Create T3 App is a boilerplate that scaffolds a full-stack TypeScript application using the T3 Stack — Next.js, NextAuth.js, Prisma, Tailwind CSS, and tRPC — so you can start building rather than wiring up tooling.
What is Create T3 App?
Create T3 App is a command-line tool and project template that produces a preconfigured Next.js application with authentication, database, styling, and type-safe APIs already wired together. You run the create-t3-app command, choose the T3 packages you want to include (they are all enabled in the default setup), and the output is a working project folder with all integration code in place. It runs on Node.js and is maintained by the T3 Stack community, with the source on the t3-oss GitHub organization.
Key Features
- Next.js — Uses the React framework for server-side rendering, static site generation, and API routes as the core of the scaffolded app.
- NextAuth.js — Adds authentication out of the box, including credential and provider-based login flows configured through the auth setup.
- Prisma — Includes the ORM for database access, with schema and client generation ready to connect to PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and other databases.
- Tailwind CSS — Preconfigured for utility-first styling, with the default PostCSS setup that compiles your styles on build.
- tRPC — Provides end-to-end type-safe API procedures that link your frontend and backend without a separate API layer.
- TypeScript — Everything in the scaffold is written in TypeScript, giving static type checking across the whole stack.
- Minimal by design — The template intentionally includes only these core packages so you can add extra tooling when you actually need it, rather than carrying unused dependencies.
Who is it for?
- Full-stack developers — Get a project where database, auth, API, and UI are already connected, so you can focus on the business logic rather than configuration.
- Startup teams prototyping MVPs — Spin up a type-safe web app quickly, then deploy to Vercel, Netlify, or Docker using the official guides.
- Developers learning the T3 Stack — Use the scaffold as a reference implementation that shows how Next.js, NextAuth.js, Prisma, Tailwind, and tRPC integrate together.
What can you do with it?
- Build a SaaS product — Start with authenticated users, a database schema, and type-safe API procedures to handle plan subscriptions and user data.
- Create a data-driven web app — Use Prisma to model your domain and tRPC to expose queries and mutations to a React frontend with full type safety.
- Deploy to a host of your choice — Follow the provided deployment guides for Vercel, Netlify, and Docker to take the scaffolded app into production.
- Extend the stack — Add your own packages, libraries, and folder structure on top of the minimal base without fighting the existing configuration.
How does it work?
You run npx create-t3-app in a terminal and choose a name and the packages to install. The CLI generates a project folder with everything configured, then you run the dev server and start editing the generated code. The README points to the official documentation and Discord for guidance, and to the GitHub repository for contributing.
Pros and cons
- Pros: The scaffold is genuinely minimal — you get only the five core packages, which keeps the project easy to understand and extend. The stack is fully typed, so mistakes are caught at compile time.
- Cons: Because the template is intentionally sparse, you must handle additional tooling (state management, testing, or deployment config) yourself. The default setup also assumes you want the T3 Stack's specific choices, so you may need to undo them if your project needs a different styling or ORM.
Pricing
Create T3 App is open source and free to use. The code is published on GitHub under the t3-oss organization.
Alternatives
- Blitz.js — a full-stack React framework built on Next.js
- RedwoodJS — a full-stack framework with a different architecture for databases and deployments
FAQ
Is Create T3 App free?
Yes. The tool and the generated scaffold are open source under the t3-oss GitHub organization, so you can use them for commercial or personal projects without licensing fees.
What does Create T3 App include?
The default scaffold includes Next.js, NextAuth.js, Prisma, Tailwind CSS, and tRPC. These packages come preconfigured to work together, with an example page and API procedure demonstrating the setup.
How do I deploy a Create T3 App project?
The official documentation provides deployment guides for Vercel, Netlify, and Docker. The scaffold includes deployment configuration compatible with these platforms, and the guides walk you through the remaining steps.
Do I need to know TypeScript?
Yes, the entire scaffold is written in TypeScript. The template assumes you are comfortable with typed React, typed API procedures, and Prisma's schema syntax, though you can learn by reading the generated code.
Can I add more packages to the T3 Stack?
You can add any npm package to the project after scaffolding. The template is intentionally minimal, so it does not restrict you to only the five core packages — but the initial setup only wires those five together.
