---
title: Getting Started with Thunder
description: Get started with Thunder, the open source platform-as-a-service for AWS
---

import { Tabs, TabItem, Aside } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';
import { Icon } from 'astro-icon/components';
import Button from '../../components/Button.astro';
import FrameworksGrid from '../../components/docs/FrameworksGrid.astro';

Thunder is an open-source CDK library and CLI for deploying modern web applications on your own AWS account — no vendor lock-in, no black boxes.

## The Thunder Library

The `@thunder-so/thunder` package provides CDK constructs for every deployment pattern: static sites, serverless functions, containers on Fargate, and full-stack SSR frameworks.

### Install

<Tabs syncKey="package-manager">
  <TabItem label="bun" icon="bun">
```sh
bun add -d @thunder-so/thunder
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="npm" icon="seti:npm">
```sh
npm install @thunder-so/thunder --save-dev
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="pnpm" icon="pnpm">
```sh
pnpm add -D @thunder-so/thunder
```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

### Bootstrap AWS

If you haven't bootstrapped your AWS environment yet:

```sh
cdk bootstrap aws://YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID/us-east-1
```

### Create a Stack

Create a stack file (e.g. `stack/dev.ts`) and pick the construct that matches your app:

<Tabs syncKey="pattern">
  <TabItem label="Static">
```ts title="stack/dev.ts"
import { Cdk, Static, type StaticProps } from '@thunder-so/thunder';

const config: StaticProps = {
  env: { account: 'YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID', region: 'us-east-1' },
  application: 'myapp',
  service: 'web',
  environment: 'prod',
  rootDir: '.',
  outputDir: 'dist',
};

new Static(new Cdk.App(), `${config.application}-${config.service}-${config.environment}-stack`, config);
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="Lambda">
```ts title="stack/dev.ts"
import { Cdk, Lambda, type LambdaProps } from '@thunder-so/thunder';

const config: LambdaProps = {
  env: { account: 'YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID', region: 'us-east-1' },
  application: 'myapp',
  service: 'api',
  environment: 'prod',
  rootDir: '.',
  functionProps: {
    runtime: Cdk.aws_lambda.Runtime.NODEJS_22_X,
    architecture: Cdk.aws_lambda.Architecture.ARM_64,
    codeDir: 'src',
    handler: 'index.handler',
    memorySize: 512,
    timeout: 30,
  },
};

new Lambda(new Cdk.App(), `${config.application}-${config.service}-${config.environment}-stack`, config);
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="Fargate">
```ts title="stack/dev.ts"
import { Cdk, Fargate, type FargateProps } from '@thunder-so/thunder';

const config: FargateProps = {
  env: { account: 'YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID', region: 'us-east-1' },
  application: 'myapp',
  service: 'api',
  environment: 'prod',
  rootDir: '.',
  serviceProps: {
    port: 3000,
    cpu: 512,
    memorySize: 1024,
    dockerFile: 'Dockerfile',
  },
};

new Fargate(new Cdk.App(), `${config.application}-${config.service}-${config.environment}-stack`, config);
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="Serverless">
```ts title="stack/dev.ts"
import { Cdk, Nuxt, type NuxtProps } from '@thunder-so/thunder';

const config: NuxtProps = {
  env: { account: 'YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID', region: 'us-east-1' },
  application: 'myapp',
  service: 'web',
  environment: 'prod',
  rootDir: '.',
  serverProps: {
    runtime: Cdk.aws_lambda.Runtime.NODEJS_22_X,
    architecture: Cdk.aws_lambda.Architecture.ARM_64,
    memorySize: 1792,
    timeout: 10,
    keepWarm: true,
  },
};

new Nuxt(new Cdk.App(), `${config.application}-${config.service}-${config.environment}-stack`, config);
```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

### Deploy

```sh
npx cdk deploy --app="npx tsx stack/dev.ts" --profile default
```

After deployment you'll receive a CloudFront URL for your application.

---

## Framework Guides

Pick your framework for a step-by-step deployment guide.

<FrameworksGrid />

---

## Thunder Console

Prefer a UI over writing CDK stacks? [Thunder Console](https://console.thunder.so) is a hosted dashboard that connects to your AWS account and manages deployments for you.

<div class="not-content grid grid-cols-1 sm:grid-cols-2 gap-4 my-6">
  <div class="rounded border border-[var(--color-border,#e2e8f0)] p-4">
    <p class="font-semibold mb-1">Connect your AWS account</p>
    <p class="text-sm text-muted-foreground">Thunder creates a scoped IAM role in your account — you stay in control of your infrastructure.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="rounded border border-[var(--color-border,#e2e8f0)] p-4">
    <p class="font-semibold mb-1">Import from GitHub</p>
    <p class="text-sm text-muted-foreground">Install the Thunder GitHub App and import any repository. Automatic build detection included.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="rounded border border-[var(--color-border,#e2e8f0)] p-4">
    <p class="font-semibold mb-1">Manage environments</p>
    <p class="text-sm text-muted-foreground">Configure environment variables, custom domains, redirects, and response headers from the UI.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="rounded border border-[var(--color-border,#e2e8f0)] p-4">
    <p class="font-semibold mb-1">Real-time build logs</p>
    <p class="text-sm text-muted-foreground">Watch builds and deployments stream live. Get notified on success or failure via email or Slack.</p>
  </div>
</div>

<div class="not-content flex gap-3 mt-6 mb-6 [&_a]:no-underline [&_a]:[text-decoration:none]">
  <Button href="https://console.thunder.so" variant="hero">Open Console</Button>
  <Button href="/docs/aws" variant="hero-outline">Connect AWS Account</Button>
</div>