After building 100+ applications over 27 years, I've refined my development stack to a sharp edge: maximum velocity without sacrificing quality. This isn't about chasing trends—it's about using tools that let me ship production-ready MVPs in weeks instead of months.

Here's the exact stack I use for rapid prototyping in 2025, and why each tool earned its place.

The Foundation: TypeScript Everywhere

Why: Type safety eliminates an entire class of bugs before they reach production. AI tools work better with TypeScript. Refactoring is fearless.

The Reality: 27 years ago, I wrote Perl and PHP without types. Today, I won't touch a project without TypeScript. The upfront investment in types pays dividends every single day.

// This catches bugs at compile time, not production
interface User {
  id: string;
  email: string;
  role: 'admin' | 'user' | 'guest';
}
 
// TypeScript prevents this mistake:
const user: User = {
  id: '123',
  email: 'test@example.com',
  role: 'administrator' // ❌ Error: Type '"administrator"' is not assignable
}

Frontend: Next.js 15 (App Router)

Why I chose it:

• Server Components reduce client-side JavaScript
• Built-in API routes for rapid prototyping
• Exceptional developer experience
• SEO and performance out of the box
• Vercel deployment in minutes

Real-world example: The Catalyst PSA platform (320K+ LOC) uses Next.js App Router. Features like server-side data fetching and streaming make complex dashboards snappy.

// app/dashboard/page.tsx
// Server Component - data fetching happens on the server
export default async function DashboardPage() {
  // No loading states, no useEffect, just data
  const projects = await db.query.projects.findMany({
    where: eq(projects.status, 'active'),
    with: { tasks: true, members: true }
  });
 
  return <ProjectDashboard projects={projects} />;
}

UI: Tailwind CSS + Shadcn/ui

Why:

• Utility-first CSS = faster styling
• No context switching between files
• AI tools understand Tailwind perfectly
• Shadcn/ui provides beautiful, accessible components
• Copy-paste, customize, own the code

Speed factor: Building a complex form with validation used to take hours. Now? 15 minutes.

<form className="space-y-4">
  <div>
    <Label htmlFor="email">Email</Label>
    <Input
      id="email"
      type="email"
      placeholder="you@example.com"
      className="w-full"
    />
  </div>
  <Button className="w-full">Submit</Button>
</form>

Backend: NestJS

Why it's my go-to:

• Enterprise architecture patterns out of the box
• Dependency injection makes testing trivial
• Decorator-based routing is clean and intuitive
• Scales from MVP to enterprise
• TypeScript native

The pattern that saves me weeks:

// users/users.module.ts
@Module({
  imports: [TypeOrmModule.forFeature([User])],
  controllers: [UsersController],
  providers: [UsersService, UsersRepository],
  exports: [UsersService], // Clean dependency management
})
export class UsersModule {}
 
// users/users.controller.ts
@Controller('users')
@UseGuards(JwtAuthGuard)
export class UsersController {
  constructor(private readonly usersService: UsersService) {}
 
  @Get()
  @ApiOperation({ summary: 'Get all users' })
  async findAll(@Query() query: PaginationDto) {
    return this.usersService.findAll(query);
  }
 
  @Post()
  @ApiOperation({ summary: 'Create user' })
  async create(@Body() createUserDto: CreateUserDto) {
    return this.usersService.create(createUserDto);
  }
}

This structure is so consistent that AI tools can generate entire modules following the pattern. I just review and refine the business logic.

Database: PostgreSQL + Drizzle ORM

Why I switched from Prisma:

• Drizzle is lighter and faster
• SQL-like syntax (easier for AI to generate correctly)
• Better TypeScript inference
• Edge-compatible

Schema definition:

// schema/users.ts
export const users = pgTable('users', {
  id: uuid('id').defaultRandom().primaryKey(),
  email: varchar('email', { length: 255 }).notNull().unique(),
  name: varchar('name', { length: 255 }).notNull(),
  role: varchar('role', { length: 50 }).notNull(),
  createdAt: timestamp('created_at').defaultNow().notNull(),
});
 
// Type inference - automatically generated!
export type User = typeof users.$inferSelect;
export type NewUser = typeof users.$inferInsert;

Migration generation: drizzle-kit generate creates SQL migrations automatically. No guesswork.

State Management: Zustand + React Query

Why this combo wins:

Zustand for global UI state:

// stores/auth-store.ts
export const useAuthStore = create<AuthState>((set) => ({
  user: null,
  isAuthenticated: false,
  login: (user) => set({ user, isAuthenticated: true }),
  logout: () => set({ user: null, isAuthenticated: false }),
}));

React Query for server state:

// hooks/use-projects.ts
export function useProjects() {
  return useQuery({
    queryKey: ['projects'],
    queryFn: async () => {
      const res = await fetch('/api/projects');
      return res.json();
    },
    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // 5 minutes
  });
}

Speed factor: No Redux boilerplate. No action creators. No reducers. Just clean, fast state management.

