@nooma-tech/degit — straightforward project scaffolding

Note: This is an enhanced and security-updated fork of the original degit by Rich Harris. All credit goes to the original author for creating this amazing tool. This fork includes security updates, dependency upgrades, and modern tooling improvements.

degit makes copies of git repositories. When you run degit some-user/some-repo, it will find the latest commit on https://github.com/some-user/some-repo and download the associated tar file to ~/.degit/some-user/some-repo/commithash.tar.gz if it doesn't already exist locally. (This is much quicker than using git clone, because you're not downloading the entire git history.)

Requires Node 16 or above, because async and await are the cat's pyjamas

What's New in This Fork

• 🔒 Security Updates: All dependencies updated to secure versions
• 🚀 Modern Node.js: Updated to require Node 16+ with latest tooling
• 🔧 Build Improvements: Enhanced build process and CI/CD pipelines
• 📦 NPM Organization: Published under @nooma-tech scope
• ✅ GitHub Actions: Modern CI/CD with automated releases
• 🎯 Template System: Interactive prompts, variable substitution, and file operations
• 🔐 Enhanced Git Support: SSH and HTTPS modes for private repositories
• 📋 Advanced Actions: Complete scaffolding solution with template processing

Installation

Global Installation

npm install -g @nooma-tech/degit

Use with npx (Recommended)

# No installation required - always uses latest version
npx @nooma-tech/degit user/repo my-project

# With options
npx @nooma-tech/degit --mode=git-https user/private-repo my-project

# Interactive template scaffolding
npx @nooma-tech/degit Nooma-Tech/n8n-nodes-starter-kit my-n8n-node

Original Package

npm install -g degit

Quick Start

The fastest way to use degit is with npx:

# Clone a simple repository
npx @nooma-tech/degit user/repo

# Clone with interactive template processing
npx @nooma-tech/degit Nooma-Tech/n8n-nodes-starter-kit my-new-node

# Clone private repository via HTTPS
npx @nooma-tech/degit --mode=git-https your-org/private-template my-project

Usage

Basics

The simplest use of degit is to download the master branch of a repo from GitHub to the current working directory:

degit user/repo

# these commands are equivalent
degit github:user/repo
degit [email protected]:user/repo
degit https://github.com/user/repo

Or you can download from GitLab and BitBucket:

# download from GitLab
degit gitlab:user/repo
degit [email protected]:user/repo
degit https://gitlab.com/user/repo

# download from BitBucket
degit bitbucket:user/repo
degit [email protected]:user/repo
degit https://bitbucket.org/user/repo

# download from Sourcehut
degit git.sr.ht/user/repo
degit [email protected]:user/repo
degit https://git.sr.ht/user/repo

Specify a tag, branch or commit

The default branch is master.

degit user/repo#dev       # branch
degit user/repo#v1.2.3    # release tag
degit user/repo#1234abcd  # commit hash

Create a new folder for the project

If the second argument is omitted, the repo will be cloned to the current directory.

degit user/repo my-new-project

Specify a subdirectory

To clone a specific subdirectory instead of the entire repo, just add it to the argument:

degit user/repo/subdirectory

HTTPS proxying

If you have an https_proxy environment variable, Degit will use it.

Private repositories

Private repos can be cloned using Git modes instead of the default tar mode:

SSH Mode (requires SSH keys):

degit --mode=git user/private-repo        # or --mode=git-ssh
degit --mode=git-ssh user/private-repo

HTTPS Mode (uses local Git credentials):

degit --mode=git-https user/private-repo

Git modes are slower than fetching a tarball, which is why tar remains the default for public repositories.

See all options

degit --help

Enhanced Features

• ✅ Private repositories - Now supported via --mode=git-ssh or --mode=git-https
• ✅ Multiple Git authentication methods - SSH keys or HTTPS credentials
• ✅ Interactive template system - Prompts, variables, and dynamic scaffolding
• ✅ Advanced file operations - Template processing, renaming, and content replacement
• ✅ Complete scaffolding solution - Transform templates into ready-to-use projects
• ✅ Security updates - All dependencies updated to secure versions
• ✅ Modern tooling - GitHub Actions CI/CD, Dependabot v2, ESLint 8.x

Pull requests are very welcome!

Wait, isn't this just git clone --depth 1?

