🧱 Brick CLI

A framework-agnostic CLI tool for managing reusable code templates. Stop copy-pasting code between projects — save it once, use it everywhere.

The Problem

Every developer has faced this workflow:

1. Create a new project (nest new my-app)
2. Open an existing project with code you want to reuse
3. Manually copy-paste files (auth module, pagination utils, config files)
4. Adjust imports, fix paths, install missing dependencies
5. Repeat for every new project

Brick eliminates steps 2-4 entirely.

Installation

# Install globally via npm
npm install -g code-brick

# Or with yarn
yarn global add code-brick

# Or with pnpm
pnpm add -g code-brick

# Or with bun
bun add -g code-brick

After installation, the brick command will be available globally:

brick --version

Quick Start

# 1. Initialize brick (one-time setup)
brick init

# 2. Save a folder as a reusable template
brick save my-auth ./src/auth --description "JWT authentication module"

# 3. View your saved templates
brick list

# 4. Apply a template to a new project
cd ~/new-project
brick apply my-auth ./src/auth

Commands

brick init

Initialize Brick on your system. Creates the storage directory at ~/.codebrick/.

brick init

brick save <name> [path]

Save a folder as a reusable template.

# Save current directory
brick save my-template

# Save a specific path
brick save nestjs-auth ./src/auth

# With options
brick save nestjs-auth ./src/auth \
  --description "JWT authentication for NestJS" \
  --tags auth,jwt,nestjs \
  --detect-deps

Options:

• -d, --description <desc> — Template description
• -t, --tags <tags> — Comma-separated tags
• --include <patterns> — Glob patterns to include
• --exclude <patterns> — Glob patterns to exclude
• --detect-deps — Auto-detect dependencies from imports

brick list

List all saved templates.

brick list

# Filter by type
brick list --local
brick list --remote

# Filter by tag
brick list --tag auth

# Detailed view
brick list --detailed

Output:

  #   Name                Type    Files  Description
  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  0   nestjs-auth         local   5      JWT authentication module
  1   react-modal         local   3      Animated modal with backdrop
  2   docker-dev          local   4      Docker Compose dev setup

  3 templates (3 local, 0 remote)

💡 Tip: Use the index number (0, 1, 2) instead of the full name in any command!

brick tree <name|index>

Display the file structure of a template.

# By name
brick tree nestjs-auth

# By index
brick tree 0

# With file sizes
brick tree 0 --size

Output:

nestjs-auth
├── guards/
│   └── jwt.guard.ts
├── strategies/
│   └── jwt.strategy.ts
├── auth.controller.ts
├── auth.module.ts
└── auth.service.ts

5 files, 2 directories

brick apply <name|index> [destination]

Apply a template to your project.

# Apply to current directory
brick apply nestjs-auth

# Apply by index
brick apply 0 ./src/auth

# With options
brick apply 0 --force --latest

Options:

• -f, --force — Overwrite existing files without prompting
• --skip-existing — Skip files that already exist
• --dry-run — Preview changes without writing files
• --latest — Use @latest for all dependency versions
• --no-deps — Skip dependency installation prompts

brick info <name|index>

Show detailed information about a template.

brick info nestjs-auth
brick info 0

brick size [name|index]

Show the size of templates.

# Show all template sizes
brick size

# Show specific template size
brick size nestjs-auth
brick size 0

Output (all templates):

  #   Name                Type    Files      Size
  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  0   nestjs-auth         local   5          12.4 KB
  1   react-modal         local   3          8.2 KB
  2   docker-dev          local   4          3.1 KB

Total: 12 files, 23.7 KB

Output (single template):

nestjs-auth

  Files:       5
  Directories: 2
  Total Size:  12.4 KB

brick add <name|index> <files...>

Add files to an existing template.

# Add a single file
brick add nestjs-auth ./src/auth/dto/login.dto.ts

# Add by index
brick add 0 ./src/auth/dto/*.ts

# Add a directory
brick add 0 ./src/auth/decorators/

brick remove-file <name|index> <files...>

Remove files from a template.

brick remove-file nestjs-auth auth.controller.ts
brick remove-file 0 dto/

brick delete <name|index>

Delete a template entirely.

brick delete nestjs-auth

# By index
brick delete 0

# Skip confirmation
brick delete 0 --force

brick clean <name|index>

Remove local/project-specific imports from template files. This makes templates portable by stripping out imports that reference the original project.

# Clean a template (auto-detects project name)
brick clean flutter-clean

# By index
brick clean 0

# Preview what will be removed (dry run)
brick clean 0 --dry-run

# Use custom pattern
brick clean 0 --pattern "package:my_app/"

# Also remove external packages (not recommended)
brick clean 0 --no-keep-external

Options:

• -p, --pattern <regex> — Custom regex pattern to match imports to remove
• --dry-run — Preview changes without modifying files
• --no-keep-external — Also remove external package imports

Example (Flutter/Dart):

Before cleaning:

import 'package:my_app/features/auth/login.dart';
import 'package:my_app/core/utils/helpers.dart';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:go_router/go_router.dart';

After brick clean flutter-template:

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:go_router/go_router.dart';

Supported languages:

| Language | Local Imports Removed | External Imports Kept | | --------------- | ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | Dart/Flutter| package:project_name/... | package:flutter/, package:go_router/, etc. | | TypeScript/JS | ./path, ../path | react, lodash, express, etc. | | Python | from .module, from .. | from flask, import requests | | Rust | use crate::, use super:: | use std::, external crates |

The command auto-detects the project name from pubspec.yaml, package.json, or pyproject.toml.

brick export <name|index>

Export a template as a shareable .brick file. Perfect for sharing templates with teammates or between machines.

