify OAuth providers you need. Each provider requires environment variables and generates specific UI buttons. Saying "Google and GitHub OAuth" up front avoids re-running the scaffolder later.
MCP servers
Every generated project includes .claude/settings.json with MCP servers configured based on your stack:
| MCP server | When configured | What it does | Authentication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neon | If API | Create databases, run SQL, manage branches | API key via setup-mcps.sh |
| Vercel | If web | Manage deployments, domains, logs | OAuth (prompted on first use) |
| Polar | If billing + Polar | Create products, plans, webhooks | OAuth (prompted on first use) |
| RevenueCat | If billing + mobile | Configure products, entitlements | API key via setup-mcps.sh |
| Resend | If API | Send emails, manage domains | API key via setup-mcps.sh |
| Expo | If mobile | EAS builds, submissions, OTA updates | OAuth (prompted on first use) |
Run bash scripts/setup-mcps.sh after scaffold to set API keys for Neon, Resend, and RevenueCat. OAuth-based servers (Vercel, Polar, Expo) prompt you automatically on first use in Claude Code.
Adding features after scaffold
Claude Code can add modules to an existing project:
> Add mobile to my project
> Add billing with Stripe, subscription model
> Add multi-tenant support
> Enable i18n with English, French, and SpanishUnder the hood, it runs coldstart add <module> with the right flags. The .coldstart.json, CLAUDE.md, skills, and MCP config are regenerated automatically.
What CLAUDE.md contains
Every generated project includes a CLAUDE.md that gives Claude Code full context:
- Monorepo structure — which apps and packages exist
- Tech stack — Next.js version, Tailwind config, Hono setup, Drizzle config
- Domain guidelines — 15-20 industry-specific rules (e.g. "money as integers in cents" for finance, "HIPAA awareness" for health)
- Billing model — how the billing flow works, which middleware to use
- Conventions — Biome config, commit format, naming, testing
- Commands — dev (portless HTTPS URLs), build, test, lint, db commands
- How-to guides — add a page, add a route, add a table, add a package
- Anti-patterns — no
any, novar, no default exports, no secrets in code
The domain guidelines are very specific. A finance project gets PCI compliance rules, audit trail patterns, and integer money handling. A social project gets cursor pagination, real-time update patterns, and content moderation guidelines.
Installed skills
The skills installer (scripts/install-skills.sh) adds context-aware skills based on your stack:
- Turborepo best practices
- Vitest testing patterns
- Context engineering
- Spec kit (test planning)
- PostHog analytics
- React + Vercel best practices
- Tailwind v4 + shadcn/ui
- Design system (Impeccable)
- Privacy policy generator
- SEO audit, copywriting, CRO (if landing page)
- Pricing strategy (if billing)
- next-intl language addition (if i18n)
- Expo deployment
- React Native best practices
- Reanimated + Skia performance
- RevenueCat (if billing)
- Push notification best practices
- App Store analytics
- ASC CLI usage
- Better Auth (3 skills: best practices, email/password, setup)
- React Email + Resend
- Hono framework
- Drizzle ORM
- Neon PostgreSQL
- API rate limiting
- Polar + Better Auth (if Polar billing)