create-cronus-app

Scaffold a production-ready Next.js + Cronus UI app in one command.

npx create-cronus-app my-app --template saas

That is the gold path: a composed multi-page SaaS product — split login/signup, Items and Team in a sidebar shell — built from validated registry blocks (the generator's golden rule: pages only import and stack installed blocks). Catalog demo pages (analytics, billing, settings) ship as files, not in the nav.

You get Next.js 16 (App Router) + React 19 + Tailwind v4 with @cronus-ui/ui, @cronus-ui/tokens, and @cronus-ui/theme already wired — themeable, accessible components and an anti-flash theme script.

The CLI default is --template saas (the gold path). Pass --template default for the single-page starter.

Usage

create-cronus-app [project-name] [options]

If you omit the project name, you are prompted (default: my-cronus-app). Interactive runs also prompt for template, theme, mode, and the AI Kit.

Options

| Flag | Description | | --- | --- | | --template <name> | Starter template. CLI default: saas. Bundled: default, dashboard, marketing. Composed: store, landing, saas, plus landing-* flavors (studio, ops, secure, care, shop, docs, premium, agents, coverage, broadcast, agency, glass). | | --theme <aurora\|neutral\|midnight\|sunset\|emerald> | Theme preset to bake in (default: aurora). | | --mode <dark\|light> | Default color mode (default: dark). | | --ai / --no-ai | Include or skip the AI Kit (skills, rules & doctrine). | | --assistants <claude,cursor,copilot,windsurf,gemini\|all\|none> | Assistants to configure (default: all). Codex CLI and Zed read the root AGENTS.md natively. | | --preset <standard\|fintech\|saas\|oss\|agency\|none> | Engineering doctrine to ship (default: standard). | | --skills <ui-add,theme,compose,code-review,ship-pr,evidence-check\|all\|none> | Claude Code skills to include (default: all). | | --pm <bun\|npm\|pnpm\|yarn> | Package manager to install with (auto-detected otherwise). | | --no-install | Skip installing dependencies. | | -y, --yes | Accept defaults; skip interactive prompts. | | -h, --help | Show help. | | -v, --version | Show the version. |

There are no other flags.

Templates

default, dashboard, and marketing copy a bundled directory.

store, landing, saas, the landing-* flavors, and the Pro pack (mail, chat, finance) have no bundled template dir. They scaffold the default base, then compose pages + chrome from validated registry blocks (the same engine as npx cronus-ui compose <template>). OSS keeps saas/store/landing; the Pro pack is additive.

| Template | What you get | | --- | --- | | default | Single-page starter — metrics, table & cards. Pass --template default. | | dashboard | Bundled multi-page app — sidebar shell, KPIs, chart, data table, settings. | | marketing | Bundled landing site — hero, features, pricing, testimonials, FAQ, waitlist. | | store | Composed storefront — 9 navigable pages, real nav, from validated blocks. | | landing | Composed marketing page — hero, features, pricing, testimonials, FAQ, CTA. | | saas | Composed SaaS product — split auth, Items, Team. CLI default. Recommended for a full product. | | landing-studio | Dark AI studio — atmosphere hero, marquee, bento, stats, pricing. Midnight dark. | | landing-ops | Workflow product — split hero, logos, features, integrations. | | landing-secure | Infra/security — compact hero, metrics, usage pricing, split FAQ. Midnight dark. | | landing-care | Healthcare conversion — waitlist hero, bento, proof. Emerald light. | | landing-shop | Storefront — compact hero + editorial product showcase. Sunset light. | | landing-docs | Developer tool — compact hero, logos, features, integrations. | | landing-premium | Full SaaS marketing — split hero, toggle pricing, FAQ. Aurora light. | | landing-agents | Automation — split hero, marquee, bento, stats. Emerald light. | | landing-coverage | Services — hero, stats, testimonial grid, FAQ. Sunset light. | | landing-broadcast | Studio/show — atmosphere hero, marquee, features, pricing. | | landing-agency | Agency — split hero, about, services, stats. Midnight dark. | | landing-glass | Glass dark — atmosphere hero, bento, split FAQ, split CTA. | | mail | Pro. Inbox — notification panel, activity feed, compose, preferences. Midnight dark. | | chat | Pro. Assistant — chat thread, prompt box, replies, settings. Aurora dark. | | finance | Pro. Money — payouts, invoices, billing, analytics. Emerald light. |

AI Kit

--ai writes the kit; --no-ai skips it. If you pass neither, an interactive run prompts (default yes). --yes accepts that default, so npx create-cronus-app my-app -y does include the kit — pass --no-ai to skip it. --assistants, --preset, and --skills only take effect when the kit is written.

Examples

# Gold path — composed SaaS product.
npx create-cronus-app my-app --template saas

# Same, non-interactive, skip the AI Kit, install with pnpm.
npx create-cronus-app my-app --template saas --no-ai --pm pnpm --yes

# Bundled dashboard starter.
npx create-cronus-app my-app --template dashboard

# Theme + mode (any template).
npx create-cronus-app my-app --template saas --theme aurora --mode dark

# AI Kit for a subset of assistants.
npx create-cronus-app my-app --template saas --ai --assistants claude,cursor --preset fintech

# Files only; install later yourself.
npx create-cronus-app my-app --template saas --no-install

What you get

A --template saas app (after compose) looks like:

my-app/
├─ app/
│  ├─ globals.css           # Tailwind v4 + Cronus tokens + the @source opt-in
│  ├─ layout.tsx            # <CronusUIProvider> + anti-flash <CronusThemeScript>
│  ├─ (bare)/login          # split-variant sign-in
│  ├─ (bare)/signup
│  └─ (shell)/              # Items (/) and Team in the nav; catalog demo pages off-nav
├─ components/blocks/       # installed registry blocks; pages only stack them
├─ cronus-ui.json            # so `npx cronus-ui add` / add-page / compose work here
├─ next.config.mjs
├─ postcss.config.mjs
├─ tsconfig.json
└─ package.json

default is the single-page starter (app/page.tsx only). store and landing compose the same way as saas, with their own routes and chrome.

After scaffolding:

cd my-app
npm install   # if you used --no-install
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000.

How to grow

Composed apps (saas / store / landing) grow with add-page, not by hand-wiring routes. Switch theme or preview upgrades at any time:

npx cronus-ui add-page --route /pricing --blocks pricing,cta --nav Pricing
npx cronus-ui theme set aurora --mode dark
npx cronus-ui upgrade --all --dry-run

Every app still has a cronus-ui.json, so individual components work too:

npx cronus-ui add dialog table tabs

Started from default, dashboard, or marketing and want a multi-page product? Compose one onto the project:

npx cronus-ui compose saas

License

MIT