GROWTH PATTERN

Adding Activation to FastAPI + Railway + PostgreSQL Apps

While FastAPI + Railway + PostgreSQL manages user authentication, it misses the opportunity to automatically trigger workflows when users hit key milestones.

FastAPI + Railway + PostgreSQL

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What's Missing in Standard FastAPI + Railway + PostgreSQL Architecture

FastAPI + Railway + PostgreSQL creates user sessions, but lacks the infrastructure to detect when users first achieve value in your application without custom implementation.

Standard FastAPI + Railway + PostgreSQL Flow vs Optimized Skene Flow

Standard Flow
1

User signs up via authentication

2

User record created in PostgreSQL

3

No automatic trigger - manual follow-up required

Skene Flow
1

Watch PostgreSQL 'users' table for new signups using CREATE TRIGGER

2

Detect when user completes first key action (e.g., inviting their first team member) using PostgreSQL queries

3

Trigger activation email sequence via Resend with personalized onboarding

4

Track activation completion and send milestone emails

Visual comparison of the flows:

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How Skene Fixes This

We created a Skene configuration that tracks user progress after signup and automatically sends milestone emails when users complete key actions like inviting their first team member in FastAPI + Railway + PostgreSQL.

Implementation Comparison

Using Skene Infrastructure

Install via Prompt

cursor.mdc
@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 FastAPI + Railway + PostgreSQL.

Copy Skene Prompt for Cursor

Generated skene.config.ts

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'
  }
});

Frequently asked questions