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Terminal.skills
Use Cases/Build a User Onboarding Flow with Progress Tracking

Build a User Onboarding Flow with Progress Tracking

Build a guided onboarding flow that walks new users through setup steps, tracks completion progress, sends nudge emails for stalled users, and measures activation metrics.

#redis#caching#database#pub-sub#queues
Works with:claude-codeopenai-codexgemini-clicursor

Skills stack · 6 skills

Avg quality 93/100·All SAFE
>

typescript

v

Not yet scored
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redis

v1.0.0

Build applications with Redis — caching, session storage, pub/sub, streams, rate limiting, leaderboards, and queues. Use when tasks involve in-memory data storage, real-time messaging, distributed locking, or performance optimization with caching layers.

93/100 quality
1.81× impact
SAFE
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postgresql

v1.0.0

Assists with designing schemas, writing performant queries, managing indexes, and operating PostgreSQL databases. Use when working with JSONB, full-text search, window functions, CTEs, row-level security, replication, or performance tuning. Trigger words: postgresql, postgres, sql, database, jsonb, rls, window functions, cte.

87/100 quality
1.53× impact
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nextjs

v1.0.0

Assists with building production-grade React applications using Next.js. Use when working with the App Router, Server Components, Server Actions, Middleware, or deploying to Vercel or self-hosted environments. Trigger words: nextjs, next.js, app router, server components, server actions, react framework, ssr, isr.

93/100 quality
1.16× impact
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hono

v1.0.0

You are an expert in Hono, the ultrafast web framework for the edge. You help developers build APIs and web applications that run on Cloudflare Workers, Deno, Bun, Node.js, AWS Lambda, and Vercel Edge — with a tiny footprint (~14KB), middleware ecosystem, JSX support, RPC client, and Web Standards API compatibility that makes code truly portable across runtimes.

93/100 quality
3.00× impact
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zod

v1.0.0

You are an expert in Zod, the TypeScript-first schema declaration and validation library. You help developers define schemas that validate data at runtime AND infer TypeScript types at compile time — eliminating the need to write types and validators separately. Used for API input validation, form validation, environment variables, config files, and any data boundary.

100/100 quality
1.21× impact
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$

The Problem

Amira leads growth at a 30-person SaaS. 500 users sign up weekly, but only 120 reach "activated" status (completed setup + used a core feature). The signup-to-activation funnel shows users drop off at different points: 30% never complete profile setup, 25% never create their first project, 20% never invite a team member. There's no guidance after signup — users land on an empty dashboard and leave confused. They need a step-by-step onboarding flow that guides users to activation, tracks where they drop off, and re-engages stalled users.

Step 1: Build the Onboarding Engine

typescript
// src/onboarding/engine.ts — Onboarding flow with progress tracking and nudges
import { pool } from "../db";
import { Redis } from "ioredis";

const redis = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL!);

interface OnboardingStep {
  id: string;
  title: string;
  description: string;
  action: string;              // what to check for completion
  actionUrl: string;
  required: boolean;
  order: number;
  category: "setup" | "explore" | "activate";
  estimatedMinutes: number;
  nudgeEmailDelay: number;     // hours after signup to send reminder
}

const ONBOARDING_STEPS: OnboardingStep[] = [
  {
    id: "complete_profile",
    title: "Complete your profile",
    description: "Add your name, role, and profile photo",
    action: "profile_completed",
    actionUrl: "/settings/profile",
    required: true,
    order: 1,
    category: "setup",
    estimatedMinutes: 2,
    nudgeEmailDelay: 24,
  },
  {
    id: "create_project",
    title: "Create your first project",
    description: "Set up a project to organize your work",
    action: "project_created",
    actionUrl: "/projects/new",
    required: true,
    order: 2,
    category: "setup",
    estimatedMinutes: 3,
    nudgeEmailDelay: 48,
  },
  {
    id: "invite_team",
    title: "Invite a team member",
    description: "Collaboration makes everything better",
    action: "team_member_invited",
    actionUrl: "/settings/team",
    required: false,
    order: 3,
    category: "explore",
    estimatedMinutes: 1,
    nudgeEmailDelay: 72,
  },
  {
    id: "connect_integration",
    title: "Connect an integration",
    description: "Link Slack, GitHub, or Jira for seamless workflow",
    action: "integration_connected",
    actionUrl: "/settings/integrations",
    required: false,
    order: 4,
    category: "explore",
    estimatedMinutes: 5,
    nudgeEmailDelay: 96,
  },
  {
    id: "complete_first_task",
    title: "Complete your first task",
    description: "Mark a task as done to experience the full workflow",
    action: "task_completed",
    actionUrl: "/projects",
    required: true,
    order: 5,
    category: "activate",
    estimatedMinutes: 2,
    nudgeEmailDelay: 120,
  },
];

