How Tanglecat Works

A look under the hood: the stack and the magic behind the project

Our Stack

  • Next.js 15 – Modern React framework for fast, scalable web apps
  • React 19 – Latest React features for UI and performance
  • TypeScript – Type-safe, maintainable codebase
  • Tailwind CSS – Utility-first, responsive styling
  • Shadcn UI & Radix UI – Accessible, beautiful component libraries
  • Vercel AI SDK – AI-powered features and streaming UIs
  • Astro – Blazing fast static site generation for the marketing site

How It All Works

Tanglecat is designed to make gamification, collaboration, and recognition seamless for modern teams. The core app is built with Next.js and React, providing a robust, scalable foundation. TypeScript ensures reliability and maintainability, while Tailwind CSS and Shadcn UI deliver a beautiful, accessible user experience.

The backend leverages API routes for challenges, awards, authentication, and leaderboards. Admin tools allow for easy management and verification. Integrations with GitHub and webhooks enable automation and extensibility.

The marketing site (what you’re viewing now) is built with Astro for speed and SEO, sharing the same design system for a seamless brand experience. Everything is deployed on Vercel for world-class performance and reliability.