How to vibe codeSmartlead

Prerequisites

• Node.jsfree

  Runtime environment for building and running the Next.js application.

• GitHubfree

  Source code repository and deployment trigger.

• Resend Accountfree tier

  Transactional email API for testing dispatch pipelines.

AI coding tools

• Claude Code

  Terminal AI coding agent best suited for scaffolding complex full-stack apps and background job workers.

• Cursor

  AI code editor for iterative frontend dashboard and sequence builder UI refinements.

Build guide

1. 01Project Scaffolding & Authentication

   Initialize the Next.js project with Tailwind CSS, configure Turso SQLite database, and integrate better-auth for single-user management.

   Initialize a Next.js 16 project using TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and App Router. Set up better-auth connected to a Turso SQLite database via Drizzle ORM. Create a clean dashboard layout with sidebar navigation for Campaigns, Unibox, Senders, and Analytics. Ensure environment variables are properly typed and validated using Zod.

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2. 02Mailbox & SMTP Credential Management

   Build the sender account management screen to securely store SMTP and IMAP connection parameters for custom email accounts.

   Build a Senders management module in Next.js where users can add multiple SMTP and IMAP mailbox credentials (host, port, username, password, from name). Encrypt sensitive passwords at rest in the Turso database. Add a connection test button that performs a live ping against the IMAP/SMTP server to verify authentication parameters before saving.

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3. 03Campaign Sequencer & Lead Import

   Develop the campaign creation wizard with multi-step email sequence sequencing, lead CSV import, and variable personalization.

   Create a campaign builder with a multi-step sequence editor supporting delay timers, subject lines, and rich text body templates using variables like {{firstName}} and {{company}}. Implement a CSV lead parser that maps columns to database fields, validates email formats, and stores leads associated with the specific campaign.

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4. 04Asynchronous Email Dispatch Engine

   Implement the background worker using BullMQ and Upstash Redis to rotate through connected mailboxes and dispatch scheduled sequence emails.

   Build an asynchronous background worker using BullMQ and Upstash Redis that processes active campaign queues. The worker must implement round-robin mailbox rotation across all verified senders belonging to the campaign, respect sending delay pacing, handle rate limits, update lead state, and log bounce or failure events.

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5. 05Unified Master Inbox (Unibox)

   Build the centralized unibox interface to poll IMAP inboxes and display bidirectional email threads in a unified view.

   Build a Unified Master Inbox (Unibox) interface in React that aggregates incoming email replies across all connected mailboxes. Implement an IMAP sync worker that polls connected mailboxes at regular intervals, parses inbound MIME messages, threads replies by message ID, and displays them in a split-pane master-detail layout with quick reply capabilities.

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6. 06AI Assistant Integration

   Integrate the Vercel AI SDK to generate personalized cold email variations and categorize inbound reply intent.

   Integrate the Vercel AI SDK with Anthropic and OpenAI providers to power an in-app AI assistant. Add features to generate high-converting cold email subject lines and body copy based on target persona inputs, and create an automated reply classifier that tags incoming unibox responses as 'Interested', 'Not Interested', or 'Out of Office'.

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Cost vs paying for Smartlead