# Export to current directory
brick export nestjs-auth

# By index
brick export 0

# Specify output path
brick export 0 --output ~/Desktop/my-auth.brick

Options:

• -o, --output <path> — Output file path (default: ./<name>.brick)

Example output:

┌ 🧱 Exporting template
│  ● Template: nestjs-auth
│  ● Files: 5 files
│  ● Output: /Users/you/nestjs-auth.brick
│
│  ◇ Export complete!
│    Size: 12.34 KB
│
│  Share this file and import with:
│    brick import nestjs-auth.brick
└

brick import <file>

Import a template from a .brick file.

# Import from .brick file
brick import nestjs-auth.brick

# Import with custom name
brick import nestjs-auth.brick --name my-auth-v2

# Force overwrite existing template
brick import nestjs-auth.brick --force

Options:

• -n, --name <name> — Custom name for the imported template
• -f, --force — Overwrite existing template without prompting

Example output:

┌ 🧱 Importing template
│  ● File: /Users/you/nestjs-auth.brick
│  ● Template: nestjs-auth
│  ● Description: JWT authentication module
│  ● Files: 5 files
│
│  ◇ Import complete!
│
│  View structure: brick tree nestjs-auth
│  Apply template: brick apply nestjs-auth
└

Smart Ignore System

Brick automatically ignores common dependency directories, build outputs, and generated files across all frameworks. This keeps your templates clean and portable.

Ignored Directories

| Framework | Automatically Ignored | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Node.js | node_modules/, .npm/, .yarn/, .pnpm-store/ | | Python | __pycache__/, .venv/, venv/, .pytest_cache/, .mypy_cache/ | | Flutter | .dart_tool/, .pub-cache/, build/, .flutter-plugins* | | Rust | target/ | | Go | vendor/ | | Java | .gradle/, .idea/, out/, build/ | | iOS | Pods/, .symlinks/, DerivedData/ | | .NET | bin/, obj/, packages/ | | Build | dist/, build/, .next/, .nuxt/, .output/, .vercel/ | | Cache | .cache/, .temp/, .turbo/, coverage/ | | VCS | .git/, .svn/, .hg/ | | IDE | .idea/, .vscode/ (settings, not launch configs) |

Ignored Files

| Category | Files | | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Locks | package-lock.json, yarn.lock, pnpm-lock.yaml, Podfile.lock | | Env | .env, .env.local, .env.production, .env.* | | OS | .DS_Store, Thumbs.db, desktop.ini | | Logs | *.log, npm-debug.log*, yarn-debug.log* | | Metadata | brick.json (template metadata) |

This means when you save a template, you get only the source code — no bloat:

# Before smart ignore (hypothetical)
flutter-app: 1,247 files, 89.2 MB  ❌

# With smart ignore (actual)
flutter-app: 42 files, 156 KB      ✅

Framework Agnostic

Brick works with any language or framework since it operates at the file level:

| Category | Examples | | -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | | Frontend | React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, Solid, Astro | | Backend | NestJS, Express, FastAPI, Django, Rails, Spring Boot | | Mobile | React Native, Flutter, Swift, Kotlin | | Languages | TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust, Java, C# | | Infrastructure | Terraform, Pulumi, Docker, Kubernetes configs | | Other | Markdown docs, config files, shell scripts |

Storage Location

Templates are stored locally at:

~/.codebrick/
├── config.json      # Configuration
├── store.json       # Template registry
└── templates/       # Actual template files
    ├── nestjs-auth/
    ├── react-modal/
    └── ...

Examples

Save a NestJS Auth Module

# From your existing project with a working auth implementation
cd ~/projects/my-backend
brick save nestjs-auth ./src/auth \
  --description "JWT authentication with Passport" \
  --tags nestjs,auth,jwt,passport \
  --detect-deps

Apply to a New Project

# Create new project
nest new my-new-api
cd my-new-api

# Apply the auth template (by index or name)
brick apply 0 ./src/auth

# Install dependencies (brick will show you the command)
npm install @nestjs/jwt @nestjs/passport passport-jwt bcrypt

Save React Components

brick save react-modal ./src/components/Modal \
  --description "Animated modal with backdrop" \
  --tags react,modal,ui,animation

Save Flutter Clean Architecture

brick save flutter-clean ./lib \
  --description "Clean architecture with BLoC" \
  --tags flutter,bloc,clean-architecture

Save Docker Configs

brick save docker-dev ./docker \
  --description "Docker Compose development setup" \
  --tags docker,devops

Quick Operations with Index

# List templates
brick list
#   0   nestjs-auth
#   1   react-modal
#   2   flutter-clean

# Use index for faster operations
brick tree 0
brick info 1
brick apply 2 ./lib
brick size 0
brick clean 2          # Remove local imports
brick delete 1 --force

Share Templates with Your Team

# Export a template to share
brick export nestjs-auth
# Creates: nestjs-auth.brick (shareable file)

# Send the .brick file to your teammate, then they run:
brick import nestjs-auth.brick

# Or import with a custom name
brick import nestjs-auth.brick --name company-auth

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request.