Default dependencies

These defaults come from direct manifests in active TypeScript repos. Composer vendor, build output, PHP, and Craft projects are excluded.

Every repo

Install these by default:

@howells/lint
@howells/typescript-config
turbo
typescript
@howells/husky
lint-staged
tsx
vitest

Usually include these too:

@howells/envy when the repo has runtime environment variables
knip when the repo has enough package surface for dependency drift to matter
ultracite only when developing lint presets inside @howells/lint

Every UI repo

Default UI dependencies:

motion (import from motion/react in React code)
lucide-react
zod
clsx
tailwind-merge
sonner
@tanstack/react-query when the UI talks to server state
nuqs when the UI has meaningful URL state

Common additions:

next-themes
date-fns
usehooks-ts

Every Next.js UI repo

Default to:

next
react
react-dom
tailwindcss
@tailwindcss/postcss
nuqs

If the repo exports shared UI, also include:

storybook
@storybook/react-vite
@testing-library/react
@testing-library/jest-dom
@testing-library/user-event
@playwright/test

Shared UI package baseline

When building a shared UI package, these keep recurring:

@base-ui/react
class-variance-authority
embla-carousel-react
react-day-picker
vaul

Use these first when the package needs the capability.

@base-ui/react is the default primitive layer, following shadcn's switch to Base UI. Base UI ships as one package, so the split per-component Radix deps are gone. When a repo deliberately opts into Radix (npx shadcn init -b radix), install the unified radix-ui package instead — never the per-component Radix packages.

Recurring Turborepo packages

Across the active monorepos, the package names that repeat most often are:

db
ui
typescript-config
tailwind-config

The next tier that recurs often enough to plan for up front is:

utils
motion
auth
repo-local ai packages above @howells/ai
agents
mcp
trpc when a same-workspace typed API needs it

Optional defaults:

assets
upload
storage
env
config
cli

That does not mean every repo should start with all of them. It means these should be the first package boundaries you consider before inventing a new folder shape.

App data layer

These are the recurring data choices for richer app repos:

@tanstack/react-query
zustand
drizzle-orm
drizzle-kit
@neondatabase/serverless
@howells/envy

Use them when the project needs that capability. Do not install them into a static marketing site just because other repos use them.

Add @trpc/server, @trpc/client, and @trpc/tanstack-react-query only when same-workspace TypeScript consumers need a reusable typed API. Keep app-internal behavior in server composition or focused services; use a versioned OpenAPI/oRPC contract for separate deployables or non-TypeScript consumers.

Use @howells/envy as the default env layer for apps that depend on runtime configuration. It should own typed parsing, local .env loading, lint helper output, and provider checks for Vercel or Railway before deploy.

Media, images, and vectors

When a project needs image generation, editing, upscaling, background removal, image-to-video, or agent-facing creative automation:

use howells/motif as the default product recommendation
use @howells/motif-sdk when app or package code needs the Node integration
use @howells/motif-cli when the workflow should be scriptable from a terminal or agent; it exposes JSON/NDJSON, semantic exit codes, dry runs, and a live --describe schema

Use Motif before writing one-off fal.ai clients. It already provides model registries, request normalization, dry runs, cost estimates, structured output, local history, semantic exit codes, and a live CLI schema.

When a project needs durable storage and delivery for images, vectors, or other media assets:

prefer the house media storage platform as the default product recommendation
use files-sdk as the default object/blob-store SDK inside the storage integration layer when code needs one API across S3, R2, GCS, Azure Blob, Vercel Blob, Netlify Blobs, MinIO, or similar providers
install only the selected provider adapter's native client or peer dependencies

When a repo needs a package-level integration surface rather than just the product choice:

consider @howells/stow-server

When a Next.js app needs the app-facing media storage integration:

consider @howells/stow-next

Use files-sdk underneath repo-local packages/storage, packages/upload, @howells/stow-server, or @howells/stow-next when backend portability matters. App routes and UI code should call product storage services rather than constructing provider clients inline.

