ObjectStack Framework

A metadata-driven developer framework with microkernel runtime, CLI toolchain, official plugins, framework adapters, and Studio IDE — orchestrating ObjectQL, ObjectOS, and ObjectUI into a unified development experience.

What is ObjectStack?

ObjectStack is a metadata-driven platform built on a microkernel architecture and three protocol layers:

• ObjectQL (Data Layer) — Define objects, fields, queries, and relations as metadata
• ObjectOS (Control Layer) — Runtime, permissions, automation, and plugin lifecycle
• ObjectUI (View Layer) — Presentation metadata: apps, views, dashboards, and actions

All business logic is expressed as Zod schemas (1,600+ exported schemas across 200 schema files). The microkernel loads plugins and services at startup, enabling a fully composable and extensible stack with zero vendor lock-in.

See ARCHITECTURE.md for the full microkernel and layer architecture documentation.

Key Features

• Protocol-first — All schemas defined with Zod; TypeScript types are derived via z.infer<>
• Microkernel plugin system — DI container, EventBus, and lifecycle hooks (init → start → destroy)
• Multi-database support — In-memory, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and Turso/libSQL drivers
• 7 framework adapters — Express, Fastify, Hono, NestJS, Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit
• Client SDK + React hooks — useQuery, useMutation, usePagination out of the box
• Built-in authentication — better-auth via plugin-auth
• RBAC / RLS / FLS security — Role-based, row-level, and field-level access control
• Automation engine — DAG-based flows, triggers, and workflow management
• AI service — Agent, Tool, and Skill protocol built on the Vercel AI SDK
• Studio IDE — Web-based metadata explorer, schema inspector, and AI assistant
• CLI toolchain — os init, os dev, os studio, os serve, os validate, and more

Quick Start

For Application Developers

# Create a new project
npx @objectstack/cli init my-app
cd my-app

# Start development server
os dev

# Open Studio IDE
os studio
# → API:    http://localhost:3000/api/v1/
# → Studio: http://localhost:3000/_studio/

For Framework Contributors

# 1. Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/objectstack-ai/framework.git
cd framework
pnpm install

# 2. Build all packages
pnpm build

# 3. Run tests
pnpm test

# 4. Start Documentation site
pnpm docs:dev
# → http://localhost:3000/docs

Monorepo Scripts

CLI Commands

os init [name]    # Scaffold a new project
os dev            # Start dev server with hot-reload
os studio         # Start dev server + Studio IDE
os serve          # Start production server
os compile        # Build deployable JSON artifact
os validate       # Validate configuration against protocol
os info           # Display metadata summary
os generate       # Scaffold objects, views, and flows
os doctor         # Check environment health

Package Directory

Core

Engine

Drivers

Client

Plugins

Services

Framework Adapters

Tools & Apps

Examples

Codebase Metrics

Architecture

ObjectStack uses a microkernel architecture where the kernel provides only the essential infrastructure (DI, EventBus, lifecycle), and all capabilities are delivered as plugins. The three protocol layers sit above the kernel:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              ObjectKernel (Core)                     │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Plugin Lifecycle Manager                     │  │
│  │  • Dependency Resolution (Topological Sort)   │  │
│  │  • Init → Start → Destroy Phases              │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Service Registry (DI Container)              │  │
│  │  • registerService(name, service)             │  │
│  │  • getService<T>(name): T                     │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Event Bus (Hook System)                      │  │
│  │  • hook(name, handler)                        │  │
│  │  • trigger(name, ...args)                     │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
              │
    ┌─────────┴─────────┬──────────┬──────────┐
    │                   │          │          │
┌───▼────┐      ┌───────▼──┐   ┌──▼───┐  ┌───▼────┐
│ObjectQL│      │  Driver  │   │ Hono │  │  App   │
│ Plugin │      │  Plugin  │   │Server│  │ Plugin │
└────────┘      └──────────┘   └──────┘  └────────┘

See ARCHITECTURE.md for the complete design documentation including the plugin lifecycle state machine, dependency graph, and design decisions.

Roadmap

See ROADMAP.md for the planned phases covering runtime hardening, framework adapter completion, developer experience improvements, performance optimization, and security hardening.

Studio-specific roadmap: apps/studio/ROADMAP.md

Contributing

We welcome contributions. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for the development workflow, coding standards, testing requirements, and documentation guidelines.

Key standards:

• Zod-first — all schemas start with Zod; TypeScript types are derived via z.infer<>
• camelCase for configuration keys (e.g., maxLength, defaultValue)
• snake_case for machine names / data values (e.g., project_task, first_name)

Documentation

Full documentation: https://docs.objectstack.ai

Run locally: pnpm docs:dev

License

Apache 2.0 © ObjectStack