Build in public together

A hub for builders & creators to ship, share & level up.

Buildsmiths is a lightweight community space for engineers, indie hackers, product people and ambitious tinkerers. Show your progress, learn from others, and stay accountable while building what matters.

Follow on XStarter Kit on GitHub
Early stageCommunity-firstSignal > Hype

Why Buildsmiths?

We focus on momentum, craft, and meaningful progress. Less noise—more building, more signal, more shared accountability.

daily

Daily progress sharing

Lightweight check-ins to keep you shipping. Celebrate small wins and unblock faster.

collab

Serendipity & collaboration

Discover people solving similar problems. Pair up, swap feedback, and accelerate.

kit

Resources & starter kit

Templates, prompts and tools to help you go from idea to shipped faster.

Next.js 15 · Postgres · Auth.js · Stripe (optional)

BuildSmiths StarterKit (v1)

Minimal SaaS starter that stays out of your way. Ship auth and data now; toggle billing when you’re ready.

App RouterPostgres (pg)Auth.jsVitestStripe (opt‑in)

Batteries included, opinions light.

Auth + DB + testing are wired. Billing is a switch. Keep what you like, replace what you don’t.

View on GitHubDocs

Quickstart (3–5 min)

  1. Clone repo & install deps
  2. Copy .env.example → .env.local
  3. Set NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL, DATABASE_URL, NEXTAUTH_SECRET
  4. Apply DB schema: npm run db:schema
  5. Run dev: npm run dev
git clone https://github.com/buildsmiths/buildsmiths-nextjs-postgres-stripe
cd buildsmiths-nextjs-postgres-stripe
npm i
cp .env.example .env.local
npm run db:schema && npm run dev
Billing stays disabled until real Stripe keys are added.

Features

  • • Auth.js Credentials with register + session helpers
  • • Postgres schema, migrations, and seed (pg)
  • • Billing opt‑in with webhook seam + idempotency
  • • JSON logs + simple audit events
  • • Vitest: unit, integration, contract tests

Roadmap

  • • Multi-tenant workspaces and roles
  • • Email (magic link option) + templates
  • • Background jobs + queue seam
  • • Stripe customer portal wiring

Contribute

Small PRs welcome. Keep changes focused and testable.

Star the repoOpen an issue
Have an idea? Propose an issue first to align on scope.
Mock feed

Live Build Log

Signal over hype—quick wins and asks from the community. Live feed coming soon.

2025-10-07
win
@BuildSmiths_
From cold starts to pricing tweaks, every iteration counts. Log your wins on Buildsmiths and connect with indie hackers facing the same grind. No hype, just steady progress and shared smarts.
2025-10-07
ask
@BuildSmiths_
Builders, what's one tool or template that's saved you hours lately? We're curating a starter kit with Next.js basics—auth, UI scaffolding, and deploy scripts. Reply with your must-haves and help shape it.
2025-10-07
check-in
@BuildSmiths_
Tinkering with a new app but hitting roadblocks? Drop a quick check-in: 'Drafted UI wireframes, need eyes on auth flow.' Get feedback without the endless scroll. Real collaboration, no fluff.
Stay in the loop

Newsletter

Short, signal‑dense updates on tools, recipes, and real build progress.

Get occasional updates. No spam, no fluff.

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Starter kit highlights

Toolbox

Templates and tools that save hours. Explore the repo or suggest a must‑have.

Auth scaffold

Opinionated Next.js auth wiring with protected routes and session helpers.

Stripe + Webhooks

Typed Stripe server utils with local webhook dev flow and test plan.

Postgres (pg)

Lean schema conventions, SQL migrations, and seed scripts using pg (node-postgres).

Deploy scripts

Vercel-friendly setup, environment checks, and observability hooks.

UI scaffolding

Accessible primitives and patterns ready to adapt to your product.

PR / Issue templates

Lightweight templates to speed reviews and keep momentum high.

Real people, real progress

Builder Spotlights

Short check-ins from folks shipping consistently.

GF
@graham
[win] Shipped onboarding skeleton. Next: auth flow polish.
SK
@sara
[ask] Hitting cold starts on edge functions. Share your fixes?
MT
@mark
[ship] Pricing experiment draft posted. Looking for 2 reviews.
Repeatable patterns

Build Recipes

Cut setup time with small, proven sequences you can copy/paste.

Stripe Checkout in Next.js

  1. Install SDKs and set env keys
  2. Server route: create session + return URL
  3. Client: call route, redirect to checkout

Auth-protected route + layout

  1. Add session util + middleware
  2. Gate server component + fetch user
  3. Render fallback or redirect on missing session

Webhook handler + retries

  1. Expose dev endpoint via stripe-cli
  2. Verify signature + parse events
  3. Upsert domain model and enqueue jobs

Postgres seed and migrations

  1. Write minimal schema + migrate
  2. Seed with users/products
  3. Add test helpers for factories
Signal > Hype

Operating Principles

How we build and give feedback.

  • • Micro updates over launch theater
  • • Ask for eyes, not likes
  • • Generous, specific feedback
  • • Share what broke and how you fixed it
  • • Prefer simple tools, ship sooner
  • • Celebrate boring progress
Changelog

Roadmap

What’s shipped and what’s next.

2025-10-07
ShippedLanding revamp with terminal theme + Starter Kit link
2025-10-14
NowAdd Toolbox, Spotlights, Recipes, Principles, Roadmap
Soon
Planned/starter page with docs and quickstart
Accountability, not vanity

Build in public (for real)

No glossy launch theater. Just consistent iteration, shared learnings, and organic support from people shipping alongside you.

  • [micro] updates keep you moving
  • [feedback] loops without the doomscroll
  • [eyes] ask for eyes, not likes
Join the early wave

sample progress log

Shipped onboarding skeleton
Fixed cold start lambda lag
Drafted pricing experiments
Pushed docs restructure
Screenshots: Social Banners & Cards

Header Banners (3:1)

Marketing Cards (4:5)