Claude Code integration
Scaffold, deploy, and build with AI
Coldstart is designed to work with Claude Code at every stage — scaffolding, infrastructure setup, and development.
The /coldstart skill
Install the skill once:
pnpm dlx skills add yabbal/cold-startThen in Claude Code, type /coldstart or just describe what you want:
> /coldstart
> A fitness tracking app with web and mobile,
freemium billing via Stripe, Google OAuthClaude Code cannot run coldstart init (it requires an interactive terminal). Instead, it gathers your options conversationally, writes a .coldstart.json, and runs coldstart replay.
What Claude Code does
Gathers your config
Asks about platforms, billing, domain, OAuth — same options as the interactive CLI, but as a conversation.
Scaffolds the project
Writes the config to a temp file and runs coldstart replay /tmp/config.json. You get the same deterministic output as coldstart init.
Post-scaffold setup
Runs pnpm install, bash scripts/install-skills.sh, and bash scripts/setup-mcps.sh automatically.
Offers infrastructure setup
With the MCP servers now configured, Claude Code can set up your entire stack conversationally:
> Set up my database with Neon
> Configure Stripe billing
> Deploy to Vercel
> Set up Resend for emailsMCP servers
Every generated project includes .claude/settings.json with MCP servers configured based on your stack:
| MCP server | When configured | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Neon | If API | Create databases, run SQL, manage branches |
| Vercel | If web | Manage deployments, domains, logs |
| Polar | If billing + Polar | Create products, plans, webhooks |
| RevenueCat | If billing + mobile | Configure products, entitlements |
| Resend | If API | Send emails, manage domains |
| Expo | If mobile | EAS builds, submissions, OTA updates |
MCP servers require authentication. Most use OAuth (Vercel, Polar, Expo) — Claude Code prompts you on first use. Others need API keys (Neon, Resend, RevenueCat) — set them via bash scripts/setup-mcps.sh.
Adding features after scaffold
Claude Code can add modules to an existing project:
> Add mobile to my project
> Add billing with Stripe, subscription model
> Add multi-tenant support
> Enable i18n with English, French, and SpanishUnder the hood, it runs coldstart add <module> with the right flags. The .coldstart.json, CLAUDE.md, skills, and MCP config are regenerated automatically.
What CLAUDE.md contains
Every generated project includes a CLAUDE.md that gives Claude Code full context:
- Monorepo structure — which apps and packages exist
- Tech stack — Next.js version, Tailwind config, Hono setup, Drizzle config
- Domain guidelines — 15–20 industry-specific rules (e.g. "money as integers in cents" for finance, "HIPAA awareness" for health)
- Billing model — how the billing flow works, which middleware to use
- Conventions — Biome config, commit format, naming, testing
- Commands — dev, build, test, lint, db commands
- How-to guides — add a page, add a route, add a table, add a package
- Anti-patterns — no
any, novar, no default exports, no secrets in code
The domain guidelines are very specific. A finance project gets PCI compliance rules, audit trail patterns, and integer money handling. A social project gets cursor pagination, real-time update patterns, and content moderation guidelines.
Installed skills
The skills installer (scripts/install-skills.sh) adds context-aware skills based on your stack:
- Turborepo best practices
- Vitest testing patterns
- Context engineering
- Spec kit (test planning)
- PostHog analytics
- React + Vercel best practices
- Tailwind v4 + shadcn/ui
- Design system (Impeccable)
- Privacy policy generator
- SEO audit, copywriting, CRO (if landing page)
- Pricing strategy (if billing)
- next-intl language addition (if i18n)
- Expo deployment
- React Native best practices
- Reanimated + Skia performance
- RevenueCat (if billing)
- Push notification best practices
- App Store analytics
- ASC CLI usage
- Better Auth (3 skills: best practices, email/password, setup)
- React Email + Resend
- Hono framework
- Drizzle ORM
- Neon PostgreSQL
- API rate limiting
- Polar + Better Auth (if Polar billing)