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STACK IT FIRST
Install the skills
Method skill · 01 Before you build

Stack It First

Picks the architecture an AI agent will build best in for a new web, mobile or backend project, by walking Stack It First's yes/no roadmap (tier, then profile) and writing the decision down.
v0.5.0 Updated

Choose the stack before the agent writes code, using a short yes/no roadmap instead of preference. The answer is one cell of a tier × profile matrix, and every cell has a recommended stack and an AGENTS.md rule skill.

When to use

  • A new project, or a rewrite, where the stack is not decided yet.
  • Someone asks which framework, database or hosting to use.
  • A project feels over- or under-built and you want to check its tier.

Do not use it to second-guess a stack the team has already committed to and shipped; use tier-upgrade for “is it time to move on?” instead.

Steps

  1. Pick the track. Web (sites and web apps), mobile (iOS and Android apps) or backend (APIs, data pipelines, internal services). If the product has several, run the roadmap once per track, starting with the one users touch first.

  2. Open the track’s reference in references/<track>.md. It holds the exact questions, why each one matters, and the result matrix.

  3. Stage 1, the tier. Ask the scale questions in order and follow the yes/no branches. Answer for the product as it is today, not as hoped for in a year. Ask the user when you cannot tell from the repository or the conversation; never guess a “yes” to a scale question.

  4. Stage 2, the profile. Ask the product questions the same way.

  5. Read the result. The matrix in the reference gives the stack, its agent-fit score, its page on stackitfirst.com and the command that installs its rule skill.

  6. Write the decision down as docs/decisions/0001-stack.md (or the project’s existing ADR folder):

    # 0001: Stack

- Track / tier / profile: web / MVP / SaaS
- Stack: Next.js + Drizzle + Supabase
- Answers: paying users? no. Organic search main channel? no. Sign in and pay? yes.
- Revisit when: (copy the next tier's signals from the reference)
- Source: https://stackitfirst.com/web/mvp/saas

  7. Install the rule skill for the chosen stack with the command from the reference (npx skills add k61b/skills --skill <rule>), and suggest agent-ready-repo to set up AGENTS.md and the verify command.

Rules

  • One stack per track. Do not mix two cells “to be safe”.
  • Prefer the recommended stack unless the team already knows an alternative well; the stack page lists alternatives and when each fits.
  • The tier is about how much has to keep working while an agent changes things, not about budget or ambition.
  • If the answers are uncertain, choose the lower tier. Moving up a tier is a planned change; moving down is a rewrite.

Output

A short summary to the user (track, tier, profile, stack, why in one sentence per answer), the decision file, and the install command for the rule skill.