A few salient differences:

• If you git clone, you get a .git folder that pertains to the project template, rather than your project. You can easily forget to re-init the repository, and end up confusing yourself
• Caching and offline support (if you already have a .tar.gz file for a specific commit, you don't need to fetch it again).
• Less to type (degit user/repo instead of git clone --depth 1 [email protected]:user/repo)
• Composability via actions
• ✅ Interactive mode — Template prompts and variable collection
• ✅ Advanced scaffolding — Template processing, file renaming, and project setup automation

JavaScript API

You can also use degit inside a Node script:

const degit = require('@nooma-tech/degit');

const emitter = degit('user/repo', {
	cache: true,
	force: true,
	verbose: true,
});

emitter.on('info', info => {
	console.log(info.message);
});

emitter.clone('path/to/dest').then(() => {
	console.log('done');
});

Actions

You can manipulate repositories after they have been cloned with actions, specified in a degit.json file that lives at the top level of the working directory. The following actions are supported:

Template Actions (NEW!)

prompt

Interactive prompts for collecting template variables:

{
  "action": "prompt",
  "message": "Configure your project",
  "variables": [
    {
      "name": "SERVICE_NAME",
      "message": "Enter service name:",
      "type": "input"
    },
    {
      "name": "AUTH_TYPE", 
      "message": "Choose authentication:",
      "type": "select",
      "choices": ["OAuth2", "API Key", "Basic Auth"]
    }
  ]
}

template

Text replacement with template variables:

{
  "action": "template",
  "replacements": [
    {
      "from": "ExampleService",
      "to": "{{SERVICE_NAME}}"
    }
  ],
  "extensions": [".js", ".ts", ".json", ".md"]
}

rename

File and directory renaming with template support:

{
  "action": "rename", 
  "files": [
    {
      "from": "**/*.tmpl",
      "to": "**/*"
    },
    {
      "from": "ExampleService.js",
      "to": "{{SERVICE_NAME}}.js"
    }
  ]
}

Complete Template Example

Here's a complete example of a degit.json for a project template:

[
  {
    "action": "prompt",
    "message": "🚀 Configure your project",
    "variables": [
      {
        "name": "PROJECT_NAME",
        "message": "Enter project name:",
        "type": "input"
      },
      {
        "name": "AUTHOR_NAME", 
        "message": "Enter author name:",
        "type": "input",
        "default": "Your Name"
      },
      {
        "name": "LICENSE_TYPE",
        "message": "Choose license:",
        "type": "select",
        "choices": ["MIT", "Apache-2.0", "GPL-3.0"]
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    "action": "template",
    "replacements": [
      {
        "from": "PLACEHOLDER_NAME",
        "to": "{{PROJECT_NAME}}"
      },
      {
        "from": "PLACEHOLDER_AUTHOR",
        "to": "{{AUTHOR_NAME}}"
      }
    ],
    "extensions": [".js", ".ts", ".json", ".md", ".yml"]
  },
  {
    "action": "rename",
    "files": [
      {
        "from": "**/*.tmpl",
        "to": "**/*"
      },
      {
        "from": "src/PLACEHOLDER_NAME.js",
        "to": "src/{{PROJECT_NAME}}.js"
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    "action": "remove",
    "files": [
      "degit.json",
      "template.config.json",
      ".template"
    ]
  }
]

script / preScript / postScript

Execute shell commands during scaffolding:

{
  "action": "preScript",
  "message": "Setting up development environment...",
  "commands": [
    "npm install",
    "git init",
    "git add .",
    "git commit -m 'Initial commit for {{PROJECT_NAME}}'"
  ],
  "workingDirectory": ".",
  "failOnError": true
}

{
  "action": "postScript", 
  "message": "Finalizing project setup...",
  "commands": [
    "npm run build",
    "npm test",
    "echo 'Project {{PROJECT_NAME}} is ready!'"
  ],
  "failOnError": false
}

clone

// degit.json
[
	{
		"action": "clone",
		"src": "user/another-repo"
	}
]

This will clone user/another-repo, preserving the contents of the existing working directory. This allows you to, say, add a new README.md or starter file to a repo that you do not control. The cloned repo can contain its own degit.json actions.

remove

// degit.json
[
	{
		"action": "remove",
		"files": ["LICENSE"]
	}
]

Remove a file at the specified path.

See also

• zel by Vu Tran
• gittar by Luke Edwards

License

MIT.