If it doesn't cost much (time/money) to change, TypeScript everything.
Ask HN: What's the ideal stack for a solo dev in 2025
31–37 of 37 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the ideal stack for a solo dev in 2025
#32For me it’s been the same since 2017: TypeScript and Node. I occasionally need extra libraries for something highly specific like XTerm.js. I have so many personal libraries that cover so many common and edge cases that I can generally just reach into my personal library for 95% of what comes up and be running within 3 hours with a solution that scales well and achieves higher performance than the big frameworks.
Re: Ask HN: What's the ideal stack for a solo dev in 2025
#33[dead]
Re: Ask HN: What's the ideal stack for a solo dev in 2025
#34Whatever cursor decides
Re: Ask HN: What's the ideal stack for a solo dev in 2025
#35You should be vibe coding
Re: Ask HN: What's the ideal stack for a solo dev in 2025
#36I really like Golang, the compile times are crazy
Re: Ask HN: What's the ideal stack for a solo dev in 2025
#37As usual, isn't the next question... "What are you trying to build?" I build most projects in Elixir/Phoenix these days, but wouldn't flinch at ROR if you are comfortable with it.
Right now, an AI tool that generates mockups for branding agencies. But I’m still validating the idea so who knows. Ideally, I would like a stack that would work for most SaaS I may think of building. Tempted to give Elixir Phoenix a try. I briefly tried it a few years back and it just felt right.
As it's just you I'd stick with Ruby on Rails 8[1] as you already know it and I think it could realistically easily achieve what you're proposing.
There's lots of libraries for calling out external AI services. e.g. something like FastMCP[2]. From the sound of it that's all you need.
I'd use Hotwire[3] for the frontend and Hotwire Native if you want to rollout an app version quickly. I'd back it with SolidCache, SolidQueue, etc
I'd use Kamal[4] to run it on cheap hosting using on something cheap from Hetzner.