Start Here — Build Safely With AI•Start Here — Build Safely With AI•14 min lesson

The First Production Stack — Domains, Auth, Data, Logs, and Payments

The practical baseline for turning an AI-built demo into a real software product: DNS, hosting, database, auth, observability, GitHub, durable notes, subscriptions, and security sweeps.

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Copy-ready prompt

"I have an AI-built demo and I want to understand the path to production.
Do not write code yet.

Product context:
- what the app does: [describe it]
- who will use it first: [describe first testers]
- current stack: [list tools if known]
- business model: [free, subscription, internal, commerce-backed, not sure]

Please produce:
1. the missing production stack checklist across domain, DNS, hosting, database, auth, payments, logs, GitHub, notes, and security
2. the safest recommended vendors for each missing layer, prioritizing strong APIs and clean handoffs to agents
3. the smallest production milestone I should target before inviting more than three testers
4. the subscription or entitlement model I should use if early testers are free but need full paid access
5. the business-value hypothesis: why this could become recurring software revenue, what would prove retention, and how any existing sales channel could help validate it

Be practical and skeptical. Separate table stakes from nice-to-have features."

Prompt FAQ

Questions to answer before you paste it

When should I use the The First Production Stack — Domains, Auth, Data, Logs, and Payments prompt?

The practical baseline for turning an AI-built demo into a real software product: DNS, hosting, database, auth, observability, GitHub, durable notes, subscriptions, and security sweeps. Use it when you need a safer starting point than a blank prompt and you want the agent to stay inside explicit constraints.

Should I paste this prompt exactly as written?

No. Treat it as a safe starter. Replace the task, files, constraints, and verification details with your actual context before you run it.

What should I do after the agent answers?

Read the diff, run the checks, and stop after one reviewable step. If you need deeper context, open the lesson that explains the reasoning behind the prompt.

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