A serverless full-stack web app template you copy and grow into your own app. Not a framework — you own every file.
Copy, deploy with a single command, then replace the sample todo app with your own features.
- Working sample app — A todo app with authentication, DB CRUD, async jobs, and real-time notifications wired end-to-end. Designed as a readable reference for AI coding agents and humans alike.
- End-to-end type safety — Types flow from Drizzle ORM through Zod schemas and Server Actions to React components in a single chain.
- Serverless from day one — Fully serverless architecture starting under $10/month that scales without operational overhead.
- Integrated DB migration — Schema migration is integrated into the CDK deploy process via CDK Trigger, providing a development-to-production path out of the box.
You can refer to the blog article for more details (also Japanese version).
The kit includes a simple todo app to demonstrate how all components work together.
| Service | Role |
|---|---|
| Aurora DSQL | Serverless distributed SQL database with Drizzle ORM |
| Next.js App Router on Lambda | Unified frontend and backend |
| CloudFront + Lambda Function URL | Content delivery with response streaming |
| Cognito | Authentication (email by default, OIDC federation supported) |
| AppSync Events + Lambda | Async jobs and real-time notifications |
| EventBridge | Scheduled jobs |
| CloudWatch + S3 | Access logging |
| CDK | Infrastructure as Code |
Fully serverless — no VPC required, high cost efficiency, scalability, and minimal operational overhead.
Prerequisites:
Use the GitHub template ("Use this template" button) or clone and copy:
git clone https://github.com/aws-samples/serverless-full-stack-webapp-starter-kit.git my-app
cd my-app
rm -rf .git && git init
# Record the kit version in your initial commit for future reference
git add -A && git commit -m "Initial commit from serverless-full-stack-webapp-starter-kit vX.Y.Z"- Update the application name (stack name, tags) in
apps/cdk/bin/cdk.ts - Set a custom domain in
apps/cdk/bin/cdk.ts - Remove
cdk.context.jsonfromapps/cdk/.gitignoreand commit it (recommended for your own project) - Delete the
.starter-kit/directory (kit maintainer docs) and the "Contributing to the kit itself" section inAGENTS.md— they apply only to the upstream kit repository
pnpm install
cd apps/cdk
pnpm exec cdk bootstrap
pnpm exec cdk deploy --allInitial deployment takes about 15 minutes. After success, you'll see:
✅ ServerlessWebappStarterKitStack
Outputs:
ServerlessWebappStarterKitStack.FrontendDomainName = https://web.example.com
ServerlessWebappStarterKitStack.DatabaseClusterEndpoint = <cluster>.dsql.<region>.on.aws
Open the FrontendDomainName URL to try the sample app.
The kit deploys a WAF Web ACL because CloudFront flat-rate pricing plans require one. In the CloudFront console, open your distribution and choose Manage subscription → Free plan (1M requests + 100 GB/month, no extra cost). Plan enrollment is not supported by CDK, so this is a one-time manual step.
Warning
Until you enroll, the Web ACL is billed at standard AWS WAF prices (~$5/month + $1/month per rule). Enroll in the Free plan to bundle WAF at no extra cost, or remove the Web ACL if you don't want it.
See AGENTS.md for development guide — local development setup, authentication patterns, async job setup, DB migration, and coding conventions.
To add social sign-in (Google, Facebook, etc.), see Add social sign-in to a user pool.
This kit is designed to work well with AI coding agents. The following setup is recommended.
Install the Aurora DSQL skill to give your agent DSQL-specific knowledge (schema design, migration patterns, constraints):
npx skills add awslabs/mcp --skill dsqlThis kit uses oxlint + oxfmt — Rust-based linter and formatter fast enough to run on every file write without noticeable delay. Set up a post-write hook in your AI coding agent to get instant feedback:
oxlint --config oxlintrc.json --fix <file>
oxfmt --write <file>This kit follows Semantic Versioning. Since users copy (not fork) this kit, breaking changes are introduced as new major versions without a lengthy deprecation cycle.
Sample cost breakdown for us-east-1, one month, with cost-optimized configuration:
| Service | Usage Details | Monthly Cost [USD] |
|---|---|---|
| Aurora DSQL | 1M read RPUs, 0.5M write RPUs, 1GB storage | 0.65 |
| Cognito | 100 MAU | 1.50 |
| AppSync Events | 100 events/month, 10 hours connection/user/month | 0.02 |
| Lambda | 1024MB × 200ms/request | 0.15 |
| Lambda@Edge | 128MB × 50ms/request | 0.09 |
| EventBridge | Scheduler 100 jobs/month | 0.00 |
| CloudFront | Data transfer 1kB/request | 0.01 |
| Total | 2.42 |
Assumes 100 users/month, 1000 requests/user. Costs could be further reduced with Free Tier. No VPC or NAT costs — DSQL uses IAM authentication over the public internet.
CloudFront flat-rate pricing plans (Free / Pro / Business / Premium) bundle CDN, AWS WAF, DDoS protection, and CloudWatch Logs at a fixed price; the Free plan is $0 for 1M requests + 100 GB/month. Enroll from the console after deploying (see step 4).
The kit is configured for these plans by default:
- Managed cache policies only (custom policies are not allowed):
CACHING_DISABLEDfor the default behavior +CACHING_OPTIMIZEDfor/_next/static/*— 2 of the 5 allowed cache behaviors. - A required WAF Web ACL (
us-east-1, scopeCLOUDFRONT) carrying onlyKnownBadInputs. Rate limiting,AmazonIpReputationList, andCommonRuleSetare omitted to avoid opaque false positives (rate / IP-reputation 403s, blocks on large auth cookies or missing User-Agent).
To opt out of WAF entirely, remove the Web ACL in apps/cdk/lib/us-east-1-stack.ts and drop webAclId from apps/cdk/bin/cdk.ts. The plan covers CloudFront-side usage only — Lambda / Lambda@Edge (dynamic requests are all cache-missed) are billed separately. To restrict access geographically, set geoRestriction in bin/cdk.ts (e.g. GeoRestriction.allowlist('JP')).
cd apps/cdk
pnpm exec cdk destroy --forceThe Aurora DSQL cluster and Cognito user pool are retained by default (RemovalPolicy.RETAIN_ON_UPDATE_OR_DELETE) and are not deleted by cdk destroy. Delete them manually afterward if they are no longer needed.
- Masashi Tomooka (tmokmss) — original author
- Kazuho Cryer-Shinozuka (badmintoncryer)
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
Contributors (human and AI) must read .starter-kit/DESIGN_PRINCIPLES.md before making changes. It defines the design decisions and constraints that govern this kit.
See CONTRIBUTING for more information.
This library is licensed under the MIT-0 License. See the LICENSE file.