Create Captain App

create-captain-app is a command-line utility designed to streamline the process of creating applications using Captain, an Electron app framework. It enables users to generate projects from a variety of customizable templates that can be exported as static websites, supporting a wide range of web technologies.

Features

• Versatility: Supports multiple front-end frameworks, including Next.js, Svelte, Vue.js, and basic HTML + CSS.
• Simplicity: Allows easy project generation with a single command, akin to create-react-app or create-next-app.
• Template-based: Offers a selection of templates to kick-start your project, each customizable to meet specific needs.

Prerequisites

• Node.js: Version 20 or later must be installed on your system.
• Git: Required for version control.

Installation

Install create-captain-app using the following command:

npx create-captain-app [app-name] [--template <template-url> | -t <template-url>]

Usage

To create a new Captain application, specify the name of your app and optionally, a template URL:

npx create-captain-app my-captain-app
npx create-captain-app my-next-app --template https://github.com/blib-la/captain-next-app-example

Default Settings

• App Name: If not specified, create-captain-app defaults to using "my-captain-app" as the project name.
• Template: If no template URL is provided, the default Next.js template for Captain will be used.

Template Selection

Specify any GitHub repository URL hosting a Captain-compatible template to use:

npx create-captain-app my-vue-app --template https://github.com/some-user/some-captain-vue-template

Creating Custom Templates

To develop a custom template, ensure your project aligns with Captain requirements and can be exported as a static site. Consult the default starter app for setup guidance.

Configuring Your Project

After project setup, adjust the metadata in the captain.md file to match your project specifics. This file uses YAML frontmatter for configuration:

• Preserve the Default ID: The initial id matches the packageJson.name and is uniquely set by our CLI. We recommend keeping the default settings to avoid conflicts.

Building Your App

Depending on your chosen template, begin by modifying the source files. For example, our Next.js starter app features a simple random cat generator powered by Stable Diffusion XL (SDXL).