Interactive Prompts

Overview

The Better-T-Stack CLI uses @clack/prompts for interactive questions. These prompts are fully keyboard-driven and work well in most terminals. This guide explains the prompt flow, navigation, and how to skip prompts with flags.

Core Keys

Navigate: Up/Down arrow keys
Confirm/Continue: Enter
Go Back: Left arrow (navigable prompts)
Cancel: Ctrl+C (exits the CLI)

Prompt Types

The CLI uses several types of prompts:

Single Select (Choose One)

How it works:

Move with Up/Down arrow keys
Press Enter to select the highlighted option
Press Left arrow to go back to the previous prompt

Used for:

Web framework selection (TanStack Router, Next.js, Nuxt, etc.)
Native framework selection (Bare, UniWind, Unistyles)
Backend framework (Hono, Express, Fastify, etc.)
Runtime (Bun, Node, Workers)
Database type (SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB)
ORM choice (Drizzle, Prisma, Mongoose)
API type (tRPC, oRPC)
Package manager (npm, pnpm, bun)

Example:

◆  Select backend
│  ○ Hono - Lightweight, ultrafast web framework
│  ● Express - Fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework
│  ○ Fastify - Fast, low-overhead web framework
│  ○ Elysia - Ergonomic web framework
│  ○ Convex - Reactive backend-as-a-service
│  ○ None - No backend server
└  

Multi-Select (Choose Many)

How it works:

Move with Up/Down arrow keys
Press Space to toggle the highlighted option on/off
Press Enter to confirm your selection(s)
Press Left arrow to go back
Some prompts allow selecting none

Used for:

Project type selection (Web, Native, or both)
Examples selection (Todo, AI)

Example:

◆  Select project type
│  ◼ Web - React, Vue or Svelte Web Application
│  ◻ Native - Create a React Native/Expo app
└  Press Space to select, Enter to continue

Grouped Multi-Select (Addons)

How it works:

Options are organized under group headings (Tooling, Documentation, Extensions, AI)
Move with Up/Down arrow keys through all options
Press Space to toggle an option on/off
Press Enter to confirm selections
Group headings are informational only

Used for:

Addons selection

Example:

◆  Select addons
│  
│  Tooling
│  ◼ Turborepo - High-performance build system
│  ◻ Biome - Format, lint, and more
│  ◻ Oxlint - Oxlint + Oxfmt
│  
│  Documentation
│  ◻ Starlight - Build stellar docs with astro
│  ◻ Fumadocs - Build excellent documentation site
│  
│  Extensions
│  ◻ PWA - Make your app installable
│  ◻ Tauri - Build native desktop apps
└  

Confirm (Yes/No)

How it works:

Use Left/Right or Up/Down to highlight Yes/No
Press Enter to confirm

Used for:

Install dependencies?
Initialize Git repository?

Example:

◆  Install dependencies?
│  ● Yes
│  ○ No
└  

Text Input

How it works:

Type your answer
Press Enter to submit
If validation fails, a message explains what to fix

Used for:

Project name/path
Database URLs (for specific providers)
Provider-specific configuration

Example:

◆  Enter project name
│  my-awesome-app_
└  

Validation rules:

Cannot be empty
Cannot start with . (except for .)
Cannot start with -
Cannot contain: < > : " | ? *
Cannot be node_modules
Max 255 characters

Prompt Flow

The CLI asks questions in this order (skipping irrelevant prompts based on your choices):

Project Name

If not provided as an argument, you’ll be asked for the project name.

# Skip this prompt by providing the name
create-better-t-stack my-app

Project Type

Choose Web, Native, or both.Skip with:

--frontend tanstack-router  # Web only
--frontend native-uniwind    # Native only
--frontend next native-bare  # Both
--frontend none              # Backend only

Web Framework

If you selected Web, choose your web framework.Options depend on backend/auth:

With Convex backend: Solid and Astro are hidden
With Clerk auth + Convex: Nuxt, Svelte, Solid, Astro are hidden

Skip with:

--frontend tanstack-router

Native Framework

If you selected Native, choose your native framework.Skip with:

--frontend native-uniwind

Backend

Choose your backend framework.Options depend on frontend:

With Next.js, TanStack Start, Nuxt, or Astro: “Self (Fullstack)” option appears
With Solid or Astro frontend: Convex is hidden

Skip with:

--backend hono

Runtime

Choose your runtime environment.Automatically skipped when:

Backend is convex, none, or self

Skip with:

--runtime bun

Database

Choose your database type.Automatically set to none when:

Backend is convex or none

MongoDB hidden when:

Runtime is workers

Skip with:

--database postgres

ORM

Choose your ORM/ODM.Automatically skipped when:

Database is none
Backend is convex or none

Options depend on database:

PostgreSQL/MySQL/SQLite: Drizzle, Prisma
MongoDB: Mongoose, Prisma

Skip with:

--orm drizzle

API Layer

Choose your API type.Automatically set to none when:

Backend is convex or none

tRPC hidden when:

Frontend includes Nuxt, Svelte, Solid, or Astro

Skip with:

--api trpc

Authentication

Choose your auth provider.Automatically set to none when:

Backend is none

Clerk only available when:

Backend is convex
Frontend is compatible (not Nuxt, Svelte, Solid, or Astro with Clerk)

Skip with:

--auth better-auth

Payments

Choose payments integration.Polar only available when:

Auth is better-auth
Has web frontend or no frontend

Skip with:

