whatisgithub

What is frickle?

dutchcoders/frickle — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-16 · repo last pushed 2014-11-12

JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5DormantSetup · moderate

In one sentence

Frickle is a starter kit that bundles together Angular, Express, MongoDB, and build tools into a ready-to-go full-stack web app so you can skip repetitive setup work and start building your product immediately.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Pre-assembled web app
      Skip repetitive setup
      Working examples included
    Tech stack
      Angular front-end
      Express server
      MongoDB via Mongoose
      Gulp and SASS
    Use cases
      Prototype SaaS dashboard
      Build internal tools
      Spin up new apps fast
    Audience
      Developers and teams
      Prototypers
      Consistency-focused teams

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Prototype a SaaS dashboard with a working full-stack app on day one.

USE CASE 2

Build an internal tool quickly without debating architecture choices first.

USE CASE 3

Spin up a new web application with front-end, back-end, and database already wired together.

USE CASE 4

Start building backend functionality immediately using the built-in API feature that connects to your database.

What is it built with?

JavaScriptAngularExpressMongooseMongoDBSASSGulpBrowserify

How does it compare?

dutchcoders/frickleabhishek-akkal/finovaadan-shahid/ecommerce_website
Stars00
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Last pushed2014-11-12
MaintenanceDormant
Setup difficultymoderateeasymoderate
Complexity3/51/53/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires installing Node.js, MongoDB, and running npm install plus Gulp before the app runs.

So what is it?

Frickle is a starter kit for building web applications. It gives you a pre-assembled foundation so you can skip the repetitive setup work that every new project requires and jump straight into building your actual product. Instead of spending days configuring different tools to work together, you start with a working app and customize it from there. The kit brings together several pieces that handle different parts of a web application. It uses Angular for the interactive front-end that users see in their browser, Express for the server that runs behind the scenes, and Mongoose to connect to a MongoDB database for storing data. It also includes SASS for styling, Gulp for automating routine build tasks like compiling and checking code for errors, and Browserify for organizing the client-side JavaScript. The starter comes with working examples of common pieces like controllers, services, and navigation between pages, so you can see how everything fits together and modify them rather than starting from a blank slate. This would appeal to a developer or small team who wants to spin up a new application quickly without debating architecture choices first. For example, if you are prototyping a SaaS dashboard or an internal tool and want a working full-stack app on day one, this gives you that. It includes a built-in API feature you can toggle on, which automatically connects to your database and loads your data models and routes, so you can start building backend functionality right away. The project makes a clear tradeoff in favor of convenience over flexibility. By picking a specific set of tools and wiring them together in a prescribed way, it saves you setup time but also means you are buying into those particular choices. The included configuration files for code style and linting suggest it was designed for teams who want consistency baked in from the start.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I cloned the Frickle starter kit. Help me customize the existing Angular controller and service examples to build a simple user profile page that fetches data from the MongoDB database via the Express API.
Prompt 2
Using Frickle as my base, walk me through toggling on the built-in API feature, defining a new Mongoose data model for a blog post, and creating the corresponding Express route so I can save and retrieve posts.
Prompt 3
I want to use Frickle to prototype an internal admin dashboard. Help me modify the existing navigation and page examples to add three new views: a dashboard summary, a user list, and a settings page.
Prompt 4
Help me understand the Gulp build tasks that Frickle includes so I can add a custom task that compiles my SASS files and runs linting every time I save a file.

Frequently asked questions

What is frickle?

Frickle is a starter kit that bundles together Angular, Express, MongoDB, and build tools into a ready-to-go full-stack web app so you can skip repetitive setup work and start building your product immediately.

What language is frickle written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, Angular, Express.

Is frickle actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2014-11-12).

How hard is frickle to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is frickle for?

Mainly developer.

Open on GitHub → Ask about another repo

This repo across BitVibe Labs

Verify against the repo before relying on details.