My starter kit's setup is a handful of commands: the DX decisions I shipped in the README

A starter kit that takes two hours to set up isn't a starter kit — it's a second job. When I packaged mine, I decided the README's quick start was a product feature, not documentation debt, and I made three decisions to keep it under ten commands.

Decision 1: ship the database pre-seeded. The kit's SQLite file arrives with demo data already in it — an admin plus sample users — so the README explicitly says do not run php artisan migrate --seed. It won't reset anything; it's harmless but pointless. The only time you need php artisan migrate:fresh --seed is a deliberate clean reset. Backend setup is: composer install, cp .env.example .env, php artisan key:generate, php artisan serve --port=8000. Four commands, API live at http://localhost:8000/api.

Decision 2: zero-config database default. The requirements table says SQLite is the default — PHP 8.2+, Composer 2, Node 18+, that's the whole ask. No "install MySQL first" step before you can see the thing run. You can switch to MySQL or Postgres later; the first impression shouldn't require a database server.

Decision 3: the README tells you what to delete. The demo ships with a "Demo credentials" hint box on the login page (admin@demo.io / password). The README doesn't just leave it there — it names the exact <div> in frontend/src/pages/Login.jsx to remove before production. A kit that ships demo affordances should ship their removal instructions next to them, or somebody's production site will log in with a public password.

The rest is the boring checklist: an API reference table with every endpoint, method, auth requirement, and response shape (register → 201 {user, token}, login → 200 {user, token}, logout → 200). Frontend is three commands: npm install, cp .env.example .env, npm run dev — VITE_API_URL defaults to the local API so you don't touch config on day one.

The honest lesson: every setup step I removed was a step that once cost a buyer a support message. Onboarding friction isn't documentation's problem to apologize for — it's the product's problem to eliminate.

That's the philosophy behind the kit I sell (Laravel + React SaaS Starter Kit, $19 one-time: https://kamranofficial.gumroad.com/l/mhekoig). If your own boilerplate takes longer to install than to build the first feature on, the boilerplate is the feature that needs work.