This week we're excited to announce the introduction of Stacks which represent the third-pillar of our platform. As developers, we're all familiar with the concept of using multiple applications to build a project - commonly referred to as a stack. With the introduction of stacks on Playbooks, developers can maintain this practice and showcase their expertise when it comes to tackling specific projects.

A screenshot of a stack card on Playbooks

On Playbooks, a stack allows developers to group repositories together and then distribute them as a single entity. From a marketing perspective, stacks allow developers to share more advanced project strategies while recognizing the unique value and purpose of each repository. In turn, this should help keep the learning curve relatively simple.

For example, instead of purchasing a frontend repository and then not knowing which backend to pair it with, you might find a stack that includes both repositories as chosen by the author. Then, instead of having to purchase or download those repositories separately, you can do so with one-click.

Naturally, this leads to faster start times and better outcomes since the repositories work well together.

A screenshot adding a stack to Playbooks

To get started, developers simply need to click the "+" button located at the top right on the page and then click "stack" from the available options. From here, you can either edit an existing stack or create a new one.

A screenshot of the stack submission workflow

Both options will take you into the submission workflow, where you'll fill out the necessary details and select the repositories to include in your stack. After that, you simply need to click "publish" and your stack will go live on the marketplace. (Don't worry you can edit any detail at any time.)

A screenshot of a stack on Playbooks

In general, developers use multi-application stacks for more complex projects though that isn't always the case. For instance, at Playbooks, we have ~10 applications that power our business today and we expect that number to grow over time. We like this approach because it keeps repositories small and more focused which is often referred to as a micro-service architecture.

But, it's important to note that not every developer or team takes this route. For instance, some developers prefer a monorepo strategy where multiple projects are "stacked" into one repository. This comes with several benefits such as shared configurations. As such, there isn't a right or wrong approach as it all comes down to developer preference. But, it's nice to have options and that's why we added stacks to Playbooks.

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