AI-Assisted Development
Tips for using AI coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, etc.) with your Starterbase project.
How It Works
Your generated project includes a CLAUDE.md file that teaches AI assistants about:
- Project structure and architecture
- Available UI components in
components/ui/ - Backend patterns (3-file module pattern)
- Naming conventions and code style
AI assistants automatically read this file and use the existing components, icons, and patterns when generating code.
Example Prompts
Frontend
"Add a user profile card that shows avatar, name, and email"
→ Uses Card, Avatar from components/ui/
"Create a settings form with toggles for notifications"
→ Uses Input, Switch, Button from components/ui/
"Add a data table showing recent orders with pagination"
→ Uses Table, Pagination, Badge from components/ui/
"Add a confirmation dialog before deleting items"
→ Uses Dialog, Button from components/ui/
Backend
"Add a comments endpoint for posts"
→ Creates app/api/v1/comments/ with router.py, deps.py, schemas.py
"Add soft delete to the User model"
→ Adds deleted_at field, updates deps.py logic
"Add rate limiting to auth endpoints"
→ Uses Redis, adds middleware in deps.py
Full-Stack
"Add a favorites feature so users can bookmark items"
→ Backend: model, migration, 3-file module
→ Frontend: hook, API client, UI updates
"Add file upload for user avatars"
→ Backend: storage logic, endpoint
→ Frontend: upload component, preview
Tips
Be specific about what you want:
# Good
"Add a dropdown menu to the user avatar in the navbar with links to Settings and Logout"
# Vague
"Add a menu"
Reference existing patterns:
"Add a Teams page similar to how the Users admin page works"
Mention UI requirements:
"Add a search input with a magnifying glass icon and clear button"
What Gets Used Automatically
- UI Components: The 25+ components in
src/components/ui/ - Icons: Custom icon components from
src/components/icons/ - Styling: Tailwind CSS with dark mode support
- API Client: TanStack Query patterns from
lib/api/ - Backend Patterns: 3-file module structure, SQLAlchemy async
The AI reads your project's CLAUDE.md and follows the established patterns, so generated code stays consistent with the rest of your codebase.