The Ultimate Indie Hacker Tech Stack for 2025
Still using your 2020 stack? Discover the modern, lean, AI-powered tech stack that helps indie developers build faster and ship smarter in 2025.
Still using your 2020 stack?
Indie devs don't have time to waste. You're building the entire product solo — frontend, backend, auth, deployment, even the landing page and marketing copy.
But let's face it: the tools you used in 2020 just don't cut it anymore.
Too many tools, too much glue code, too little time. If you want to move faster and ship smarter in 2025, you need a modern, lean, AI-powered tech stack. The good news? There is one.
⚡ 2025 Tech Trends Every Indie Dev Should Know
The indie dev space in 2025 is shaped by a few powerful trends:
- Lightweight fullstack frameworks — fast setup, zero config
- AI-native tooling — image, code, and content powered by LLMs
- Instant deploy — one-click from dev to production
- Serverless everything — less ops, more building
- Minimal UI kits — beautiful out-of-the-box components
If that's the vibe you're after, here's the stack I personally use and recommend.
My Fullstack Tech Stack — 2025 Edition
Frontend: Next.js + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS + shadcn/ui
This stack is battle-tested and super productive:
- Next.js (App Router) for fullstack + file-based routing
- TypeScript for catching bugs early
- Tailwind CSS for fast, scalable UI styling
- shadcn/ui for beautiful, accessible, customizable components
Recommended shadcn/ui Add-ons:
| Package | Why use it |
|---|---|
sonner | Clean, minimal toast notifications |
cmdk | Command palette à la Raycast |
react-hook-form + zod | Robust forms + type-safe validation |
lucide-react | Icon set used by shadcn/ui |
@uploadthing/react | File uploads styled like the rest of your UI |
Backend: Supabase / Firebase / NestJS
- Supabase — Postgres-based Firebase alternative, built for devs
- Firebase — real-time DB + auth, great for mobile apps
- NestJS — scalable Node.js framework if you need full backend control
Database: PostgreSQL + Prisma
- PostgreSQL — the Swiss army knife of databases
- Prisma — modern TypeScript ORM with DX that feels like cheating
Deployment: Vercel / Railway / Coolify
- Vercel — perfect for frontend + serverless APIs
- Railway — deploy full backend services in minutes
- Coolify — open-source PaaS, great for self-hosting
Auth: Clerk / Lucia / NextAuth.js
- Clerk — plug-and-play auth with beautiful UI
- Lucia — lightweight and framework-agnostic
- NextAuth.js — mature, flexible, OAuth-friendly
Build Tools: Turbo / Vite / Nx
- Turbo — Monorepo turbocharged build performance
- Vite — fast dev server, fast HMR, fast builds
- Nx — good for large multi-app repos
Infra & Automation: pnpm / monorepo / GitHub Actions
- pnpm — faster, space-efficient package manager
- Monorepo — organize frontend + backend in one workspace
- GitHub Actions — easy CI/CD pipelines with marketplace support
Productivity Stack: Notion + Raycast + CronJob + LaunchVault Indie Tools
- Notion — docs, roadmaps, product planning
- Raycast — dev-focused productivity launcher
- CronJob — scheduled tasks made simple
- LaunchVault Indie Tools — handpicked resources & toolkits to accelerate your indie dev workflow
Optimize Your Stack
There's no single perfect stack — only the one that matches your style and workflow. Start with the default combo above, and customize as you grow.
Maybe you prefer Astro + Serverless. Maybe you want to try tRPC or Bun. That's great. The key is to build fast, ship early, and iterate with confidence.
LaunchVault's Indie Tools page is constantly updated with new tools and resources — make it your digital workbench.
What's your favorite stack?
Do you have your own secret weapon stack? Got battle scars from bad choices or discovered a hidden gem?
Drop a comment, share this with fellow builders, and don't forget to bookmark LaunchVault Indie Tools — your future MVP will thank you.