create-lamdera-app

A modern CLI tool to scaffold Lamdera applications with built-in support for Tailwind CSS, internationalization (i18n), dark mode, and testing.

Features

• 🚀 Quick Setup - Get a working Lamdera app in seconds
• 🎨 Tailwind CSS - Beautiful, responsive designs out of the box
• 🌍 i18n Support - Built-in internationalization (EN/FR) with easy extension
• 🌓 Dark Mode - System-aware dark/light theme switching
• 🧪 Testing Ready - lamdera-program-test integration for reliable tests
• 📝 Editor Support - Cursor editor integration with custom rules
• 🔧 Dev Tools - Hot reload, debugger toggle, and more
• ⚡ Bun Support - Use Bun for 10x faster package installs

Installation

npm install -g @CharlonTank/create-lamdera-app

Usage

Create a new project

create-lamdera-app

Follow the interactive prompts to configure your project.

Non-interactive mode

create-lamdera-app --name my-app --tailwind --i18n --test

Add to existing project

cd existing-lamdera-project
create-lamdera-app --init

Options

• --name <project-name> - Project name (required in non-interactive mode)
• --cursor <yes|no> - Add Cursor editor support
• --tailwind - Add Tailwind CSS
• --test - Add lamdera-program-test for testing
• --i18n - Add internationalization and dark mode
• --github <yes|no> - Create GitHub repository
• --public/--private - Repository visibility (with --github)
• --init - Add features to existing project
• --package-manager <npm|bun> - Choose package manager (default: npm)
• --pm <npm|bun> - Shorthand for --package-manager
• --bun - Use Bun package manager (same as --pm bun)
• --skip-install - Skip package installation

Shortcuts

• --no-cursor - Same as --cursor no
• --no-github - Same as --github no
• --no-test - Same as --test no

Project Structure

my-app/
├── src/
│   ├── Backend.elm
│   ├── Frontend.elm
│   ├── Types.elm
│   ├── Env.elm
│   └── (optional features)
│       ├── I18n.elm          # with --i18n
│       ├── Theme.elm         # with --i18n
│       ├── LocalStorage.elm  # with --i18n
│       └── styles.css        # with --tailwind
├── tests/                    # with --test
│   └── Tests.elm
├── public/
│   └── sample.svg
├── elm.json
├── lamdera-dev-watch.sh
├── toggle-debugger.py
├── head.html
└── (optional files)
    ├── package.json          # with --tailwind
    ├── tailwind.config.js    # with --tailwind
    ├── elm-test-rs.json      # with --test
    ├── .cursorrules          # with --cursor
    └── openEditor.sh         # with --cursor

Feature Details

Tailwind CSS Integration

When you add Tailwind CSS (--tailwind), you get:

• Pre-configured tailwind.config.js
• NPM scripts for development and production builds
• Beautiful starter template with gradient design
• Dark mode support (when combined with --i18n)

Internationalization (i18n)

The --i18n flag adds:

• Language switcher (English/French by default)
• Dark/Light/System theme modes
• LocalStorage persistence for user preferences
• Auto-detection of browser language and system theme
• Easy-to-extend translation system

Testing with lamdera-program-test

The --test flag sets up:

• Effect pattern for testable Lamdera code
• Example test suite
• elm-test-rs configuration
• Compatible with all other features

Development Tools

Every project includes:

• lamdera-dev-watch.sh - Auto-recompiling development server
• toggle-debugger.py - Quick debugger toggling
• Hot reload support with elm-hot

Examples

Basic Lamdera app

create-lamdera-app --name my-app

Full-featured app

create-lamdera-app --name my-app --cursor yes --tailwind --test --i18n

Using Bun for faster installs

# Install Bun first: https://bun.sh
create-lamdera-app --name my-app --tailwind --bun

Add Tailwind to existing project

cd my-existing-app
create-lamdera-app --init --tailwind

Development

Running Tests

npm test
npm run test:watch
npm run test:coverage

Test All Feature Combinations

./test-all-combinations.sh

This creates 8 test applications with essential feature combinations and verifies they compile correctly.

Requirements

• Node.js ≥ 14.0.0
• npm ≥ 6.0.0
• Lamdera installed
• elm-test-rs (for testing features)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT © Charles-André Assus

Acknowledgments

• Lamdera for the amazing platform
• Tailwind CSS for the utility-first CSS framework
• elm-test-rs for fast Elm testing