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GoForjUnreleased

Starter Kits ​

Starter kits are optional generated scaffolds that help an App start with a working surface.

They are not separate frameworks. After generation, their files belong to the App.

For the visual overview, see the Starter Kits showcase.

When Starter Kits Apply ​

Starter kit selection appears during forj new when the selected components support it.

Current important rule:

  • Web UI enabled: starter kit selection can appear.
  • Web UI disabled: starter kit selection is skipped.
  • Demo App selected: the demo owns its generated frontend, so normal starter kit selection is cleared.

Supported Starter Kits ​

The first-party starter kit choices are:

Starter kitStackUse it when
VueVue 3, Vite, TypeScript, Tailwind, shadcn-vueYou want a client-side Vue application shell.
ReactReact 19, Vite, TypeScript, Tailwind, shadcn/uiYou want a client-side React application shell.
templ + htmxtempl, htmx, TailwindYou want a Go-first server-rendered UI.
NoneWeb UI placeholderYou want to bring your own frontend.

Starter kits create app-scoped frontend source for Apps with Web UI enabled, such as cmd/app/frontend/ for the default app or cmd/marketplace/frontend/ for a named app.

Generated Ownership ​

Starter kit files are generated into the App and then become App-owned.

Use the generated code as a starting point. Do not treat starter kit files as immutable framework internals.

Development Tasks ​

Starter kits can add development setup tasks.

For npm-backed starter kits, generated dev setup can include:

bash
cd cmd/app/frontend && npm install

and an App-owned SPA build under dev.apps.<app>.spas for forj dev.

Compatibility ​

Starter kits compose with selected App components. They should not require unrelated infrastructure just to run the first local path.

When a starter kit requires Web UI, the generator should make that dependency explicit through the wizard and render contract.

Common Mistakes ​

Common mistakes

  • Do not select a starter kit over an existing custom frontend unless replacement is intended.
  • Do not treat starter kit code as framework-owned after generation.
  • Do not assume Web API and Web UI are the same component.
  • Do not add production-only infrastructure requirements to starter kit first-run docs.

Next Steps ​