tech-stack

Tech Stack Decision

Guide technology choices based on product requirements and constraints.

When to Use

• PRD is complete and ready to start design
• Need to decide on frameworks, languages, infrastructure
• Want to document technical constraints for UI design

Process

Step 1: Check Prerequisites

Same-session handoff: If user just completed /pm-prd in this conversation, use that context directly and proceed to Step 2.

New session: Check for existing documents:

• docs/prd/prd.md - Required
• docs/prd/user-flow.md - Optional (helps understand flow complexity)

Missing PRD → Suggest using /pm-prd first

Step 2: Gather Constraints

Gather these four constraints:

1. Platform: Web, mobile, or both?
2. Preferences: Any existing tech stack or strong preferences?
3. Team: Solo developer or team?
4. Experience: Comfort level with different technologies?

How to gather: Check what's inferable from PRD and context, then ask about remaining unknowns in a single question. For solo indie projects, default to simpler stacks unless user indicates otherwise.

Step 3: Recommend Stack

Based on constraints, recommend stack with reasoning:

Present 2-3 options with:

• Recommended option first with reasoning
• Pros/cons for each
• Why it fits their constraints

Categories to cover:

• Frontend framework
• UI component library
• Backend/API approach
• Database
• Hosting/deployment
• Key libraries

Step 4: Output Document

Generate docs/tech/stack.md:

# Technology Stack

## Platform
- **Target:** [Web/Mobile/Both]
- **Primary:** [Main platform]

## Frontend
- **Framework:** [Choice]
- **UI Components:** [Choice - e.g., shadcn/ui, Ant Design, Material UI]
- **Reasoning:** [Why]
- **Key libraries:** [List]

## Backend
- **Approach:** [Choice - e.g., serverless, traditional, BaaS]
- **Reasoning:** [Why]
- **Key services:** [List]

## Database
- **Type:** [Choice]
- **Reasoning:** [Why]

## Infrastructure
- **Hosting:** [Choice]
- **CI/CD:** [Choice]

## Constraints for UI Design
- [Technical constraint that affects UI]
- [Another constraint]

## Not Using (and Why)
- [Technology]: [Reason for exclusion]

After generating, suggest: "Stack decided. Ready for /ui-spec to design pages or /tech-arch for system architecture."

Key Principles

• Opinionated recommendations: Lead with your recommendation
• Match skill level: Don't suggest complex stacks for solo beginners
• YAGNI: Simplest stack that meets requirements
• Document constraints: UI designers need to know technical limits

Handling Edge Cases

• User insists on unfamiliar stack: Note risks in the document, suggest learning resources, but respect user's choice.
• Conflicting requirements: Surface the trade-off explicitly (e.g., "React Native for speed vs native for performance"), let user decide.
• No clear platform target: Default to web-first for faster iteration, note mobile as Phase 2 option.