What's Missing in Standard Express + MongoDB Architecture
Without an infrastructure layer listening to MongoDB events, you rely on manual cron jobs or messy webhooks to track when users reach their first value milestone. Most setups require custom code to detect activation.
Standard Express + MongoDB Flow vs Optimized Skene Flow
User signs up via authentication
User record created in MongoDB
No automatic trigger - manual follow-up required
Watch MongoDB 'users' table for new signups using standard API
Detect when user completes first key action (e.g., creates first project) using MongoDB queries
Trigger activation email sequence via Resend with personalized onboarding
Track activation completion and send milestone emails
Visual comparison of the flows:
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How Skene Fixes This
This Skene Prompt installs activation detection into Express + MongoDB by watching MongoDB tables for key user actions. When users complete their first value milestone, it triggers welcome sequences and feature discovery emails.
Implementation Comparison
Using Skene Infrastructure
Install via Prompt
@task: Initialize Skene.
@action: Analyze my local code, validating subscription via `npx skene login`, and generate `skene.config.ts` to implement the Activation Loop pattern for Express + MongoDB.Copy Skene Prompt for Cursor
Generated skene.config.ts
// skene.config.ts - The Automated Way
import { defineLoop } from '@skene/sdk';
export default defineLoop({
type: 'activation',
opinion: 'Detect when users complete their first key action and trigger personalized onboarding',
steps: [
{
trigger: {
type: 'database',
table: 'users',
event: 'insert'
},
condition: {
type: 'query',
query: `SELECT * FROM user_actions WHERE user_id = $1 AND action_type = 'first_project_created'`,
timeout: '5m'
},
action: {
type: 'email',
provider: 'resend',
template: 'activation_welcome',
personalization: {
name: '{{user.name}}',
activationLink: '{{user.activation_link}}'
}
}
}
],
recovery: {
retries: 3,
backoff: 'exponential'
}
});