Starter Changelog
The starter is the project the Quickstart generates,
whether you take the one click deploy or run npx chaibuilder-app create locally. It is a
repository you own a copy of, not a package you install, so it is tagged rather than
versioned with semver.
Two repositories
Since 2026-09-05 the starter ships as two repositories, one per database, each built
and deployed from its main branch:
- SQLite - chaibuilder/starter-sqlite
- Postgres - chaibuilder/starter-postgres
Both run the same /setup wizard and the same builder; they differ only in which
database the project is wired to. Pick the repository for your database and stay on it.
Before the split both variants lived in a single repository with the Postgres flavor on a
branch - that repository is retired.
How the tags work
Releases through the split are tagged in pairs, once per database flavor:
v3-sqlite v3-pg
v2-sqlite v2-pg
v1-sqlite v1-pg
v3-sqlite and v3-pg are the same release. Read the entry once and pull the tag
matching your database. Earlier tags in the v0.0.x series predate the Postgres variant
and are SQLite only.
That full tag history lives in starter-sqlite, which carries the old repository's tags
forward. starter-postgres starts fresh from main and is not tagged yet, so to move an
existing Postgres project onto it, diff against the -pg tag your project came from in
starter-sqlite.
Because you own your copy, upgrading means pulling the diff between your current tag and the new one into your repository, then running migrations. See Releases and Upgrading.
v3 - 2026-08-02
Tags: v3-sqlite, v3-pg
Changed
- Media storage paths are shorter and no longer contain a UUID. The prefix is derived from the app key alone, so uploaded object paths are readable.
- The AI model list is refreshed to current models.
- The initial migration is recreated as a single clean migration.
Fixed
- The media prefix migration is idempotent, so re-running it is safe.
media.prefixstays in the schema whether or not storage environment variables are set, which fixes assets resolving without a prefix.- Pinned a working OpenRouter SDK version, resolving AI request failures.
v2 - 2026-07-31
Tags: v2-sqlite, v2-pg
Changed
- Upgraded to
chaiprov0.2.6, which brings the AI generation reliability work. See the chaipro changelog. - Further
/setupwizard refinements.
Fixed
- The "edit failed" error caused by fetching a remote URL during editing.
v1 - 2026-07-29
Tags: v1-sqlite, v1-pg
The first release with a Postgres variant alongside SQLite.
Added
- A Postgres flavor of the starter, tagged
v1-pg. See Database Setup for choosing between them. picsum.photosin the allowed remote image patterns, so placeholder imagery renders in a fresh project.
Changed
/setupis simplified to three steps that fit in one viewport, with storage and AI offered on the last step alongside the option to point at your own host./setupspeaks the local user's language.- Each run of the wizard creates a new site rather than adopting an existing one.
- Every link in setup opens in a new tab, and the last step leads with the action it is asking for.
- The README leads with the two ways to start.
Fixed
- The build no longer fails when the sitemap cannot reach the database, which used to break first deploys before the database was provisioned.
v0.0.4 - 2026-07-28
Added
- One click Deploy to Vercel and Netlify, which became the lead onboarding path on
/start. - A
/setupwizard that runs after a one click deploy, reusing the database, storage and AI credentials already set on the deployment and offering the CLI path as an alternative. - Download your generated
.envfile from the wizard. - A brand header on the setup screens.
Changed
- Migrations no longer run automatically on production boot.
proxy.tsowns the redirect for an unconfigured project.
Fixed
- Leaving the database token empty no longer fails with an auth error.
v0.0.3 - 2026-07-24
Fixed
- A hydration error caused by the animation provider.
v0.0.2 - 2026-07-24
Added
- First name and last name fields on the Users collection.
Changed
- Upgraded to the then current
chaipro, and removed unused collections and test files.
v0.0.1 - 2026-07-17
First tagged starter.
Added
- A Next.js project wired to
chaipro, with Payload CMS integration, an email service, component blocks and an automated test suite. - Form submissions support.
- App role management from the Users collection, with roles and permissions read from
app_users. - The initial database migration.
- An iframe communication bridge for parent and child window interaction between the builder and the embedded CMS.
Related
- Quickstart - both ways to create a project.
- CLI -
chaibuilder-app createand the project commands. - chaipro Changelog - the package the starter depends on.

