Create C1 App

A powerful CLI tool that setups Generative UI examples with C1 by Thesys

Features

✨ Interactive Project Setup

Quick Start

# Run the tool
npx create-c1-app

# With project name
npx create-c1-app my-thesys-project

# With project name and options
npx create-c1-app my-thesys-project --template template-c1-component-next --api-key your-api-key

CLI Options

| Option | Alias | Description | Default | | --------------------- | ----- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------- | | [project-name] | | Name of the project to create (positional argument) | Interactive prompt | | --project-name | -n | Name of the project to create (alternative to positional argument) | Interactive prompt | | --template | -t | Next.js template to use (template-c1-component-next or template-c1-next) | Interactive prompt | | --api-key | -k | Thesys API key to use for the project | Interactive prompt | | --auth | | Authentication method (oauth, manual, skip) | Prompt in interactive mode; oauth when provided | | --skip-auth | | Deprecated. Use --auth skip instead | false | | --debug | -d | Enable debug logging | false | | --non-interactive | | Run without prompts; fails fast if required options are missing. Auto-enabled in non-TTY shells. | false (auto-detected) | | --disable-telemetry | | Disable anonymous telemetry for current session | false |

Usage Examples

Basic Usage

# Interactive mode with OAuth authentication (recommended)
npx create-c1-app

# Quick setup with project name as positional argument
npx create-c1-app my-thesys-project

# Quick setup with project name, template, and API key
npx create-c1-app my-thesys-component --template template-c1-component-next --api-key your-api-key-here

# Using flag instead of positional argument
npx create-c1-app --project-name my-thesys-component --template template-c1-component-next --api-key your-api-key-here

# With specific template choice
npx create-c1-app my-project --template template-c1-next --api-key your-api-key-here

# Interactive with API key provided
npx create-c1-app --api-key your-api-key-here

Non-Interactive / CI / Agent Usage

When running in CI pipelines, automated scripts, or AI agent shells (e.g. Cursor, Copilot, Devin), interactive prompts will hang. The CLI supports a fully non-interactive mode:

# Explicit flag
npx create-c1-app my-project --template template-c1-next --api-key YOUR_API_KEY --non-interactive

# Or just provide all required flags — non-interactive mode is auto-detected
# when stdin is not a TTY (pipes, agents, CI) or when CI env vars are set
npx create-c1-app my-project --template template-c1-next --api-key YOUR_API_KEY

Auto-detection: The CLI automatically enables non-interactive mode when:

• stdin is not a TTY (piped input, background process, agent shell)

Behavior in non-interactive mode:

• --api-key is required (OAuth browser flow is skipped)
• --project-name defaults to my-c1-app if not provided
• --template defaults to template-c1-next if not provided
• The CLI will fail immediately with a clear error if required options are missing, instead of hanging on a prompt

Development

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/thesysdev/create-c1-app.git
cd create-c1-app
pnpm install
pnpm run build
pnpm link

Authentication Options

Create C1 App supports flexible authentication methods:

Option 1: OAuth 2.0 Authentication (Recommended)

The CLI will automatically open your browser and guide you through the OAuth authentication process. This is the default in interactive mode.

npx create-c1-app
# or explicitly:
npx create-c1-app --auth oauth

This method will:

• Open your browser for secure authentication
• Generate an API key automatically after successful login
• Store the API key in your project's .env file

If you do not pass an auth option in interactive mode, the CLI will ask you to choose between OAuth, manual API key entry, or skip.

Option 2: Manual API Key

If you prefer to enter your API key manually:

npx create-c1-app --auth manual

Or provide your existing API key directly via flag:

npx create-c1-app --api-key your-api-key-here

Option 3: Skip Authentication

To skip authentication and API key generation (useful for testing or CI where you might set the key later):

npx create-c1-app --auth skip

Note: The --skip-auth flag is deprecated but still supported for backward compatibility. Use --auth skip going forward.

Getting Your Thesys API Key (Manual Method)

To get an API key manually:

1. 🌐 Visit: https://console.thesys.dev/keys
2. 🔐 Sign in to your Thesys account
3. 🆕 Click "Create New API Key"
4. 📝 Give your key a descriptive name
5. 📋 Copy the generated API key

💡 Tip: Keep your API key secure and never share it publicly!

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Error: "Project directory already exists"

# Choose a different name or remove the existing directory
rm -rf existing-project-name
npx create-c1-app

Error: "Failed to download template"

# Check your internet connection and try again
npx create-c1-app

Error: "Failed to install dependencies"

# Navigate to your project and install manually
cd your-project-name
npm install

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging for detailed troubleshooting:

npx create-c1-app --debug

Or set the environment variable:

export CREATE_C1_APP_DEBUG=true
npx create-c1-app

Telemetry

create-c1-app collects anonymous telemetry data to help improve the tool. No personally identifiable information is collected.

Managing Telemetry

# Disable for current session
npx create-c1-app --disable-telemetry

# Disable via environment variable
export CREATE_C1_APP_DISABLE_TELEMETRY=true

For complete details about what data is collected and how to control it, see TELEMETRY.md.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

• 🐛 Issues
• 💬 Discussions

Made with ❤️ by Thesys