Express is a TypeScript workable choice for web3 / defi. GreatCTO auto-detects both — adds the web3 archetype overlay, wires web3-specific gates, and runs 34 specialist agents around your existing Express workflow.
GreatCTO reads your package.json and detects express + web3 archetype from signals: imports, file structure, env vars, README hints.
Attaches the web3 archetype overlay: oracle review, MEV protection, upgradeability (UUPS/Diamond/Beacon) decision, multisig. Override if your specifics differ; the defaults are sensible for Express-style projects.
qa-engineer runs tsc --strict / eslint / vitest --coverage; security-officer checks for prototype pollution + XSS sinks; performance-engineer reviews bundle size + cold-start times.
Bugs you've hit before in other Express projects (connection-pool exhaustion, ORM N+1 queries, retry storms) — the agent's Step 0 includes the prior detection order. MTTR drops 94 % on second occurrence (methodology).
$ cd my-express-app && npx great-cto init ✓ scanning manifests… found package.json ✓ stack: express (TypeScript) ✓ archetype: web3 ⚠ archetype + stack combo is unusual — review overlay manually ✓ 34 agents ready $ /start "add multisig vault deposit handler" ▸ architect drafting ARCH-web3.md… ▸ pm decomposing into beads tasks… ⚐ gate:plan — your approval needed
Approve → 3 senior-devs run in parallel worktrees → 5 reviewers fan out in parallel → gate:ship → deploy. One real run walked stage-by-stage: /proof.
Express (TypeScript) is not a typical fit for web3 / defi. The archetype overlay still attaches, but you may want to override defaults more aggressively. Check the web3 archetype page for the typical stack list and decide if your case is the right tool / right archetype.
No black-box "AI does it all" loop. GreatCTO is a deterministic state machine — 8 stages, 22 nodes, 2 human gates. Every node maps to a real agent on GitHub. Inspect the state machine →
$ npx great-cto init
Free, MIT, runs locally. Works in Claude Code, Cursor, OpenAI Codex CLI, Aider, and Continue.