cmake-cli

Cross-platform CLI to scaffold and manage CMake C/C++ projects.

Install

npm install -g cmake-cli
# or
npx cmake-cli --help

Commands

• cmake-cli new <project> – scaffold a new project (use --here to stay in current folder)
• cmake-cli new:component <name> – add a component under src/components
• cmake-cli new:class <name> – add a class under src/classes
• cmake-cli new:test <name> – add a test file and register it
• cmake-cli run – configure, build, and run the main target
• cmake-cli run:tests – configure, build, and run ctest
• cmake-cli lint – run clang-tidy when available

Quick start

# Create a new C++ project with tests and git support
cmake-cli new SampleApp --lang cpp --git

# Navigate into the project
cd SampleApp

# Add a component (creates header + source)
cmake-cli new:component ui/Button

# Add a nested component
cmake-cli new:component networking/HttpClient

# Add a class with auto-generated skeleton
cmake-cli new:class models/User

# Add a test
cmake-cli new:test validation

# Build and run (requires CMake installed)
cmake-cli run

# Run tests
cmake-cli run:tests

# Lint code (requires clang-tidy)
cmake-cli lint

Generated Project Structure

SampleApp/
├── .cmake-cli.json          # Project metadata
├── .gitignore               # Git ignore rules
├── CMakeLists.txt           # CMake configuration
├── README.md                # Project documentation
├── main.cpp                 # Application entry point
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── ui/
│   │   │   ├── Button.h
│   │   │   └── Button.cpp
│   │   └── networking/
│   │       ├── HttpClient.h
│   │       └── HttpClient.cpp
│   └── classes/
│       └── models/
│           ├── User.h
│           └── User.cpp
└── tests/
    ├── default_test.cpp
    └── test_validation.cpp

Options

• --lang <c|cpp> choose language (default: cpp)
• --std <standard> set C or C++ standard (defaults: C17, C++20)
• --no-tests skip test scaffolding
• --no-src skip src directory
• --here use current directory instead of creating a new one
• --force overwrite existing files when safe
• --hpp (component/class) use .hpp headers for C++

Development

npm install
npm run build
npm link
cmake-cli --help