Sunrise - build production apps faster

A production-ready Next.js 16 starter template designed for rapid application development with AI assistance.

Why Sunrise?

• Production-ready from day one — Auth, database, APIs, security headers, rate limiting all configured
• Just ask Claude — Documentation written as AI context; ask questions, get answers, start building
• Balanced — Comprehensive yet customizable; not too minimal, not too opinionated
• Fork-friendly — Take what you need, customize what you want
• API-first — Actions accessible via versioned API endpoints, ready for agents and integrations

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Framework	Next.js 16 (App Router) + TypeScript
Database	PostgreSQL + Prisma 7
Authentication	better-auth
Styling	Tailwind CSS 4 + shadcn/ui
Email	Resend + React Email
Validation	Zod throughout
Deployment	Docker-ready

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20.19+ (or 22.12+, 24+)
• PostgreSQL 15+ (local, Docker, or hosted)

Setup

# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/human-centric-engineering/sunrise.git
cd sunrise
npm install

# Configure environment
cp .env.example .env.local
# Edit .env.local with your DATABASE_URL and BETTER_AUTH_SECRET

# Set up database
npm run db:migrate

# Start development
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000 to see the app.

Using Docker

docker-compose up                                    # Start app + database
docker-compose exec web npx prisma migrate dev       # Run migrations (first time)

Test Accounts (after npm run db:seed)

• User: test@example.com / password123
• Admin: admin@example.com / password123

Essential Commands

npm run dev              # Start dev server
npm run validate         # Type-check + lint + format + tests
npm run db:studio        # Open Prisma Studio
npm test                 # Run tests

Full command reference: .context/commands.md

Optional Features

These work without configuration in development and can be enabled for production:

• Email — Console logging in dev; configure Resend for production. See .context/email/
• Analytics — Console provider in dev; configure PostHog/GA4/Plausible for production. See .context/analytics/
• File Storage — Local filesystem in dev; configure S3/R2/Vercel Blob for production. See .context/storage/

Documentation

• CUSTOMIZATION.md — Adapt Sunrise for your project
• .context/substrate.md — Full architecture and reference docs

Just Ask Claude

Sunrise includes comprehensive documentation in .context/ written specifically as AI context. Instead of reading through docs, just ask Claude:

• "How do I set up S3 for file uploads?"
• "What are the password validation rules?"
• "Add a new API endpoint for user preferences"
• "How does authentication work in this project?"

Clone the repo, start Claude Code, and start building. Claude already knows how Sunrise works.

Enhanced Capabilities

Install the Next.js DevTools MCP server for real-time diagnostics and browser automation:

claude mcp add next-devtools npx next-devtools-mcp@latest

See the Next.js DevTools MCP docs for details.

License

MIT

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Built with ☕ and ⚡ for developers who ship.