gh-scaffold

gh-scaffold is a CLI that scans a repository and helps you generate missing GitHub “community health” files (CONTRIBUTING, SECURITY, issue/PR templates, etc.).

It’s designed to be:

• Safe by default (no overwrites unless you ask)
• Repeatable (idempotent)
• Configurable (presets + optional config file)

What it can generate

Depending on preset/flags:

• CONTRIBUTING.md
• SECURITY.md
• .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
• .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.(md|yml)
• .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.(md|yml)
• .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml
• CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
• SUPPORT.md

Strict preset also includes:

• .github/CODEOWNERS
• .github/FUNDING.yml
• GOVERNANCE.md
• MAINTAINERS.md
• CHANGELOG.md
• LICENSE (MIT/Apache/GPL)

Install

npm (planned)

npm i -g gh-scaffold

From source

git clone https://github.com/rafazafar/gh-scaffold
cd gh-scaffold
npm i
npm run build
node dist/cli.js --help

Quick start

Interactive (default): scan → choose missing files → preview/write

npx gh-scaffold

Non-interactive scan:

npx gh-scaffold --scan
# or machine-readable:
npx gh-scaffold --scan --json

Non-interactive write:

npx gh-scaffold -w
# preview:
npx gh-scaffold -w --dry-run --diff

Interactive init (writes a config file too):

npx gh-scaffold init

Common usage

Preview what would change:

gh-scaffold -w --dry-run --diff

Overwrite existing:

gh-scaffold -w --force

Presets (mainly for non-interactive/CI runs):

gh-scaffold -w --preset minimal
gh-scaffold -w --preset standard
gh-scaffold -w --preset strict

License selection:

gh-scaffold -w --preset strict --license mit
gh-scaffold -w --preset strict --license apache-2.0
gh-scaffold -w --preset strict --license gpl-3.0

Issue templates format:

gh-scaffold -w --issue-templates markdown
gh-scaffold -w --issue-templates forms

Update mode (Markdown-only managed markers; doesn’t touch non-markdown files):

gh-scaffold -w --update --diff

Monorepo scope:

gh-scaffold -w --scope root
gh-scaffold -w --scope packages
gh-scaffold -w --scope all

Only/skip certain targets:

gh-scaffold -w --only SECURITY,CONTRIBUTING
gh-scaffold -w --skip FUNDING,CODEOWNERS

Config file

Optional config locations:

• gh-scaffold.yml
• .github/gh-scaffold.yml

Example:

preset: strict
issueTemplates: forms
license: mit
contacts:
  supportUrl: https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/discussions
  securityEmail: [email protected]
  cocContact: [email protected]
ownership:
  defaultOwners: ["@org/team"]
funding:
  github: orgname
  custom:
    - https://example.com/sponsor

CI enforcement

This repo includes an example workflow that fails PRs if essential files are missing:

• .github/workflows/check-community-health.yml

Backward compatibility

• gh-scaffold scan still works (deprecated).
• gh-scaffold apply still works (deprecated).

Notes

• Templates are intentionally generic; customize to your project.
• Prefer committing generated files and reviewing diffs in PRs.