Setup Scripts

The starter kit includes powerful seeding scripts to populate your database with mock data, giving you a complete CMS-like experience from day one.

Quick Setup

All-in-One Setup

The easiest way to get started:

pnpm project:setup

This single command:

1. ✅ Validates environment variables
2. ✅ Pushes database schema
3. ✅ Seeds subscription plans
4. ✅ Seeds blog content (categories, tags, welcome post)
5. ✅ Seeds testimonials
6. ✅ Seeds email templates

Individual Seed Scripts

You can also run each seeding script individually:

Database Schema

pnpm db:push

Creates all database tables based on your Drizzle schema.

Subscription Plans

pnpm plans:setup

Creates:

• Free plan (tier)
• Pro plan ($19.99/month or $199/year)
• Startup plan ($49.99/month or $499/year)

Includes:

• Feature lists
• Pricing in cents
• Stripe Price IDs (if configured)
• Usage limits

Blog Content

pnpm blog:seed

Creates:

• Categories: Getting Started, Tutorials, News, Updates
• Tags: Next.js, React, TypeScript, Web Development
• Welcome Post: A sample blog post to demonstrate the editor

Perfect for:

• Demonstrating the blog system
• Testing blog features
• Having example content for design

Testimonials

pnpm testimonials:seed

Creates:

• Multiple sample testimonials
• Different ratings (4-5 stars)
• Approved status for immediate display
• Placeholder customer names and companies

Great for:

• Showing social proof on marketing pages
• Testing testimonial display
• Having sample data for the admin panel

Email Templates

pnpm email:seed

Creates default templates for:

• Welcome email
• Email verification
• Password reset
• Subscription created
• Subscription canceled
• Invoice paid

Each template includes:

• HTML version
• Plain text version
• Variable placeholders ({{userName}}, {{appName}}, etc.)
• Professional styling

Admin Setup

pnpm admin:setup

Promotes the user with FIRST_ADMIN_EMAIL to admin role.

Requirements:

1. Set FIRST_ADMIN_EMAIL in .env
2. Sign up with that email address
3. Run this command
4. Sign in again to access admin dashboard

Test Data for E2E Tests

pnpm test:seed

Creates pre-configured test users:

• Regular test user
• Admin test user

Used for Playwright E2E tests.

What Gets Seeded

Blog System

• 4 categories with descriptions and slugs
• 8+ tags covering common topics
• 1 welcome post with rich content, featured image, and SEO
• Working author attribution
• Published and ready to display

Subscription Plans

• 3 pricing tiers (Free, Pro, Startup)
• Monthly and yearly pricing
• Feature lists for each tier
• Usage limits (storage, API calls, team members)
• Stripe integration ready

Testimonials

• 5-7 sample testimonials
• Real-looking customer names and companies
• 4-5 star ratings
• Approved status
• Ready to display on homepage

Email Templates

• 6 transactional email templates
• Professional HTML design
• Plain text fallbacks
• Variable substitution ready
• Active and ready to send

Manual Seeding

If you prefer to create your own data:

// scripts/my-seed.ts
import { db } from "../src/db";
import { blogCategories } from "../src/db/schema";

async function seed() {
  await db.insert(blogCategories).values([
    {
      name: "My Category",
      slug: "my-category",
      description: "Custom category",
    },
  ]);

  console.log("✅ Seeding complete!");
}

seed();

Run with:

tsx scripts/my-seed.ts

When to Run Setup Scripts

First Time Setup

Run pnpm project:setup to get everything ready.

After Schema Changes

Run pnpm db:push to update database structure.

Adding New Features

Run individual seed scripts as needed:

• Added blog? → pnpm blog:seed
• Added testimonials? → pnpm testimonials:seed

Before Demo/Testing

Run all seeds to have complete sample data.

Production Deployment

Don't run seed scripts in production! These are for development/testing only.

Instead:

• Create subscription plans via admin dashboard
• Write real blog posts
• Collect real testimonials
• Customize email templates

Customizing Seed Data

Edit Subscription Plans

Modify scripts/setup-subscription-plans.ts:

const plans = [
  {
    name: "Basic", // Change name
    priceMonthly: 999, // $9.99/month
    features: ["Your custom feature", "Another feature"],
  },
  // Add more plans...
];

Edit Blog Categories

Modify scripts/seed-blog.ts:

const categories = [
  { name: "Your Category", slug: "your-category" },
  // Add more...
];

Edit Email Templates

Modify scripts/seed-email-templates.ts or use the admin dashboard's template editor after seeding.

Resetting Data

To start fresh:

# Drop all tables and recreate
pnpm db:push --force

# Re-run setup
pnpm project:setup

Troubleshooting

"Table already exists" errors

The scripts are idempotent - they check if data exists before inserting. Safe to run multiple times.

Seed script fails

1. Check DATABASE_URL is correct
2. Ensure database is accessible
3. Verify pnpm db:push completed successfully
4. Check console for specific error messages

No data appears after seeding

1. Verify script completed without errors

2. Check database directly:

   # Connect to your database and query
   SELECT * FROM blog_categories;
   SELECT * FROM subscription_plans;

3. Clear Next.js cache and restart:

   rm -rf .next
   pnpm dev

Best Practices

1. Run setup once - Don't repeatedly seed in development
2. Customize after seeding - Edit seeded data via admin dashboard
3. Production: manual setup - Don't seed production databases
4. Test with seeds - Perfect for E2E tests and demos
5. Document custom seeds - If you create custom seed scripts, document them

Available Scripts Reference

Next Steps

After running setup scripts:

1. Start dev server: pnpm dev
2. View your site: http://localhost:3000
3. Check the blog: http://localhost:3000/blog (see seeded post)
4. Access admin: Create account and run pnpm admin:setup
5. Customize data: Edit via admin dashboard

The setup scripts give you a complete, working application in minutes. Customize the seeded data to match your brand!