Roadmap

SmallStack is a complete foundation for Django web apps, APIs, and background jobs. v1.0 ships today with everything you need.

v1.5 — Up Next

Planning
Vector RAG chunking — chunk & embed docs for semantic retrieval
Recurring scheduler — @scheduled jobs, no cron
SmallStack Tabler — SmallStack with a professional theme
Django updates, TBD — planning in progress

v1.0 — Core Platform

13 shipped
Authentication & Profiles Shipped
Activity Tracking Shipped
Theming & Templates Shipped
Database Backups Shipped
Deployment (Docker + Kamal) Shipped
Background Tasks Shipped
CRUD Library (CRUDView) Shipped
User Manager Shipped
Help System & Slides Shipped
API Framework Integration Shipped
CORS, Auth & API Docs Shipped
Token Manager Shipped
Runbook — Versioned Docs Shipped

v1.5 — Up Next

Planning

The next wave: retrieval that understands your data, and jobs that run themselves. SmallStack Tabler (a professional theme edition) and Django updates are also in planning.

Vector RAG Chunking Chunk & embed documents for semantic retrieval

Split documents on semantic boundaries, embed the chunks, and rank by vector similarity — retrieval that understands meaning, not just keywords. Pairs with the Runbook knowledge base and the existing search_* MCP tools so Claude answers from your own content.

Building on: Today's full-text (BM25) search and per-model search_* MCP tools already shipped in v1.0.

Recurring & Scheduled Tasks Define recurring jobs in Python with @scheduled — no cron

A @scheduled primitive for jobs that run on an interval, straight from Python. Own your schedule in code — no crontab, no external beat process — on top of the same database-backed worker that already ships.

Building on: Django's task queue and the production db_worker process running today for one-shot background jobs.

v1.0 — Core Platform

Shipped

The complete foundation for building production-ready Django applications. Authentication, theming, deployment, background tasks, APIs, and more — all shipped and ready to use.

Authentication & Profiles Login, signup, password reset, and user profiles — ready out of the box

Login, signup, password reset, email verification. User profiles with auto-creation signals. Staff and superuser roles built in.

View docs

Activity Tracking See who's doing what with a built-in staff dashboard

Request-level activity logging with a staff dashboard. Tracks page views, user actions, and provides audit trail visibility with auto-pruning.

View docs

Theming & Templates Dark/light mode, sidebar layout, and branding you can customize with CSS variables

Dark and light mode with CSS variables. Admin-style sidebar layout with template inheritance. Breadcrumbs, nav helpers, and branding system.

View docs

Database Backups Scheduled SQLite backups with a dashboard and email alerts

SQLite backup with management command, web dashboard, cron scheduling, retention policies, and email failure notifications. Staff-only access.

View docs

Deployment (Docker + Kamal) Zero-downtime Docker deploys with Kamal, SSL, and health checks

Docker container with Kamal for zero-downtime deploys. Let's Encrypt SSL, health checks, persistent volumes, and local registry — all preconfigured.

View docs

Background Tasks Database-backed task queue — no Redis or Celery needed

Django 6's built-in task framework with database-backed queue. Worker process included in Kamal deployment. No Redis or Celery required.

View docs

CRUD Library (CRUDView) Build data views without boilerplate — list, detail, create, edit, delete

Reusable views for list, detail, create, edit, and delete — with pagination, search, and form styling that matches the SmallStack theme. Build data-driven apps without writing boilerplate views.

User Manager Manage accounts, roles, and permissions without Django Admin

Staff-facing UI for managing user accounts, roles, and permissions. View user activity, toggle active status, assign staff/superuser roles, and manage profiles — without reaching for Django Admin.

Help System & Slides Markdown docs, search, slide decks, and custom content sections

The help app renders Markdown files with YAML front-matter, section-based navigation, search, and syntax highlighting. The slide deck system turns Markdown into interactive presentations with progress tracking.

View docs

API Framework Integration DRF or Django Ninja — preconfigured to match SmallStack conventions

API framework with serializers, viewsets or endpoints, authentication, and pagination — preconfigured to match SmallStack conventions. Build hybrid apps that serve both templates and JSON.

CORS, Auth & API Docs Token auth, CORS, and auto-generated API docs for hybrid apps

CORS configuration for cross-origin requests. Token-based authentication for API clients. Auto-generated API documentation. Support for hybrid apps that serve both templates and API endpoints.

Token Manager Staff UI for issuing, revoking, and managing API tokens

Staff-facing interface for managing API tokens. Issue, revoke, and track token usage without touching the database directly. Integrates with the authentication system for secure API access control.

Runbook — Versioned Docs In-app markdown knowledge base with version history and search

Write operational docs in Markdown right in the app. Every save keeps an immutable version you can restore; full-text search finds anything; retention policies prune the rest. Reach the same document from the web UI, REST API, the rb CLI, or Claude over MCP — and export a runbook to a portable ZIP whenever you need it offline.

Start Building on v1.0 Today

Everything in v1.0 ships today — authentication, theming, deployment, APIs, and more. Start your project now and v1.5 features drop in as upgrades.

Read the Docs View Use Cases GitHub