Problem
Developers building AI-powered applications often struggle with setting up the foundational architecture, spending valuable time on boilerplate code instead of focusing on AI features. Most existing starter kits lack AI-specific optimizations and modern development patterns.
The challenge was creating a comprehensive starter kit that provides everything developers need to rapidly prototype and deploy AI applications while maintaining code quality and performance standards.
Action
Built AquaKit as a modern Next.js starter kit specifically optimized for AI applications, featuring Convex backend integration, responsive design patterns, and performance optimization tools. The entire development process was live-streamed on YouTube, providing transparency and educational value to the developer community.
Implemented dynamic theme switching, system-level preferences detection, and comprehensive development utilities while documenting each step through live coding sessions. Open-sourced the project on GitHub with detailed documentation, examples, and best practices for AI application development.
Results
AquaKit has gained significant traction in the developer community:
- 50+ GitHub stars from developers worldwide
- Educational YouTube series documenting full development process
- Active community engagement and contributions
- Comprehensive documentation and examples
- Modern development workflow with TypeScript
- Optimized performance and responsive design
- Ready-to-deploy AI application foundation
- Positive feedback from developers following the live streams
