devstarter-tool

CLI to generate projects with best practices and predefined configurations.

Features

• Project scaffolding: Create frontend, backend, or monorepo projects in seconds
• add command: Add features like ESLint, Vitest, Prettier, CI, Docker, and Tailwind CSS to existing projects
• Interactive prompts: Guided project creation or flag-based configuration
• Automatic dependency installation: No need to run npm install manually
• Package manager detection: Automatically uses npm, pnpm, or yarn
• Git initialization: Optional repository setup
• Dry-run mode: Preview changes before creating files

Installation

npm install -g devstarter-tool

Or run directly with npx:

npx devstarter-tool init my-app

Quick Start

# Interactive mode - guided setup
devstarter init

# Quick project with defaults
devstarter init my-app -y

# Frontend project with Vitest
devstarter init my-app --type frontend --vitest

# Add features to an existing project
devstarter add prettier
devstarter add eslint
devstarter add tailwind
devstarter add docker
devstarter add ci

# Preview without creating files
devstarter init my-app --dry-run

Commands

devstarter init

Scaffolds a new project from a template.

devstarter init [project-name] [options]

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | -y, --yes | Use default values without prompting | | -t, --type <type> | Project type: frontend or backend | | --template <name> | Template to use (e.g., basic, react) | | --vitest | Add Vitest for testing | | --no-git | Skip Git repository initialization | | --no-vitest | Skip Vitest testing framework setup | | --dry-run | Preview changes without creating files |

Examples

# Full interactive mode
devstarter init

# Create project with specific name
devstarter init my-app

# Frontend with React template
devstarter init my-app --type frontend --template react

# Backend with testing setup
devstarter init my-api --type backend --vitest

# Quick frontend with all defaults
devstarter init my-app --type frontend -y

# Create without Git
devstarter init my-app --no-git

devstarter add

Adds features to an existing project. Automatically detects features already configured and skips them.

devstarter add [feature] [options]

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | --list | List all available features | | -y, --yes | Add all available features without prompting | | --dry-run | Show what would be added without making changes |

Available Features

| Feature | Description | What it adds | |---------|-------------|--------------| | eslint | Linter for JavaScript and TypeScript | eslint.config.js, lint script, ESLint + typescript-eslint deps | | vitest | Unit testing framework | vitest.config.ts, test scripts, Vitest dep | | prettier | Code formatter | .prettierrc, format script, Prettier dep | | ci | CI/CD pipeline | GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/ci.yml) or GitLab CI (.gitlab-ci.yml) with lint, test, and build steps | | docker | Docker containerization | Dockerfile (multi-stage build), docker-compose.yml, .dockerignore. Auto-detects frontend (nginx) vs backend (node) | | tailwind | Tailwind CSS v4 | tailwindcss + @tailwindcss/vite deps, Vite plugin config, @import "tailwindcss" in CSS |

Examples

# Add a specific feature
devstarter add prettier
devstarter add eslint
devstarter add vitest
devstarter add tailwind
devstarter add docker
devstarter add ci

# Interactive mode - choose from available features
devstarter add

# Add all available features at once
devstarter add -y

# List available features
devstarter add --list

# Preview changes
devstarter add prettier --dry-run

Project Structures

Basic (single project)

my-app/
├── src/
│   └── main.ts
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── vitest.config.ts   # if --vitest
├── node_modules/
└── .git/              # if git initialized

Monorepo (full-stack)

my-app/
├── apps/
│   ├── web/           # frontend template
│   │   ├── src/
│   │   ├── package.json
│   │   └── vitest.config.ts
│   └── api/           # backend template
│       ├── src/
│       ├── package.json
│       └── vitest.config.ts
├── packages/
│   └── shared/        # shared code
├── package.json
├── pnpm-workspace.yaml
├── tsconfig.base.json
└── README.md

Available Templates

Frontend

| Template | Description | |----------|-------------| | basic | Vite + TypeScript | | react | React 18 + Vite + TypeScript |

Backend

| Template | Description | |----------|-------------| | basic | Express + TypeScript |

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• npm, pnpm, or yarn

Development

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/abraham-diaz/devstarter-cli.git
cd devstarter-cli

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build
npm run build

# Run locally
node dist/cli.js init test-app --dry-run

Scripts

| Script | Description | |--------|-------------| | npm run build | Compile TypeScript and copy templates | | npm run dev | Watch mode for development | | npm run test | Run tests in watch mode | | npm run test:run | Single test run | | npm run test:coverage | Coverage with HTML + text reports | | npm run lint | Run ESLint | | npm run format | Format code with Prettier |

Adding New Templates

1. Create folder in src/templates/<type>/<template-name>/
2. Add template files (use .tpl extension for files with placeholders)
3. Available placeholders: {{projectName}}
4. Run npm run build

License

MIT