Tech Stack Recommendations

Current Stack Assessment

Your current choices are solid foundations. Here's what I'd keep, improve, and consider adding based on your "ship fast" and "product is king" values:

Recommended Stack

Frontend

• Current: React ✅
• Recommendation: Next.js with React
• Why: Next.js gives you SSR, file-based routing, and better performance out of the box. Ships faster, better SEO.
• Styling: Tailwind CSS for rapid UI development

Backend

• Current: Node.js / Bun ✅
• Recommendation: Bun + Hono
• Why: Bun is 3x faster than Node.js, Hono is lightweight and fast. Perfect for "ship fast" mentality.
• Alternative: If team prefers familiarity, Node.js + Express is fine

Database

• Current: Postgres / Supabase ✅
• Recommendation: Keep both
• Why: Supabase for rapid prototyping and auth, raw Postgres for production performance
• ORM: Drizzle (faster than Prisma, better DX than raw SQL)

Infrastructure

• Current: Contabo VPS
• Recommendation: Hybrid approach
• Frontend: Vercel (free tier, perfect for Next.js)
• Backend: Railway or Render (better DX than raw VPS)
• Database: Supabase (managed Postgres)
• Fallback: Contabo for cost-sensitive projects

Enhanced Productivity Stack

Development Tools

• Package Manager: Bun (faster than npm/yarn)
• Code Quality: Biome (faster than ESLint + Prettier)
• Testing: Vitest (faster than Jest)
• Type Safety: TypeScript (non-negotiable for shipping fast safely)

Monitoring & Observability

• Errors: Sentry (free tier)
• Analytics: Posthog (privacy-focused, self-hostable)
• Uptime: Better Stack (or UptimeRobot free tier)

CI/CD

• Pipeline: GitHub Actions (free for public repos)
• Deployment: Automated via Vercel/Railway webhooks

Why These Choices

Aligns with "Ship Fast"

• Next.js: File-based routing, built-in optimization
• Bun: Significantly faster builds and runtime
• Tailwind: Rapid UI development without context switching
• Drizzle: Better performance than heavy ORMs

Supports "Product is King"

• TypeScript: Fewer bugs in production
• Monitoring stack: Know when things break
• Performance-focused choices: Better user experience

Cost-Conscious

• Generous free tiers on Vercel, Railway, Supabase
• Contabo as fallback for heavy workloads
• Open source alternatives where possible

Migration Strategy

Don't change everything at once. Recommended order:

1. Start new projects with Next.js + TypeScript
2. Migrate existing React apps to Next.js gradually
3. Experiment with Bun on non-critical services
4. Add monitoring and proper CI/CD
5. Optimize infrastructure once you understand usage patterns

The Bottom Line

Your current stack is good. These recommendations are about removing friction and enabling your team to ship faster while maintaining quality. The goal is to spend less time on tooling and more time on product.

Remember: Tools should disappear into the background so you can focus on what matters - building great products.