Choosing the Stack

I started Green Algeria Map to track reforestation across Algeria. First question: what stack fits a map dashboard?

I didn’t need SSR. This isn’t a content site. It’s an interactive map — Leaflet, not a document layout. TypeScript everywhere. Conventions over ceremony.

From the start I wanted React plus either Spring Boot or NestJS. I was also weighing TypeORM vs Spring Data, and thinking about trying Spring Boot 4.

Frontend

TanStack Router gives file-based routing (src/routes/index.tsx → /) like Next.js, but without the server. Automatic routes, type-safe params, built-in loaders. No Node server to deploy.

The scaffold was one commit on May 2:

feat: scaffold frontend with TanStack Router + React 19 + Tailwind 4

One command. Vite on 3000, Vitest ready, pnpm monorepo from day one.

Styling

Tailwind v4 dropped the JS config. No tailwind.config.js, no @apply. Just:

@import "tailwindcss";

Palette, spacing, breakpoints — all CSS. With the Vite plugin, it just works. No build friction I can see.

Backend

NestJS handles the boring parts. Modules, decorators, DI, test infrastructure that works. Scaffolded the backend on May 16:

feat: scaffold NestJS backend with Zone CRUD and PostgreSQL

A module, a controller, a service. TypeORM, migrations from commit one, Postgres in Docker. One template to follow.

Spring Boot was the other path. Same structure, different ecosystem. Still on the list to try.

Why this works for me

Frontend deploys anywhere static. No server to manage.

Backend has one pattern: module → controller → service. New routes just follow it.

Both TypeScript. Share types, no context switching.

Not the right stack for everything. For a map SPA with a structured API, it hits the balance.