How to Build a Portfolio Website

<context>
App: Portfolio Website
Difficulty: Beginner
Estimated build time: 1–3 days

Data model:
  Project: slug, title, description, tech_stack[], live_url, github_url, cover_image, featured, order
  WorkExperience: company, role, start_date, end_date, description, logo_url

Recommended build order:
  1. Hero section — Build the first-fold content: your name, one-line role description ("Full-stack developer building AI tools"), a short bio (2–3 sentences), and two CTAs — "View My Work" (scrolls to projects) and "Contact Me".
  2. Projects grid — Create a projects array in a data file. Render a 2-3 column grid of project cards with: cover image, title, 2-line description, tech stack tags, and links to live demo + GitHub.
  3. About section — Write 3–4 paragraphs covering: who you are, what you build, what you've done professionally, and what you're currently learning. Add a skills grid and a downloadable CV button.
  4. Contact form — Add a contact form with name, email, and message. Use Resend to send yourself an email on submission. Show a success message after sending. Add honeypot field for spam protection.
  5. SEO and metadata — Set a title ("Your Name — Full-Stack Developer"), meta description, og:image (a 1200×630 branded card generated with @vercel/og), and canonical URL. Add JSON-LD Person schema.
  6. Performance — Run Lighthouse. Common issues: images not using next/image, fonts loaded via <link> instead of next/font, unused CSS from a component library. Fix each until you hit 90+ on all metrics.
  7. Dark mode — Use next-themes. Add a toggle button to the header. Store the preference in localStorage. The page should respect the user's OS preference on first load (prefers-color-scheme).

Known pitfalls to avoid:
  - Listing every project you've ever touched — quality over quantity. 4 strong projects with live demos beat 12 CRUD apps with no demos. Be ruthless: if you wouldn't demo it in an interview, cut it.
  - Forgetting mobile — most hiring managers browse on desktop but some check on mobile. Test at 375px width. Your project cards should stack to one column, text should be readable without zooming.
  - No live demo — "live demo coming soon" is a red flag. If the project is important enough to show, deploy it. Vercel and Railway both have free tiers. A working link is worth 10× a screenshot.

Tech stack (intermediate): Next.js + Framer Motion + Sanity CMS — animated transitions and CMS-managed content
</context>

<role>
You are a Senior Full-Stack Engineer and product architect who has shipped production Portfolio Websites before. You know exactly where developers get stuck and how to structure the project to avoid rewrites.
</role>

<task id="step-1-clarify">
Before writing any code or spec, ask me 3–5 clarifying questions that will meaningfully change the architecture. Focus on: scale expectations, auth requirements, platform (web / mobile / both), must-have vs nice-to-have features for the MVP, and any hard constraints (budget, deadline, existing infrastructure).

<example>
BAD: "What tech stack do you want to use?" — too broad, doesn't change architecture decisions.
GOOD: "Do you need real-time sync across devices, or is single-device with periodic refresh acceptable? This decides whether we use WebSockets or simple REST polling and significantly affects infrastructure complexity."
</example>
</task>

<task id="step-2-architect">
After I answer your questions, generate a complete project specification including:

1. Final tech stack with version numbers
2. Full file and folder structure
3. Complete database schema — every table, column, type, index, and foreign key
4. All API routes with request/response shapes and auth requirements
5. Component tree with TypeScript props interfaces
6. Auth and authorisation flow (who can do what)
7. Step-by-step implementation plan in the exact build order from <context> above
8. All environment variables with descriptions

<self_check>
Before presenting the spec, verify:
□ Every answer I gave in step 1 is reflected in the spec
□ The database schema matches the data model in <context>
□ The implementation plan follows the build order from <context>
□ No circular dependencies in the component tree
□ Auth is wired up before any protected routes are built
□ All known pitfalls from <context> are addressed in the spec
</self_check>
</task>

<task id="step-2.5-agents-md">
Generate an AGENTS.md file at the project root. This file is read automatically by Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Sourcegraph Cody, and all major AI coding tools at the start of every session.

Include:
- Project overview (2–3 sentences)
- Tech stack with version numbers
- Folder structure with one-line descriptions
- Key architectural decisions and why they were made
- Coding conventions: naming (camelCase components, kebab-case files), max 200 lines per file, one concern per file
- Available commands: dev, build, test, lint, db:migrate, db:seed

Note in the file: "Cursor users can symlink .cursorrules → AGENTS.md. Claude Code users can symlink CLAUDE.md → AGENTS.md."
</task>

<task id="step-3-implement">
Implement the full project following the spec from step 2, in the exact order defined. For each step:
- Write the complete code (no placeholders or TODOs)
- Confirm the step is working before moving to the next
- Note any deviations from the spec with an explanation

<constraints>
- Max 200 lines per file. WHY: every file must fit in one AI context window for easy review and editing.
- One concern per file. WHY: mixing auth logic into API routes makes it impossible to reuse — extract to lib/auth.ts.
- TypeScript strict mode, no `any` types. WHY: catches data shape mismatches at compile time, not in production at 2am.
- All database queries in server components or API routes only. WHY: keeps credentials server-side, prevents accidental client-side exposure.
- All environment variables documented in .env.example. WHY: the next developer (or your future self) should be able to set up the project in under 5 minutes.
- Comment every non-obvious decision. WHY: AI tools read your comments to understand intent — without them, the next edit will break the pattern you established.
</constraints>
</task>