Documentation

Quick Start

Get your SaaS up and running in under 5 minutes. This guide will walk you through the essential setup steps.

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 18+ installed
  • Git installed
  • A code editor (VS Code recommended)

Step 1: Download & Unpack

You received StartupKit as a .zip download (no GitHub access needed). Unzip it and move the extracted folder wherever you keep your projects:

unzip startupkit.zip cd startupkit

On macOS you can also double-click the zip. The folder name in the archive is startupkit.

Step 2: Install Dependencies

npm install

Step 3: Set Up Environment Variables

Copy the example environment file and fill in your credentials:

cp .env.example .env

At minimum, you need to configure:

  • DATABASE_URL - Your MongoDB connection string
  • NEXTAUTH_SECRET - Generate with: openssl rand -base64 32
  • NEXTAUTH_URL - Your app URL (http://localhost:3000 for development)

💡 Tip

You can start with just these three variables and add Stripe, Google OAuth, and Resend later.

Step 4: Set Up the Database

Generate Prisma client and push the schema to your database:

npx prisma generate npx prisma db push

Step 5: Run the Development Server

npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser!

Step 6: Create Your First Account

  1. Navigate to /register
  2. Create an account with email/password
  3. Check your terminal for the verification link (if Resend is not configured)
  4. Verify your email and log in

✅ Success!

You now have a fully functional SaaS application running locally. Explore the dashboard and check out the other documentation pages to learn more.

Next Steps