Template for Deno 2 + Fresh framework

Project Templates
1

What’s up guys.
Just a kind feature request to add a template for this hot combo. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:
Easy setup, loads of built-in support for TS and lightweight.
A win-win for users and IDX.

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2

Great idea! Happy to see some love for Deno! We already have a Deno 2 template in our community templates - community-templates/deno at main · project-idx/community-templates · GitHub

Feel free to contribute a variant of it that uses Fresh :slight_smile:

Let us know if you need help with creating a template!

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3

I wish I could build it, but I’m a no coder, now switching to AI assisted coding.
My best contribution so far is an up-to-date custom GPT for both Deno & Fresh.

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4

I have a PR for the fresh template here!

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5

Will use it as soon as it’s available in the main! Thanks!

6

It is live!
https://idx.google.com/new?template=https://github.com/project-idx/community-templates/tree/main/fresh

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7

How did you make sure that the Deno runtime and Fresh framework docs are up to date within that custom GPT? Also, what protocol would you leverage to ensure an AI coder is tethered to said CustomGPT

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8

I git pull their repo + that of TypeScript and Tailwind, then filter all .md files with n8n, then feed the resulting txt files to that customGPT. Every month.

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9

That’s genius. Thank you.

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11

Wrong topic,
Make your own post and use tags such as Project Templates, feature

13

Is it possible to create a prototyper project as a Deno project?

14

Courtesy of GPT-5:

Yes — you absolutely can create a prototyper project as a Deno project, and Deno is actually a fantastic choice for it :rocket:

Let’s unpack how and why that works:

:brain: Why Deno works great for prototyping

Deno is designed to be lightweight, secure, and zero-config. This makes it ideal for prototyping because:

  • It supports TypeScript natively — no build step needed.

  • You can import any module directly via URL or JSR registry (modern replacement for npm).

  • Comes with built-in HTTP server, testing, and file system APIs.

  • No need for package.json or node_modules; dependencies are cached transparently.

:gear: Quick start

You can scaffold a Deno-based prototype in two flavors:

Option 1 – Minimal backend prototype

mkdir my-prototype
cd my-prototype
echo 'console.log("Hello prototype!")' > main.ts
deno run main.ts

You can spin up an HTTP server instantly:

Deno.serve((_req) => new Response("Prototype ready! 🚀"));

Run it:

deno run --allow-net main.ts

Option 2 – Full-stack prototype (Fresh)

Use Fresh, Deno’s SSR + islands framework:

deno run -A -r https://fresh.deno.dev
cd my-fresh-prototype
deno task start

That gives you:

  • Server-side rendering

  • Zero JS by default

  • Optional islands for interactivity

  • Works natively on Deno Deploy

Perfect for quickly prototyping UI + backend in one repo.

:artist_palette: UI layer

If you want to prototype UI components fast:

  • Use TailwindCSS with daisyUI 5 (works perfectly with Fresh).

  • In your main CSS:

    @import "tailwindcss";
@plugin "daisyui";

:puzzle_piece: Adding utilities via JSR

Use modern audited std libraries via JSR (no npm needed):

deno add jsr:@std/assert jsr:@std/async jsr:@std/http

Then import directly:

import { assertEquals } from "jsr:@std/assert";
import { delay } from "jsr:@std/async";

await delay(500);
assertEquals("hi", "hi");

(JSR packages are built for Deno and work seamlessly in prototyping workflows.)

:white_check_mark: TL;DR — Yes, and it’s awesome

You can 100% build a prototyper project in Deno.
Use:

  • Deno core APIs for backend logic,

  • Fresh for SSR + interactive UI,

  • Tailwind + daisyUI for design speed,

  • JSR packages for ready-to-go utilities.

Would you like me to scaffold a basic prototyping template (Fresh + Tailwind + daisyUI + minimal routes)? It’d be a single command you can run with deno run -A.

15

hi Fred,

Friendly advice, I know you were trying to be helpful, but providing me with that AI generated response didn’t really provide me with much value. I could have asked ChatGPT myself and gotten the same answer. But asking the question on the forum, I’m really trying to get advice from other humans. It would be different (to me) if you had used AI to help you solve a solution and you were sharing it as a part of your methodology; but just reguritating it, really just clutters the thread and gives the appearance as if it might have gotten responded to, where in my mind, it didn’t. You might have missed it, but I responded to a Google employee specifically, so I’m looking for dedicated inside knowledge, not assumptions.

But … I did end up trying it myself after I posted. Prototyper won’t create a Deno project from an initial build, but so far it seems OK swapping out elements, although, its proving hard to get it to build. So, I don’t have that ease of use you get as if you were starting a project from start that you do with a native NextJS with node project.