create-backbone-template

Create a Backbone starter project: a rigid, spec-driven harness for building with AI coding agents.

Backbone is for vibe coders who want the speed of AI-assisted development without letting the project dissolve into loose conventions. It provides an opinionated full-stack environment where as much of the app as possible is defined before implementation: protobuf contracts, route structure, generated bindings, design-system boundaries, and behavior-focused end-to-end tests.

The goal is not to make the smallest starter kit. The goal is to make a sturdy engineering frame that keeps both humans and agents oriented. Backbone favors declarative surfaces, strict compilation, narrow architectural choices, and repeatable planning rituals so that features are shaped before effective implementation begins.

Getting Started

npm create backbone-template@latest my-app

Equivalent commands:

pnpm create backbone-template my-app
npx create-backbone-template my-app

The generated project contains a React client, Rust ConnectRPC server, shared protobuf definitions, SQLite persistence, generated TypeScript bindings, design-system packages, custom linting boundaries, and Playwright/Cucumber e2e coverage from the first commit.

Why Backbone Exists

AI coding agents are surprisingly good at working inside rigid systems. They are much less reliable when the project leaves every architectural choice open. Backbone leans into that: it gives the agent a tight framework, then exposes the important parts of the application as declarative, reviewable artifacts.

Those artifacts become the shared planning surface. A route, a proto service, a Gherkin scenario, or a lint rule is not just implementation detail; it is a piece of the product definition that can be discussed before the code underneath it exists.

Core Choices

• Definition-first: proto files, routing declarations, and e2e scenarios form a declarative surface that can define a significant part of the app before implementation begins.
• Composition skills: the template includes a minimal set of agent skills for a planning methodology where declarative logic is modeled in the plan and reviewed in discussion.
• Strict by default: TypeScript, Rust with strict lints, protobuf contracts, and generated bindings create a clear cross-language compilation platform.
• Custom linters: project-specific lint rules let the repository enforce higher-level code organization standards, not only syntax and formatting.
• Behavior-readable tests: Cucumber/Gherkin keeps planning readable and turns behavior into executable checks.
• Fast enough to stay in flow: Rust, protobuf, ConnectRPC, and generated code are modern, high-performance choices. They may be less familiar than TypeScript-only, Python, or REST-heavy stacks, but that rigidity gives AI a stronger shape to work inside.

Where This Is Going

• Treat custom linters as a constant quality-improvement loop, with AI helping propose and implement rules while humans keep the rule set intentional.
• Let Backbone evolve from a template toward a framework where useful pieces, such as custom linters, can be published as separate libraries. That would make upgrades easier and increase consistency, while trading off some of the organic local control users have today by editing the template directly.
• Move more declarative elements directly into the planning phase: code as spec, reviewed before implementation.
• Build UI around planning, reading, and discussion so the project is not only a generated codebase, but a better working surface for collaborating with agents.

Package Creator

This package is the project creator. It copies the template into a new directory, personalizes the project name, restores dotfiles, and leaves the generated project with its own README containing the first setup commands.

Development

Run the creator locally:

node bin/create-backbone-template.js /tmp/my-app

Verify the package:

npm test
npm pack --dry-run

Publishing

The package is published by the Publish GitHub Actions workflow.

For normal publishing, run the Publish workflow from GitHub Actions and enter the package version without the leading v. The workflow updates the root package.json, validates the package and template, commits the version bump, creates the vX.Y.Z GitHub release, and runs npm publish --provenance --access public.

For release-based publishing, create and publish a GitHub release tagged vX.Y.Z. The release workflow verifies the tag matches package.json and runs npm publish --provenance --access public.

The npm package should be configured for trusted publishing with:

• Package: create-backbone-template
• Publisher: GitHub Actions
• Workflow: .github/workflows/publish.yml