create-crust

Scaffold a new Crust CLI project for Bun, Node.js, or Deno

Usage

npm create crust@latest my-cli
# or
pnpm create crust@latest my-cli
# or
bunx create-crust@latest my-cli
# or
bun create crust@latest my-cli
# or
deno run -A npm:create-crust@latest my-cli

The initializer collects the destination, any required overwrite decision, runtime, build output, dependency installation choice, and Git initialization choice. Explicit flags skip the corresponding prompts; prompts can also use defaults without rendering non-interactively. The package name is inferred from the directory name.

Options

create-crust [directory] [--runtime bun|node|deno] [--artifact package|binary] [--install|--no-install] [--git|--no-git] [--overwrite|--no-overwrite]

• directory sets the destination; otherwise the directory prompt defaults to my-cli. Its basename (the current directory's for .) becomes the package and command name, so it must follow the installed command name rule: letters, digits, ., _, and -, starting with a letter or digit; anything else is rejected before any file is written.
• --runtime selects the runtime the project develops and builds for: bun, node, or deno. The default is bun.
• --artifact selects the build output independently of the runtime: package for a JavaScript bundle requiring the user's selected runtime, or binary for a standalone executable embedding that runtime. Defaults: binary for Bun/Deno, package for Node.js. Deno runtime-package bundling is experimental.
• --install / --no-install installs or skips dependencies. The default is to install. Deno projects install with deno install; the other runtimes use the detected package manager. If installation is skipped, the next steps include the install command.
• --git / --no-git initializes or skips a Git repository when the destination is not already inside one. The default is to initialize.
• When the destination requires an overwrite decision, --overwrite overwrites conflicting files without confirmation; --no-overwrite aborts without prompting. The default is not to overwrite.

Generated projects use the single-file starter (src/cli.ts). The generated README and next steps use the detected package manager for script commands (bun run, npm run, pnpm run, or yarn run), independently of the selected runtime. Detection checks the destination's lockfiles first, then the invoking package manager's user-agent, and defaults to npm. Deno projects always use deno task.

Every generated project includes:

• src/cli.ts — entry point with a sample command
• package.json — configured for the selected runtime and artifact, with $schema pointing at the crust block schema shipped by @crustjs/crust for editor completion
• tsconfig.json — strict TypeScript config
• README.md — getting started instructions
• .gitignore — sensible defaults for Node/Bun projects

Every project has the same scripts: build (crust build) stages the publishable npm package(s) in .crust/, start runs the built CLI from .crust/root/bin/<name>.js, and release (crust publish) publishes them. The runtime decides how the project runs in development; the crust.artifact setting decides what build puts in .crust/. All six combinations are selectable; the defaults preserve each runtime's established output:

| Runtime | dev | build output (crust.artifact) | | ------- | ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | bun | bun run src/cli.ts | binary: a root package with a Node launcher plus one standalone binary package per platform | | node | node src/cli.ts | package: a root package containing one JavaScript bundle that needs Node 24+ | | deno | deno run -A src/cli.ts | binary: a root package with a Node launcher plus one standalone binary package per platform |

Every runtime puts the Crust packages your code imports (@crustjs/core, @crustjs/extensions) in dependencies and the build tool (@crustjs/crust) in devDependencies, and writes your selections to "crust": { "runtime": ..., "artifact": ... } in package.json so crust build needs no additional flags.

For example, scaffold a Node binary or an experimental Deno runtime package:

npx create-crust@latest my-node-cli --runtime node --artifact binary
npx create-crust@latest my-deno-cli --runtime deno --artifact package

Node binaries need Node 26+ and Bun at build time; Node runtime packages do not need the Node executable compiler. Deno packages need Deno 2.5+ to bundle. The wizard does not install or pin compilers. See Build and distribution for complete requirements.

Artifact choice is separate from distribution channel. release publishes to npm, but npm is optional: standalone executables plus adjacent assets can be shipped as downloads or through Homebrew/Scoop without a separate JavaScript runtime. The npm binary launcher requires Node.js. The generated README links to custom distribution; the wizard does not generate installer definitions.

Documentation

See the full docs at crustjs.com.

License

MIT