create-app-ui

Enterprise React UI boilerplate generator. Ships shared boilerplate plus template overlays so generated apps are ready to run.

Use with npx (after publish)

npx create-app-ui@latest my-app

Upgrade an existing app

Pull the latest boilerplate and template infrastructure into a project that was already scaffolded. Adds and updates files only — never deletes your pages, routes, or custom code.

cd my-existing-app
npx create-app-ui@latest upgrade --dry-run   # preview
npx create-app-ui@latest upgrade -y          # apply

UI kit only — skip template layout/components:

npx create-app-ui@latest upgrade --boilerplate-only -y

Force template if auto-detect fails:

npx create-app-ui@latest upgrade --template sor -y

Synced from boilerplate: src/components/ui, theme, hooks, api, styles, shared utilities.

Synced from template: layout shell, auth layout, sidebar, headers, template components (not pages).

Protected (never modified): src/pages/**, App.tsx, main.tsx, config/branding.ts, config/navigation.ts, config/chart-data.ts, lib/breadcrumbs.ts.

Use --with-overrides to also sync config/constants.ts and context/theme-provider.tsx.

Non-interactive:

npx create-app-ui@latest my-app -y --template admin-portal --no-install
npx create-app-ui@latest my-app -y --template blank --no-install --no-git
npx create-app-ui@latest my-sor -y --template sor --no-install --no-git
npx create-app-ui@latest my-app -y --template admin-portal --git --company "Acme Inc"

Templates: admin-portal, blank, sor.

Then:

cd my-app
npm install
npm run dev

Monorepo development

From ui-platform/create-app-ui:

npm install
npm run build
npm link
create-app-ui my-app

Or from ui-platform root:

npm run create

How generation works

1. Boilerplate — boilerplate/react-base (app shell, configs, re-export stubs for the UI kit)
2. Template overlay — templates/<template> (admin-portal, sor, or blank)
3. Placeholder replacement and optional npm install / git init

In the monorepo, assets live under ui-platform/. The published npm package bundles copies of boilerplate/ and templates/ next to dist/.

UI kit dependency: generated apps depend on the @omobio/ui npm package (the boilerplate's src/components/ui/* files are thin re-export stubs). Publish @omobio/ui before publishing create-app-ui — otherwise npm install fails in generated apps. Kit updates reach existing apps via npm update @omobio/ui; the upgrade command covers template files and new stubs.

Publish to npm

Prerequisites: npm account, unique package name (create-app-ui may already be taken — use a scoped name if needed, e.g. @your-org/create-app-ui).

1. Log in:

npm login

2. Verify the tarball (includes CLI, boilerplate, templates):

cd ui-platform/create-app-ui
npm run pack:check

3. Publish from the ui-platform root (avoids workspace E404 errors):

cd ui-platform
npm publish -w create-app-ui --otp=123456

Or from the package folder:

cd ui-platform/create-app-ui
npm run publish:npm -- --otp=123456

Use your current 2FA code instead of 123456. Confirm you are logged in as the package owner (npm whoami → should match maintainers on npm).

4. Bump version for updates:

npm version patch   # or minor / major
npm publish

Consumers then run:

npx create-app-ui@latest my-app

If the package name is taken

Edit package.json name to e.g. @omobio/create-app-ui, then:

npx @omobio/create-app-ui@latest my-app

Add a new template

1. Add ../templates/<template-name>/ in the monorepo (overlay files only).
2. Register it in src/prompts.ts and src/cli-args.ts.
3. Rebuild and publish.

Scripts

| Script | Description | |--------|-------------| | npm run build | Compile TypeScript to dist/ | | npm run prepare-publish | Copy boilerplate + templates into this package | | npm run pack:check | Dry-run npm pack | | npm run start | Run CLI via tsx (local dev) |