ForgeKit

ForgeKit is a modular scaffolding tool that helps you spin up full‑stack projects with your choice of frontend, backend and UI frameworks. It creates the initial directory structure, initializes Git and installs required dependencies so you can start coding right away.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 18 or later recommended)
• npm or yarn
• Git installed and available in your PATH

Example Usage

Install the package globally and run the CLI:

npm install -g @forgekit/cli
forge

Running forge will prompt you step‑by‑step for a frontend, UI library, backend and optional database. Choices are filtered so only compatible combinations are shown. The project is created in the directory where you executed the command and when scaffolding finishes you will be dropped into a shell inside the new project folder.

The tool can also be configured programmatically. Example configuration from the project plan:

{
  projectName: "acme-site",
  frontend: "react-vite",
  backend: "express",
  ui: "tailwind",
  targetDir: "./acme-site"
}

You can also use npx without installing globally:

npx @forgekit/cli

This behaves the same as the global install, prompting for details and placing you in the newly created project directory when finished.

If the forge command is not found after a global install, ensure your npm global bin directory is in your PATH. You can typically add it with:

$env:Path += ";$(npm bin -g)"

You can verify your environment at any time with the built in doctor command:

forge --doctor

forge login

Run this command to authenticate the CLI with your ForgeKit account. Your web browser will open to complete the login flow and the received token will be stored in ~/.forgekit/config.json.

Example config file:

{
  "token": "USER_JWT"
}

forge deploy

Run this command to publish your project. It will:

• Build the project.
• Bundle your build output into bundle.tar.gz (defaults to dist/, overridable with --build-dir).
• Upload the archive to ForgeKit hosting.

If you are not logged in, the command will open a browser and prompt you to authenticate before deploying.

If a forgekit.json file exists it will be used to auto-detect the build directory based on the scaffolded stack. The deploy endpoint can be customized with the FORGEKIT_DEPLOY_URL environment variable.

Example:

forge deploy --build-dir .next

Purpose

ForgeKit aims to streamline bootstrapping modern JavaScript projects by providing a collection of ready‑to‑use stacks with minimal setup hassle.

Development

Run tests with:

npm test

To update the stack documentation after modifying the available options run:

npm run generate-stack-docs

This will regenerate STACKS.md based on the registry files.

There is currently no formal CONTRIBUTING guide, but pull requests and issues are welcome.