| name | cks-stack |
| description | CKS production stack — 26-layer reference: design tools, build, infrastructure, security, observability, AI/LLM, payments. |
| allowed-tools | Read |
CKS Stack — Recommended Production Stack
The CKS recommended tech stack for production web applications. 26 layers covering every
production concern a vibecoder needs to own.
Overview
What vibe coders think "full-stack" means: Frontend + Backend.
What production actually requires: every layer below, owned by you.
Cost principle: Free tiers are for validation only. The moment you have real users, assume
you're paying. Design to minimize what scales with usage: egress, function invocations, LLM
tokens, storage reads.
Layer Groups
| Group | Layers | Focus |
|---|
| A — Build & Design | 1–5 | Design, Frontend, APIs, Database, Auth |
| B — Infrastructure | 6–9 | Hosting, CI/CD, Cloud, API Testing |
| C — Security | 10–13 | RLS, Rate Limiting, Caching, Scaling |
| D — Observability | 14–16 | Error Tracking, AI Tracing, E2E Testing |
| E — AI & LLM | 17–20 | LLM Gateway, Providers, Fast Inference, Voice |
| F — Payments | 21 | Stripe |
| G — Communication | 22–23 | Email, Internal Comms |
| H — Automation | 24 | n8n |
| I — Sales | 25 | Apollo.io |
| J — Dev Tools | 26 | Claude Code |
Full Reference
Read references/stack-layers.md for tool choices, cost notes, and consolidation decisions per layer.
When to Use
- Kickstart Phase 1c: Present CKS defaults as recommended options in stack selection
- Shipping checklist Gate 7: Check which layers are covered for the project maturity stage
- Cost estimation: Reference cost notes per layer before adding a paid service
- Architecture review: Confirm each production concern has a designated tool
Maturity Stage Coverage
| Maturity | Required Groups |
|---|
| Prototype | A + B (build and deploy working) |
| Pilot | A + B + C security basics + D error tracking (Sentry) |
| Candidate | A + B + C + D + E (if AI) + F (if payments) + G email |
| Production | All relevant groups — no uncovered critical layers |
Common Rationalizations
| Rationalization | Reality |
|---|
| "We'll add monitoring later" | You will not notice outages until users report them. Set up Sentry before first real user. |
| "Rate limiting can wait" | One abuse incident costs more than a year of Upstash. Wire it at Pilot. |
| "We don't need email yet" | Magic links, receipts, and password resets are day-one features. Resend takes 10 minutes. |
| "I'll figure out the LLM costs later" | Token costs are the #1 bill-spike risk. Model them before writing LLM code. |
