Modes

Archetype supports two generation modes. Pick based on your backend.

Quick Comparison

	Full Stack	Headless
Use when	You own the database	API is external
Database	SQLite, Postgres, MySQL	None
Generates	Schema + Routers + Hooks	Services + Routers + Hooks
Init command	npx archetype init --yes	npx archetype init --headless

---

Full Stack Mode

You own the database. Archetype generates everything from schema to hooks.

npx archetype init --yes

What you get

generated/
├── db/schema.ts              ← Drizzle tables
├── schemas/product.ts        ← Zod validation
├── trpc/routers/             ← CRUD API
├── hooks/useProduct.ts       ← React Query hooks
├── tests/product.test.ts     ← Vitest tests
├── docs/openapi.json         ← API documentation
├── seeds/product.ts          ← Sample data
└── i18n/en/product.json      ← Translation keys

Config example

// archetype.config.ts
export default defineConfig({
  entities: [Product],
  database: {
    type: 'sqlite',       // or 'postgres', 'mysql'
    file: './sqlite.db',
  },
})

---

Headless Mode

Database is external. You're connecting to a CMS, third-party API, or existing backend.

npx archetype init --headless

What you get

generated/
├── schemas/product.ts         ← Zod validation
├── services/productService.ts ← API client stubs
├── trpc/routers/              ← Routers call services
├── hooks/useProduct.ts        ← React Query hooks
├── tests/product.test.ts      ← Vitest tests (no DB tests)
├── docs/openapi.json          ← API documentation
└── i18n/en/product.json       ← Translation keys

Config example

// archetype.config.ts
export default defineConfig({
  mode: 'headless',
  entities: [Product],
  // No database config needed
})

Service layer

Headless mode generates service stubs you fill in:

// generated/services/productService.ts
const API_URL = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL

export const productService = {
  async list(): Promise<Product[]> {
    const res = await fetch(`${API_URL}/products`)
    return res.json()
  },

  async get(id: string): Promise<Product> {
    const res = await fetch(`${API_URL}/products/${id}`)
    return res.json()
  },

  async create(data: ProductCreate): Promise<Product> {
    const res = await fetch(`${API_URL}/products`, {
      method: 'POST',
      body: JSON.stringify(data),
    })
    return res.json()
  },
}

---

When to use which

Use Full Stack when:

• Building a new app from scratch
• You control the database
• Using SQLite, Postgres, or MySQL

Use Headless when:

• Connecting to a headless CMS (Contentful, Sanity)
• Consuming an existing REST/GraphQL API
• Building a frontend for an existing backend
• Deploying to edge/serverless without database access