Starting an AI project without proper foundations is like building a house on sand. You might get something working initially, but as soon as you need to scale, debug, or iterate, everything crumbles.

Most AI tutorials skip the boring stuff - databases, caching, auth - and jump straight to the chat interface. Then you realize you need to save conversations, avoid expensive duplicate API calls, and actually let users log in.

Day 0 covers the foundation setup. You'll get a Next.js app with the database, caching, and authentication pieces already configured so you can focus on building the AI features.

You will:

Explore a pre-built Next.js starter with TypeScript, Tailwind, and essential AI app components
Master the AI-assisted development workflow using coding assistants
Set up local PostgreSQL with Docker for data persistence
Configure Drizzle ORM for type-safe database operations
Install Redis for intelligent caching and cost optimization
Establish your local development environment with proper tooling and debugging capabilities

By the end of Day 0, you'll have a working Next.js app with PostgreSQL, Redis, and authentication configured. You'll know how to use Drizzle for database operations, understand the codebase structure, and have your local development environment ready for the AI features we'll build next.