--payments polar

Addons

Select additional features (grouped by category).Available addons depend on:

Frontend choice (PWA requires web, Tauri incompatible with native)

Skip with:

--addons pwa biome husky

Examples

Select example implementations.Automatically set to none when:

Backend is none

Todo example requires:

Database (or Convex backend)
API layer (or Convex backend)

AI example not available when:

Frontend is Solid or Astro
Frontend is Nuxt or Svelte with Convex backend

Skip with:

--examples todo ai

Database Setup

Choose hosting/setup provider.Automatically skipped when:

Database is none
Backend is convex or none

Options depend on database and runtime:

SQLite: Turso, D1 (Workers only)
PostgreSQL: Neon, Supabase, Prisma Postgres, PlanetScale
MySQL: PlanetScale
MongoDB: MongoDB Atlas
All except SQLite: Docker (not with Workers)

Skip with:

--db-setup neon

Web Deployment

Configure web deployment.Automatically skipped when:

No web frontend

Skip with:

--web-deploy cloudflare

Server Deployment

Configure server deployment.Automatically skipped when:

Backend is none or convex

Skip with:

--server-deploy cloudflare

Git Initialization

Initialize Git repository?Skip with:

--git      # Yes
--no-git   # No

Package Manager

Choose your package manager.Default: Detected from your environment (checks for lockfiles)Skip with:

--package-manager bun

Install Dependencies

Install dependencies after creation?Skip with:

--install      # Yes
--no-install   # No

Tips & Tricks

Skip All Prompts

Use --yes to accept all defaults:

create-better-t-stack my-app --yes

Defaults:

Frontend: tanstack-router
Backend: hono
Runtime: bun
Database: sqlite
ORM: drizzle
API: trpc
Auth: none
Payments: none
Addons: none
Examples: none
Git: true
Install: true
Package Manager: Auto-detected

Mix Flags and Prompts

You can specify some options via flags and answer prompts for others:

# Pre-configure database, still prompted for frontend/backend
create-better-t-stack --database postgres --orm drizzle

Navigate Backwards

Press Left arrow to go back to the previous prompt and change your answer.

Not all prompts support going back. Text input prompts cannot go back - use Ctrl+C to cancel and restart.

Cancel Safely

Press Ctrl+C at any time to cancel the operation. No files will be created.

Validation Errors

If you enter invalid input (e.g., incompatible options), the CLI will show an error message and ask you to correct it.For example:

✖  tRPC API is not supported with 'nuxt' frontend.
   Please use --api orpc or --api none

Use --yolo to bypass validation (not recommended).

Common Prompt Scenarios

Full-Stack Web App

Project name: my-app
Project type: [✓] Web
Web framework: TanStack Router
Backend: Hono
Runtime: Bun
Database: PostgreSQL
ORM: Drizzle
API: tRPC
Auth: Better-Auth
Payments: None
Addons: [✓] Biome
Examples: [✓] Todo
Database setup: Neon
Web deploy: Cloudflare
Server deploy: Cloudflare
Git: Yes
Package manager: bun
Install: Yes

Equivalent command:

create-better-t-stack my-app \
  --frontend tanstack-router \
  --backend hono \
  --runtime bun \
  --database postgres \
  --orm drizzle \
  --api trpc \
  --auth better-auth \
  --addons biome \
  --examples todo \
  --db-setup neon \
  --web-deploy cloudflare \
  --server-deploy cloudflare \
  --git \
  --package-manager bun \
  --install

Backend-Only API

Project name: api-server
Project type: (skipped - no frontend selected)
Backend: Hono
Runtime: Bun
Database: PostgreSQL
ORM: Drizzle
API: (skipped - automatically none)
Auth: None
Examples: (skipped - automatically none)
Database setup: Docker
Server deploy: None
Git: Yes
Package manager: bun
Install: Yes

Equivalent command:

create-better-t-stack api-server \
  --frontend none \
  --backend hono \
  --runtime bun \
  --database postgres \
  --orm drizzle \
  --db-setup docker

Convex Full-Stack

Project name: convex-app
Project type: [✓] Web
Web framework: Next.js
Backend: Convex
Runtime: (skipped - automatically none)
Database: (skipped - automatically none)
ORM: (skipped - automatically none)
API: (skipped - automatically none)
Auth: Clerk
Payments: None
Addons: [✓] PWA
Examples: [✓] AI
Database setup: (skipped)
Web deploy: None
Server deploy: (skipped)
Git: Yes
Package manager: bun
Install: Yes

Equivalent command:

create-better-t-stack convex-app \
  --frontend next \
  --backend convex \
  --auth clerk \
  --addons pwa \
  --examples ai

For a complete list of all available options, see the Options Reference.

Getting Started

CLI Reference

Configuration

Guides

Stack Options

Overview

Navigation Basics

Core Keys

Prompt Types

Prompt Flow

Tips & Tricks

Common Prompt Scenarios

Full-Stack Web App

Backend-Only API

Convex Full-Stack

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

CLI Reference

Configuration

Guides

Stack Options

Documentation Index

​Overview

​Navigation Basics

​Core Keys

​Prompt Types

​Prompt Flow

​Tips & Tricks

​Common Prompt Scenarios

​Full-Stack Web App

​Backend-Only API

​Convex Full-Stack

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Navigation Basics

Core Keys

Prompt Types

Prompt Flow

Tips & Tricks

Common Prompt Scenarios

Full-Stack Web App

Backend-Only API

Convex Full-Stack