Next Base

A minimal Next.js starter containing the setup I want in every project.

Built on create-next-app, it adds only the shared baseline I repeatedly reach for: pnpm, TypeScript, Tailwind, Biome, Husky, sensible Git/editor defaults, and a small set of useful metadata files.

Project-specific choices are intentionally left out.

Quick start

Recommended prerequisite:

pnpm self-update

Create a new project from this starter:

pnpm create next-app --example "https://github.com/HDv2b/next-base" your-project-name

Then review the project-specific TODOs listed below.

What it includes

The aim is to keep this starter small: only setup that is common to essentially all of my Next.js projects belongs here.

It is based on:

pnpm dlx create-next-app@latest . \
  --ts \
  --use-pnpm \
  --tailwind \
  --src-dir \
  --app \
  --biome \
  --yes

On top of the default Next.js scaffold, it adds the common baseline:

• .editorconfig and .gitattributes defaults
• LF line endings for text and shell files
• .idea/ in .gitignore for JetBrains IDEs
• main as the default branch
• a Conventional Commit-compatible initial commit
• Husky hooks for local quality checks
• getBaseUrl() for environment-aware canonical URLs
• robots.txt, sitemap.xml, llms.txt, humans.txt, and security.txt
• placeholders for project-specific metadata that should not be guessed up front

Git hooks

This setup is aimed at solo projects, so the goal is to keep local development disciplined without adding process for its own sake.

Pre-commit

• Format and lint staged files
• Validate commit messages against Conventional Commits

Pre-push

• Run tests
• When pushing from main, run a production build before Vercel gets the chance to deploy it

The emphasis is on:

• keeping changes clean and consistent
• catching broken code before it reaches main
• keeping hooks lightweight enough that they do not get in the way

It deliberately does not enforce pull requests or second-person review.

Search and crawler metadata

The starter includes some common search, crawler, and discoverability files so they do not need to be remembered later.

src/lib/url.ts exposes a small getBaseUrl() helper used by robots.ts and sitemap.ts so generated URLs work across local development and deployed environments.

Included files:

• src/app/robots.ts
• src/app/sitemap.ts
• public/llms.txt
• public/humans.txt
• public/.well-known/security.txt
• public/ads.txt

The root layout also links to humans.txt and llms.txt.

Project-specific TODOs

Some values cannot sensibly be known when the starter itself is created.

After generating a project, review the TODOs in:

• public/ads.txt
• public/humans.txt
• public/llms.txt
• public/.well-known/security.txt

Replace this README

Once you have acknowledged the project-specific TODOs above, replace this starter README with the included project README template:

rm README.md
mv README.example.md README.md

Then customise the new README so it documents the actual project rather than Next Base.

Notes

This is deliberately a baseline rather than a kitchen-sink starter. Authentication, databases, component libraries, state management, testing strategy, analytics, and other project-specific decisions should be added only when a project actually needs them.

This starter is primarily designed around:

• pnpm
• JetBrains IDEs
• solo development
• Vercel deployment

It does not include extra VS Code-specific setup.

If you use the repository only as a reference rather than through create-next-app --example, you may need to repeat some of the repository-normalisation steps manually.