[Feature Request] Add Support for t3-env package and backend static serving

[stychu]

I think this would be a great addition to options to choose from:

1. Env handling
2. If opted for separate backend/frontend setup an option to choose to have frontend being served via static bundle files instead of running two separate servers for frontend and backend

[AmanVarshney01]

1. yes ill add t3 env addon very very soon
2. can you explain this a bit more??

[stychu]

So given this scaffold -> pnpm create better-t-stack@latest my-better-t-app --yes --backend express --runtime node --api orpc --database none --orm none --no-auth --package-manager pnpm --no-git --addons biome

You’ll get a project with a separate backend (Express) and frontend (React), set up to use CORS by default. This is one valid approach.

Option 1: With CORS

• The frontend and backend run on separate servers with CORS enabled.
• This setup is useful if you want to deploy your React app to a CDN (like Vercel, Netlify, or S3) and your backend to a different server.
• The frontend makes API requests directly to the backend, and CORS handles cross-origin requests.

Option 2: Without CORS (Proxy Setup)

• You remove the CORS middleware from your Express backend.
• During development, you set up a proxy in the Vite dev server so API requests go through the frontend server to the backend.
• In production, you build the React app and serve the static files directly from the Express backend. Now, everything runs from a single server and origin, so CORS isn’t needed.

Summary:

• Option 1 (CORS): Deploy frontend and backend separately (e.g., React on CDN, backend elsewhere).
• Option 2 (Proxy, no CORS): Deploy only the backend; it serves both the API and the built frontend as static files. The whole app runs as one service.