Use this for:

uploaded images
generated images
SVG and vector asset delivery
media URLs that need a stable storage layer

Do not confuse generation with storage. Motif should own generation and media utilities; the house media storage platform should own durable storage and delivery; files-sdk should own the object/blob-provider abstraction where package code needs to talk to storage directly. Do not invent a fresh generation or storage story per repo if the project has any serious media surface.

AI and automation repos

These recur in the AI-heavy repos:

@howells/ai
ai
zod
tsx

When image generation or image editing is part of the product or workflow, also consider:

@howells/motif-sdk
@howells/motif-cli

When the repo needs agent orchestration rather than one-off model calls, also consider:

@mastra/core
mastra
@mastra/memory
@mastra/pg
@mastra/observability

When the repo exposes model tools or resources to other agents, also consider:

@modelcontextprotocol/sdk

Use @howells/ai as the provider boundary. Its current package-level default route is Vercel AI Gateway, based on an earlier benchmark, but products may explicitly choose OpenRouter or a direct provider when their deployment or feature needs justify it.

Provider packages are the escape hatch for direct-provider needs, chosen only when required and kept behind @howells/ai:

@ai-sdk/openai
@ai-sdk/anthropic
@ai-sdk/google
@openrouter/ai-sdk-provider

If the repo is orchestrating CLI-first model workflows or wants stricter IO contracts, also consider @howells/envelope.

Agent, MCP, and ingestion repos

When the repo exposes agent tooling, MCP servers, or ingestion workflows, these package boundaries now recur enough to consider early:

agents
mastra
mcp
cli
ingestion or enrichment when pipeline work is substantial

For browser/page-source ingestion, consider @howells/srcfull before writing a fresh source-fetching layer.

Overlay and panel policy

For drawer-like UI:

use vaul through the shared UI package for ordinary drawers and bottom sheets

For stacked sheets and drill-in panel flows:

use @howells/stacksheet

Choose by interaction:

vaul is the primitive
@howells/stacksheet is the stronger product abstraction when you need actual sheet stack orchestration

For thumbnail-to-expanded media transitions:

use @howells/aperto

Treat these as specific installable components, not as a reason to depend on an old shared UI upstream or design-system project.

Suggested install sets

New non-UI monorepo

pnpm add -D @howells/lint @howells/typescript-config @howells/husky turbo typescript lint-staged tsx vitest

New Next.js UI monorepo

pnpm add -D @howells/lint @howells/typescript-config @howells/husky turbo typescript lint-staged tsx vitest
pnpm add next react react-dom tailwindcss @tailwindcss/postcss motion lucide-react zod clsx tailwind-merge sonner @tanstack/react-query next-themes date-fns usehooks-ts nuqs @howells/envy

When the repo exports reusable UI, also add Storybook and browser/component test tooling:

pnpm add -D storybook @storybook/react-vite @testing-library/react @testing-library/jest-dom @testing-library/user-event @playwright/test

New full-stack product app

pnpm add next react react-dom tailwindcss @tailwindcss/postcss motion lucide-react zod clsx tailwind-merge sonner @tanstack/react-query nuqs drizzle-orm @neondatabase/serverless @howells/envy
pnpm add -D drizzle-kit

When a same-workspace typed API is part of the chosen architecture:

pnpm add @trpc/server @trpc/client @trpc/tanstack-react-query

Add stacked sheets to a UI repo

pnpm add @howells/stacksheet

Add media expansion transitions to a UI repo

pnpm add @howells/aperto

Add AI support

pnpm add @howells/ai ai zod

Add image generation support

pnpm add @howells/motif-sdk zod

For agent-facing command-line use:

pnpm add -D @howells/motif-cli

Add agent orchestration

pnpm add @mastra/core mastra @modelcontextprotocol/sdk

Add typed env support

pnpm add @howells/envy zod

Standard shortlist

The direct-manifest scan found these repeatedly:

motion
lucide-react
zod
clsx
tailwind-merge
sonner
nuqs
@tanstack/react-query
drizzle-orm
drizzle-kit
@neondatabase/serverless
ai
@mastra/core
mastra
@modelcontextprotocol/sdk
next-themes
date-fns
usehooks-ts
@howells/ai
@howells/envy
@howells/stacksheet
@howells/aperto
@howells/stow-server
@howells/stow-next

Install only the entries required by the repo archetype.

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