// Get onboarding progress for a user
export async function getOnboardingProgress(userId: string): Promise<{
  steps: Array<OnboardingStep & { completed: boolean; completedAt: string | null }>;
  progressPercent: number;
  isActivated: boolean;
  nextStep: OnboardingStep | null;
}> {
  const { rows: completions } = await pool.query(
    "SELECT step_id, completed_at FROM onboarding_progress WHERE user_id = $1",
    [userId]
  );

  const completionMap = new Map(completions.map((c) => [c.step_id, c.completed_at]));

  const steps = ONBOARDING_STEPS.map((step) => ({
    ...step,
    completed: completionMap.has(step.id),
    completedAt: completionMap.get(step.id) || null,
  }));

  const completedCount = steps.filter((s) => s.completed).length;
  const requiredSteps = steps.filter((s) => s.required);
  const allRequiredCompleted = requiredSteps.every((s) => s.completed);
  const nextStep = steps.find((s) => !s.completed) || null;

  return {
    steps,
    progressPercent: Math.round((completedCount / steps.length) * 100),
    isActivated: allRequiredCompleted,
    nextStep,
  };
}

// Mark a step as completed (called from various places in the app)
export async function completeStep(userId: string, stepAction: string): Promise<{
  step: string;
  progressPercent: number;
  isActivated: boolean;
  celebration: boolean;
}> {
  const step = ONBOARDING_STEPS.find((s) => s.action === stepAction);
  if (!step) return { step: "", progressPercent: 0, isActivated: false, celebration: false };

  // Idempotent: don't re-record
  const { rows: existing } = await pool.query(
    "SELECT 1 FROM onboarding_progress WHERE user_id = $1 AND step_id = $2",
    [userId, step.id]
  );

  if (existing.length > 0) {
    const progress = await getOnboardingProgress(userId);
    return { step: step.id, progressPercent: progress.progressPercent, isActivated: progress.isActivated, celebration: false };
  }

  await pool.query(
    "INSERT INTO onboarding_progress (user_id, step_id, completed_at) VALUES ($1, $2, NOW())",
    [userId, step.id]
  );

  const progress = await getOnboardingProgress(userId);

  // Track activation event
  if (progress.isActivated) {
    await pool.query(
      "UPDATE users SET activated_at = NOW() WHERE id = $1 AND activated_at IS NULL",
      [userId]
    );
    await redis.publish("onboarding:activated", JSON.stringify({ userId }));
  }

  // Celebration for milestones
  const celebration = progress.progressPercent === 100 || progress.isActivated;

  // Cancel pending nudge emails for this step
  await redis.del(`nudge:${userId}:${step.id}`);

  return {
    step: step.id,
    progressPercent: progress.progressPercent,
    isActivated: progress.isActivated,
    celebration,
  };
}

// Schedule nudge emails for stalled users
export async function scheduleNudges(userId: string, signupTimestamp: number): Promise<void> {
  for (const step of ONBOARDING_STEPS) {
    const nudgeAt = signupTimestamp + step.nudgeEmailDelay * 3600000;
    await redis.zadd("nudge:queue", nudgeAt, JSON.stringify({
      userId,
      stepId: step.id,
      stepTitle: step.title,
      actionUrl: step.actionUrl,
    }));
  }
}

// Process nudge queue (run periodically)
export async function processNudges(): Promise<number> {
  const now = Date.now();
  const items = await redis.zrangebyscore("nudge:queue", 0, now);
  let sent = 0;

  for (const item of items) {
    const nudge = JSON.parse(item);
    await redis.zrem("nudge:queue", item);

    // Check if step is already completed
    const { rows } = await pool.query(
      "SELECT 1 FROM onboarding_progress WHERE user_id = $1 AND step_id = $2",
      [nudge.userId, nudge.stepId]
    );

    if (rows.length === 0) {
      // Send nudge email
      await sendNudgeEmail(nudge.userId, nudge.stepTitle, nudge.actionUrl);
      sent++;
    }
  }

  return sent;
}

async function sendNudgeEmail(userId: string, stepTitle: string, actionUrl: string) {
  // Queue email via notification system
}

Results

  • Activation rate: 24% → 52% — guided onboarding with progress bar creates momentum; users complete steps because they want to fill the bar
  • Drop-off points visible — analytics show exactly where users stall; "invite team member" had 50% drop-off → team made it optional and activation improved
  • Nudge emails recover 15% of stalled users — personalized reminders at 24h, 48h, 72h bring users back to complete specific steps
  • Time to activation: 5 days → 1.5 days — clear next-step guidance means users don't wander; they follow the path
  • Celebration moments boost retention — confetti animation on activation creates positive association; day-7 retention improved 18%