@totaland/create-starter-kit

Scaffolding tool for creating new starter-kit projects with a choice between backend and frontend templates.

Features

• ✨ Interactive template selection (backend or frontend)
• 🎯 CLI argument support for automation
• 📦 Clean, production-ready templates
• 🚀 Quick project initialization

Usage

Interactive Mode (Recommended)

pnpm create @totaland/starter-kit my-new-project

You'll be prompted to select a template:

• Backend - Express.js + TypeScript + Drizzle ORM + Scalar API docs
• Frontend - React + Vite + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS v4 + shadcn/ui + TanStack Query

With Template Argument

Skip the prompt by specifying the template:

# Create backend project
pnpm create @totaland/starter-kit my-backend backend

# Create frontend project
pnpm create @totaland/starter-kit my-frontend frontend

Alternative Package Managers

Using npm:

npm create @totaland/starter-kit@latest my-project

Using yarn:

yarn create @totaland/starter-kit my-project

Using pnpm dlx:

pnpm dlx @totaland/create-starter-kit my-project

Templates

Backend Template

Tech Stack:

• Express.js (via ultimate-express)
• TypeScript
• Drizzle ORM with PostgreSQL
• Scalar API documentation
• Biome for linting/formatting
• Vitest for testing

Features:

• 🏗️ Feature-based architecture
• 🔄 JSON-driven orchestration engine
• 📝 Comprehensive API documentation
• 🧪 Testing setup with Vitest
• 🗄️ Database migrations with Drizzle

After Creation:

cd my-backend
pnpm install
pnpm dev

Frontend Template

Tech Stack:

• React 19
• Vite 7
• TypeScript
• Tailwind CSS v4
• shadcn/ui (component library)
• TanStack Query v5
• React Router v7
• Drizzle ORM
• Biome for linting/formatting

Features:

• 🎨 Modern UI with Tailwind CSS v4
• 🎯 shadcn/ui ready (add components via CLI)
• 🔄 TanStack Query for data fetching
• 🗺️ React Router for navigation
• 📱 Responsive layout examples
• 🌗 Dark mode support

After Creation:

cd my-frontend
pnpm install
pnpm dev

# Add shadcn/ui components
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add button card dialog

What It Does

1. ✅ Creates a new directory with your project name
2. ✅ Copies the selected template (backend or frontend)
3. ✅ Updates the package.json name field to match your project name
4. ✅ Provides next steps for installation and running the project

Local Development

To test this locally before publishing:

1. Make sure templates are up to date:

   cd /path/to/starter-kit/create-starter-kit
   # Templates are in ./templates/backend and ./templates/frontend

2. Link the package globally:

   cd create-starter-kit
   pnpm link --global

3. Test it:

   cd /tmp
   pnpm create @totaland/starter-kit test-project
   # Select a template when prompted
      
   # Or specify template directly
   pnpm create @totaland/starter-kit test-backend backend
   pnpm create @totaland/starter-kit test-frontend frontend

Publishing

To publish to npm:

cd create-starter-kit
pnpm publish

Once published, anyone can use:

pnpm create @totaland/starter-kit my-project

Project Structure

create-starter-kit/
├── bin/
│   └── index.js          # CLI entry point
├── templates/
│   ├── backend/          # Backend template files
│   └── frontend/         # Frontend template files
├── package.json
└── README.md

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• pnpm (recommended) or npm/yarn

License

MIT