Mobile: React Native + Expo

For cross-platform MVPs:

• Write once, deploy to iOS and Android
• Expo Go for instant testing
• OTA updates without app store approval
• Share code with Next.js web app

Real project: WellOS mobile app shares 70% of its business logic with the web app via shared packages.

// apps/mobile/app/(tabs)/index.tsx
export default function HomeScreen() {
  const { data: wells } = useWells(); // Same hook as web!
 
  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <WellList wells={wells} /> {/* Shared component logic */}
    </View>
  );
}

AI Development Tools

1. Claude Code

Use case: Architecture, large refactors, codebase analysis

Real example: "Migrate all authentication logic from session-based to JWT while maintaining backward compatibility."

Claude Code analyzes the codebase, generates a migration plan, and executes it across 50+ files.

2. Cursor

Use case: Rapid feature development, inline code generation

Real example: Typing a comment like // Create invoice PDF generation service with templates generates a complete service with error handling, validation, and types.

3. GitHub Copilot

Use case: Autocomplete, test generation, repetitive patterns

Real example: Writing one test case, Copilot suggests 10 more covering edge cases.

DevOps & Deployment

Vercel (Frontend)

• Push to main → instant deployment
• Preview deployments for every PR
• Edge functions for global performance
• Zero configuration

Railway (Backend & Database)

• NestJS API deploys in minutes
• PostgreSQL with automatic backups
• Environment variables management
• $5/month to start

Alternative: AWS (Enterprise)

For larger projects:

• ECS for containerized apps
• RDS for databases
• CloudFront + S3 for static assets
• Route 53 for DNS

Monitoring & Analytics

• Sentry: Error tracking and performance monitoring
• LogRocket: Session replay for debugging user issues
• Vercel Analytics: Web vitals and performance metrics
• Axiom: Structured logging

The Monorepo Structure

Tool: Turborepo

my-app/
├── apps/
│   ├── web/          # Next.js app
│   ├── api/          # NestJS backend
│   └── mobile/       # React Native app
├── packages/
│   ├── ui/           # Shared components
│   ├── db/           # Database schemas & migrations
│   ├── types/        # Shared TypeScript types
│   └── config/       # ESLint, TypeScript configs
└── turbo.json        # Build orchestration

Benefits:

• Share code across apps
• Single command builds everything
• Consistent tooling and configs
• AI tools understand the structure

Testing Stack

Unit & Integration: Vitest

• Faster than Jest
• Better TypeScript support
• Compatible with modern tools

E2E: Playwright

• Cross-browser testing
• Visual regression testing
• Generated with AI assistance

// tests/auth.spec.ts
test('user can login', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/login');
  await page.fill('[name=email]', 'test@example.com');
  await page.fill('[name=password]', 'password123');
  await page.click('button[type=submit]');
 
  await expect(page).toHaveURL('/dashboard');
});

Documentation

• Storybook: Component documentation
• OpenAPI/Swagger: Auto-generated API docs from NestJS
• Notion: Project specs and architecture decisions

Version Control & CI/CD

• GitHub: Version control
• GitHub Actions: CI/CD pipelines
• Conventional Commits: Automated changelog generation

# .github/workflows/main.yml
name: CI
on: [push, pull_request]
 
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v3
      - run: npm install
      - run: npm run lint
      - run: npm run test
      - run: npm run build

The Complete Stack Summary

ROI: What This Stack Delivers

Traditional stack (2018):

• 3 months to MVP
• Complex configuration
• Slow feedback loops
• Manual deployment processes

My 2025 stack:

• ✅ 6-8 weeks to MVP
• ✅ Zero-config defaults
• ✅ Instant preview deployments
• ✅ AI-accelerated development
• ✅ End-to-end type safety
• ✅ Enterprise-grade from day one

Not Just Tools—Patterns

Here's the secret: The tools matter less than the patterns.

I've established patterns for:

• Authentication & authorization
• Error handling
• Validation
• Database access
• API design
• Testing strategies

Once these patterns are established, AI tools can replicate them across the entire codebase. That's where the speed comes from.

For Startups: The Bottom Line

Using this stack, I can deliver:

• Week 1: Project setup, authentication, basic CRUD
• Week 2-3: Core features, database design
• Week 4-5: Advanced features, integrations
• Week 6: Testing, polish, deployment
• Week 7-8: Iteration based on feedback

This is production-ready code, not a prototype that needs to be rewritten.

Want to Move This Fast?

This stack isn't theoretical—it's what I use daily to ship real applications for real clients. The combination of 27 years of architectural experience and cutting-edge AI tooling is a force multiplier.

If you're a startup looking to validate your idea quickly or an established company needing to move faster, let's talk about your project.

Complete Tool List:

Development:

• TypeScript
• Next.js 15
• NestJS
• React Native + Expo
• Drizzle ORM + PostgreSQL

AI Tools:

• Claude Code
• Cursor
• GitHub Copilot

Deployment:

• Vercel
• Railway
• AWS (enterprise)

Monitoring:

• Sentry
• LogRocket
• Vercel Analytics

Testing:

• Vitest
• Playwright
• Storybook