How I Built a Complete SaaS in 3 Days Using My Own Boilerplate

#nextjs #saas #typescript #showdev

Every time I start a new SaaS project, I waste 2-3 weeks rebuilding the same infrastructure:

Authentication (GitHub, Google, email/password)
Payment processing (subscriptions, webhooks, billing portal)
Dashboard (sidebar navigation, stat cards, settings)
Database schema (users, plans, billing)
Deployment configuration

So I built ShipKit — a production-ready SaaS starter kit that lets you skip straight to building your product.

What's Inside

ShipKit is a complete Next.js 14 codebase with everything a SaaS needs:

Authentication (3 providers, zero config)

// GitHub, Google, and Email/Password — all wired up
// Just add your API keys to .env.local
GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=your_id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_id

NextAuth.js handles the heavy lifting. JWT sessions, provider callbacks, account linking — it's all there.

Payments (LemonSqueezy integration)

Subscription checkout with one API call
Webhook handler for subscription lifecycle events
Billing portal for customers to manage their plans
Supports PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay

Dashboard

A beautiful dark-theme dashboard with:

Sidebar navigation
Stat cards
Settings page
Billing management
Responsive design

Database (Supabase)

Postgres with instant APIs
Migration files ready to run
User management schema
Plan and billing data structures

The Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Framework	Next.js 14 (App Router)
Language	TypeScript
Styling	Tailwind CSS
Auth	NextAuth.js
Database	Supabase (Postgres)
Payments	LemonSqueezy
Deployment	Vercel

5-Minute Setup

# 1. Download and extract
unzip shipkit.zip -d my-saas

# 2. Install dependencies
cd my-saas && npm install

# 3. Configure environment
cp .env.example .env.local
# Edit .env.local with your API keys

# 4. Run database migration
# Paste SQL from supabase/migrations/001_init.sql into Supabase SQL Editor

# 5. Start building
npm run dev

Your SaaS is running at http://localhost:3000 with auth, payments, and dashboard fully functional.

Live Demo

Want to see ShipKit in action? Check out FormCatch — a form backend SaaS built entirely with ShipKit.

Why Not Use Other Alternatives?

I've tried ShipFast, SupaStarter, and others. They're great, but:

ShipKit uses LemonSqueezy instead of Stripe — global coverage, PayPal support, handles sales tax automatically
3 auth providers out of the box — most alternatives only include OAuth
Supabase instead of raw Postgres — instant APIs, real-time, and a generous free tier
No external dependencies for password hashing — uses Node.js built-in crypto (pbkdf2)