GROWTH PATTERN

Building Developer Onboarding with NestJS

Users sign up with NestJS, but then there's no system to identify when they complete their first meaningful action—like making their first API call.

NestJS

Last updated:

What's Missing in Standard NestJS Architecture

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

Standard NestJS Flow vs Optimized Skene Flow

Standard Flow
1

User signs up via authentication

2

User record created in your database

3

No automatic trigger - manual follow-up required

Skene Flow
1

Watch your database 'users' table for new signups using standard API

2

Detect when user completes first key action (e.g., making their first API call) using your database queries

3

Trigger activation email sequence via Resend with personalized onboarding

4

Track activation completion and send milestone emails

Visual comparison of the flows:

Loading diagram...

How Skene Fixes This

This Skene Prompt installs activation detection that bridges authentication authentication events with your database data changes. It watches for specific actions (like making their first API call) and automatically triggers personalized onboarding sequences.

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 Framework Onboarding pattern for NestJS.

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