Scaffold a new app

Go from blank slate to working prototype end-to-end with Claude

The scaffold conversation

Starting a new project with Claude Code is about front-loading the design decisions before writing code. The more you agree on upfront — stack, structure, conventions — the less backtracking you’ll do.

Phase 1: Plan first

"I need to build [describe the app].

Before we write any code, help me make the key architecture decisions:
1. What's the right stack for this use case and why?
2. What's the directory structure?
3. What are the main modules/components we'll need?
4. What external services or APIs are involved?
5. What are the biggest technical risks?"

Phase 2: Scaffold the structure

"Based on what we agreed: scaffold the project structure. Create the directories and placeholder files, a package.json with the right dependencies, a README, and a CLAUDE.md with our conventions.

Don't write any business logic yet — just the structure."

Phase 3: Build feature by feature

"Now let's build the first feature: [specific feature].
- Write the code
- Write tests for it
- Make sure the tests pass
- Then we'll move to the next feature"