Skip the Boilerplate—AI Can Spin Up Your Ideal Stack in Seconds

For years, finding the perfect starter was a necessary part of kicking off a new project. You’d dig through GitHub looking for a Next.js setup that bundled Tailwind, TypeScript, and a reasonable ESLint config. Or maybe you were after a monorepo that combined a headless CMS, a blog, and an e-commerce store.

That workflow made sense when setting up a new stack was tedious. But in 2025? The whole concept of starters feels outdated. Some are literally outdated—abandoned, unmaintained, and barely compatible with modern dependencies.

AI Has Replaced the Starter

With AI-powered IDEs like Cursor and Windsurf, developers don’t need to rely on rigid starter templates anymore. Instead, you can describe your stack in plain language, and these tools will generate the entire project—dependencies, configurations, and even custom boilerplate code included.

For example, let’s say you need:

• A Next.js app
• A Ghost CMS for blogging
• A Shopify integration for e-commerce
• TypeScript and Tailwind CSS

In the past, you’d have to:

1. Hunt for a starter template that kind of fit your needs.
2. Manually adjust configurations, remove what you didn’t need, and hope for the best.
3. Deal with breaking changes every time dependencies updated.

Now? You can just type this into Cursor:

“Set up a Next.js project with Tailwind, TypeScript, a headless Ghost CMS for blogging, and Shopify for e-commerce.”

In seconds, it generates the entire project, installs dependencies, and even configures API connections.

But You Still Need to Know What You’re Doing

AI-powered development tools are a huge time-saver, but they don’t replace actual engineering knowledge. If you don’t understand how Next.js, Tailwind, or CMS integrations work, you’ll still run into problems when it’s time to debug, optimize, or scale.

That’s why AI-assisted coding should be seen as an accelerator, not a replacement. It removes the friction of project setup but still requires you to understand how the pieces fit together.

It also gives you more control. Instead of being stuck with someone else’s architectural decisions, you can dictate exactly how you want things configured—right down to ESLint rules, folder structure, and styling conventions.

The Future of Boilerplate is No Boilerplate

With AI-powered project generation, the need for starters is disappearing. Instead of searching for a repo that fits your needs, you can generate a customized stack in seconds—tailored to your preferences.

That doesn’t mean all starter templates are useless. There will always be cases where a well-maintained, opinionated starter makes sense. But for most developers? AI-assisted setup is the new default.

So what do you think? Have you tried AI-powered coding tools like Cursor or Windsurf? Do you still rely on starters? Let’s discuss.