BTST is more complete than a UI kit, more incremental than a starter application, and more ownable than a hosted feature service.

Start with one plugin and add more only when they are useful. BTST does not replace your application foundation or require a hosted control plane.

_{BTST composes client and backend plugins inside the application; the app shell, ejected views, database, deployment, and external services remain yours.}

This local evaluation uses the public stable releases with Node.js 22, an existing Next.js 15+ App Router application, and Radix-based shadcn/ui with CSS variables. If shadcn/ui is not configured yet, initialize that verified base and add the components Blog needs:

pnpm dlx [email protected] init --base radix --preset nova --css-variables
pnpm dlx [email protected] add button dropdown-menu sonner --yes

Render the generated <Toaster /> in your root layout and start from a clean commit you can review. The complete prerequisite checklist covers the remaining application requirements.

Run the released generator from the application root:

pnpm dlx @btst/[email protected] init \
  --framework nextjs \
  --adapter memory \
  --plugins blog

The generator shows detected-file and conflict prompts before it writes. It installs @btst/[email protected], @btst/[email protected], [email protected], registers Blog on the backend and client, mounts the API and page routes, adds the plugin CSS, and wires the shared provider.

Set the trusted local origins in .env.local:

BTST_SITE_URL=http://localhost:3000
BTST_API_URL=http://localhost:3000

Then start the app and open the generated route:

pnpm dev
# http://localhost:3000/pages/blog

/pages/blog is the success condition. A fresh local route can be empty until you create content. The memory adapter resets with the process and is for evaluation and tests, not production persistence; Blog image uploads also remain an explicit application override. Continue with the production and manual setup reference before deploying.

_{The same generated Blog route after deterministic sample content is added.}

Core v6 separates the plugin packages from the shared runtime: the backend plugin supplies Blog's server behavior and data model; the client plugin supplies its routes and UI. The generator provides the surrounding adapter, API/site runtime, QueryClient, catch-all routes, and provider wiring.

import { createBackendStack } from "@btst/stack"
import { createMemoryAdapter } from "@btst/adapter-memory"
import { blogBackendPlugin } from "@btst/plugin-blog/api"
import { serverAuth } from "./authorization.server"

createBackendStack({
  basePath: "/api/data",
  auth: serverAuth,
  adapter: (db) => createMemoryAdapter(db)({}),
  plugins: { blog: blogBackendPlugin() },
})

serverAuth is an application-owned identity and permission mapping, defined here in authorization.server.ts. Configure it for your authentication provider before exposing protected operations; follow the authorization guide.

import { createClientStack } from "@btst/stack/client"
import { blogClientPlugin } from "@btst/plugin-blog/client"
import type { QueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query"

function createAppClientStack(queryClient: QueryClient, origin: string) {
  return createClientStack({
    api: { baseURL: origin, basePath: "/api/data" },
    site: { baseURL: origin, basePath: "/pages" },
    queryClient,
    plugins: { blog: blogClientPlugin() },
  })
}

Blog adds publishing routes, API operations, its data model, hooks, SSR-aware pages, editor UI, published-page metadata, and sitemap entries. Other plugins have different boundaries: one-sided and companion plugins are labeled instead of being forced into a full-stack claim.

Every capability below is installable from the released CLI. Follow its documentation for the actual payload, services, storage, auth, and adapter prerequisites.

Explore the released catalog or compare complete generated setups in the interactive playground.

These are real routes from the generated Next.js application, populated with synthetic local fixtures. The capture record identifies the source commits and the limits of each screen.

Feedback stores requests and votes and presents them on a public roadmap.

Helpdesk presents private tickets in an agent inbox. Ticket search requires an application-supplied search implementation.

Notifications receives real assignment events through the optional plugin bridges; this screen proves in-app delivery only.

Search combines registered sources while preserving their application-owned permission checks.

The maintained and tested Core v6 integration paths are:

React Router 8 requires Node.js 22.22+ and React/React DOM 19.2.7+. Other React integrations may be possible through custom adapters, but they are not part of that maintained matrix.

Versioned adapters are published for Prisma, Drizzle, Kysely, and MongoDB. Support is not blanket-equivalent: plugins that need isolated transactions have stricter persistent-adapter requirements, and the generated Form Builder and Media configurations reject MongoDB. The memory adapter is local and single-process only. Check compatibility and prerequisites and the adapter guide for current versions and limits.

BTST's packaged runtime keeps data fetching and behavior upgradeable. When a plugin offers a shadcn v4 registry block, it copies the view layer into your application. Edit that code freely, then pass pages back through the plugin's component overrides where available or render copied components directly; hooks and API behavior can remain package dependencies.

Read the ejection guide

• Installation and production setup: frameworks, providers, auth, origins, adapters, and migrations
• How BTST works: backend/client composition and ownership boundaries
• CLI reference: initialize, generate schemas, migrate, and seed
• Build a plugin: create a backend-only, client-only, or full-stack capability
• API reference: stack factories, runtime services, and framework adapters
• 6.2 upgrade guide: current package versions, new workflows, and database migrations
• Core v6 migration guide: move older integrations to independent plugin packages

After you understand the human installation path, you can give a coding agent the repository's BTST integration skill:

npx skills@latest add better-stack-ai/better-stack/.agents/skills/btst-integration

Bug reports, plugin contributions, and documentation improvements are welcome. Read CONTRIBUTING.md for the development workflow, tests, and submission checklist; public-facing copy follows the BTST message and claims contract.

BTST is released under the MIT License.

If BTST is useful to you, a star helps other React developers find it.