The Boring JavaScript ecosystem

Summary

The Boring JavaScript Stack is more than just Sails and Inertia—it consists of a full ecosystem of tools that make development smooth and efficient. This includes an Inertia adapter for Sails, code generation tools, a CLI for scaffolding apps, and ready-made templates. The ecosystem is structured into two main parts: packages and templates. The key packages include:

• create-sails: A CLI tool to quickly scaffold Boring Stack apps.

• inertia-sails: The Inertia adapter for Sails.

• create-sails-generator: A code generation tool for automating repetitive tasks.

Currently, the ecosystem also includes the Mellow template, which provides authentication and user management out of the box. More templates are in development, expanding the framework’s capabilities. This ecosystem is what makes The Boring JavaScript Stack more than just a combination of Sails and Inertia—it's a complete and cohesive toolset.

Transcript

Introduction

So let's talk about the ecosystem of The Boring JavaScript Stack because sometimes folks tell me like, "Why don't you just say it's Sails with Inertia? Why do you have to come up with a whole thing like The Boring Stack?"

But I'll tell you why—because it's not just Sails and Inertia. There are other parts that make it work, like the Inertia adapter for Sails and the templates we have, which I'll show you.

The Boring JavaScript Stack Repository

If you visit The Boring JavaScript Stack repo (give it a star while you're there—why not?), you'll see that we have two main sections:

• Packages – The core tools that power the stack.

• Templates – Pre-built starting points for apps.

The Core Packages

These packages are what make The Boring JavaScript Stack function efficiently:

1. create-sails (CLI Tool)

   • This is the tool that allows you to run:

     npx create-sails myapp --vue

   • It scaffolds a new Boring Stack app using our pre-made templates.

2. inertia-sails (Adapter for Sails)

   • Inertia.js is adapter-based, and this is the official adapter for Sails.js.

   • Just like Laravel and Rails have adapters, this one makes Sails compatible with Inertia.

3. create-sails-generator (Code Generator)

   • This package provides code generation utilities.

   • For example, you can run:

     sails generate page

   • This quickly creates a Vue or React component, reducing the need for manual setup.

The Templates

Right now, we have one main template:

• Mellow Template

  • Provides authentication and user management out of the box.

  • Works with React or Vue.

  • Example usage:

    npx create-sails myapp --react

  • This scaffolds a project using the Mellow template with React.

There are more templates in the works, and you'll see them soon.

Conclusion

So that’s the ecosystem of The Boring JavaScript Stack—not just Sails and Inertia, but a full-fledged development environment with:

• A CLI tool (create-sails)

• A code generator (create-sails-generator)

• An Inertia adapter (inertia-sails)

• Pre-built templates (like Mellow)

This ecosystem makes The Boring JavaScript Stack a complete and efficient way to build modern full-stack apps!