Forge - Minimal SaaS Boilerplate

A data-oriented, no-nonsense SaaS boilerplate following Casey Muratori's principles: solve the problem at hand, avoid premature abstraction, readable over "clean".

Stack

• Framework: Quart (async Flask) + Pico CSS
• Database: SQLite + WAL mode + Litestream replication
• Auth: Magic link (passwordless)
• Billing: Stripe (+ optional Paddle)
• Background jobs: SQLite-based queue (no Redis)
• Deployment: Docker + Caddy + Hetzner/any VPS

Usage

Generate a new project

# Install copier
pip install copier

# Generate project
copier copy gh:yourusername/forge my-saas

# Or from local template
copier copy ./forge my-saas

Answer the prompts

project_slug: my_saas
project_name: My SaaS
description: A subscription service for widgets
author_name: Your Name
author_email: you@example.com
base_url: https://my-saas.com
include_paddle: false

After Generation

See the generated project's README for setup instructions.

Philosophy

1. Data-oriented: Plain SQL, no ORM magic
2. Flat structure: Domain modules, not enterprise folders
3. Concrete over abstract: Write code first, extract patterns only when repeated 3+ times
4. SQLite until proven otherwise: Handles more than you think
5. Server-rendered: Pico CSS + minimal HTMX, no build step
6. Measure don't assume: Profile before optimizing

Structure

padelnomics/
  src/padelnomics/
    app.py              # Application factory
    core.py             # DB, config, email, shared utils
    worker.py           # Background task processor
    
    auth/               # Domain: authentication
      routes.py         # Routes + queries + decorators
      templates/
    
    billing/            # Domain: subscriptions & payments
      routes.py
      templates/
    
    dashboard/          # Domain: user dashboard
      routes.py
      templates/
    
    public/             # Domain: marketing pages
      routes.py
      templates/
    
    api/                # Domain: REST API
      routes.py
    
    templates/          # Shared templates
      base.html
    
    migrations/
      schema.sql
      migrate.py

License

MIT