@chet.manley/create-node-project

Quickly generate new node projects from templates.

Releases

---

• @chet.manley/create-node-project
  • Releases
  • Quick Start
    • Dependencies
    • Install
    • Usage
    • Positional Arguments
      • <template name>
      • <project name>
    • Flags
      • User Config
      • Disable Git
      • Disable NPM Install
      • Repository
      • Target Directory
      • Templates Directory
      • Update Package
      • Update All Template Packages
      • Verbose
      • Accept Defaults
  • Examples
    • Interactive Mode
    • Interactive Mode With Options
    • Apply Defaults
    • Set Target Directory
    • Install in Current Directory
    • Load User Config
  • User Defined Templates
  • Quick Reference
    • Positional Arguments
    • Options
  • Built with
  • Contributing
  • License

Quick Start

Dependencies

:warning:
This package requires a properly configured Git installation in order to function properly. It has been tested with Git version 2.26, but lower versions are very likely to work as well.

Install

:information_source:
This package is meant to be used as an npm initializer -- no explicit installation is required.

Usage

npm init @chet.manley/node-project
# or
npx @chet.manley/create-node-project

:information_source:
Running with no arguments will enter interactive mode, rendering a menu that requests the minimum required options. The rest of the configuration will then be calculated from the information you provide.

Positional Arguments

<template name>

default: 'base'
type: positional #0
options: base, cjs, cli, es6, ts

Options listed are the templates provided by @chet.manley/node-project-templates. If using your own templates via the --templates-dir flag, you will be able to choose from those instead.

npm init @chet.manley/node-project cjs

<project name>

default: $CWD basename
type: positional #1
options: @project-namespace/project-name, project-name

Sets the name field in package.json, as well as the target directory (See the --target-dir flag for more information). Names containing spaces will be transformed to use dashes (E.g., "my new project" => "my-new-project"). Names are also lowercased, per the npm documentation.

npm init @chet.manley/node-project cjs my-new-project

Flags

User Config

flags: -c, --config
type: string
default: none

Provide a path to a configuration file that will override the defaults. require is used to load the file, so it must be a .json, or a .js that exports a configuration object. Config file can be any arbitrary name.

npm init @chet.manley/node-project -c path/to/my-config.json

:information_source:
If a relative path is provided, file location will be resolved in the following order:

• $CWD/
• ~/
• ~/.create-node-project/
• ~/.config/
• ~/.config/create-node-project/

Available Options

key	type	default	description
checkoutBranch	string	"integration"	Branch to checkout after initial commit (Empty string or null to remain on master)
commitMessage	string	"\"chore: initial commit :feelsgood:\""	Initial commit message
gitInit	boolean	true	--git-init flag
npmInstall	boolean	true	--npm-install flag
paths	array	["~/", "~/.create-node-project", "~/.config", "~/.config/create-node-project"]	Default paths to search (Currently only used when loading user templates)
projectName	string	$CWD basename	<project name> positional
repository	string	-	--repository flag
targetDir	string	$CWD	--target-dir flag
template	string	-	<template name> positional
templatesDir	string	-	--templates-dir flag
update	boolean	false	--update flag
updateAll	boolean	false	--update-all flag
yes	boolean	false	--yes flag

Disable Git

flags: --no-git-init
type: boolean
default: false

Do not initialize a new git repository for this project.

npm init @chet.manley/node-project --no-git-init

Disable NPM Install

flags: --no-npm-install
type: boolean
default: false

Do not run npm install after installing template files.

npm init @chet.manley/node-project --no-npm-install

Repository

flags: -r, --repository
type: string
default: none

URL pointing to empty remote repository of the same project name. This adds a Git remote origin, as well as filling the appropriate fields in package.json.

npm init @chet.manley/node-project \
-r "https://gitlab.com/my-namespace/my-new-project.git"

Target Directory

flags: -t, --target-dir
type: string
default: $CWD | $CWD/<project name>

Where you want your new project to be installed. If a relative path is provided, the computed target will be relative to your current working directory.

If the basename (E.g., my-target of /home/username/projects/my-target) of the computed target path differs from the project name, the project will be created in a project-named subdirectory of the target (E.g., /home/username/projects/my-target/my-new-project).

The default behavior will create a project-named subdirectory in your current working directory if your CWD differs from the project name.

npm init @chet.manley/node-project -t ~/projects/my-target

Templates Directory

flags: --templates-dir
type: string
default: none

Load user-defined templates from this directory. If a relative path is provided, the computed path will be relative to your current working directory. Browse the @chet.manley/node-project-templates project for details regarding implementing your own templates.

The default behavior loads the templates provided by this package.

npm init @chet.manley/node-project \
--templates-dir path/to/my-templates

:information_source:
If a relative path is provided, directory location will be resolved in the following order (this can be overriden using the --config flag):

• $CWD/
• ~/
• ~/.create-node-project/
• ~/.config/
• ~/.config/create-node-project/

Update Package

flags: -u, --update
type: boolean
default: false

Check the selected template's package.json for dependency updates and apply them before the npm install step.

npm init @chet.manley/node-project -u

Update All Template Packages

flags: -U, --update-all
type: boolean
default: false

If you have installed this package globally, this will check the package.json of each template for dependency updates, apply available updates, then exit. Can also be combined with the --templates-dir flag to update user-defined templates.

create-node-project -U
# or
npm init @chet.manley/node-project -U \
[--templates-dir path/to/my-templates]

Verbose

flags: -V, --verbose
type: count
default: 0

Set the output verbosity of the program.

npm init @chet.manley/node-project -VVV

Accept Defaults

flags: -y, --yes
type: boolean
default: false

Explicitly enter non-interactive mode, accepting defaults with no prompts.

npm init @chet.manley/node-project -y

Examples

Interactive Mode

npm init @chet.manley/node-project

• Prompts for minimum required options.

Interactive Mode With Options

npm init @chet.manley/node-project cjs my-new-project

• Creates a new project named my-new-project using cjs template.
• Prompts for any missing options.

Apply Defaults

npm init @chet.manley/node-project cjs my-new-project -y

• Creates a new project named my-new-project using cjs template.
• Applies defaults for missing options.

Set Target Directory

npm init @chet.manley/node-project cjs my-new-project -y \
--target-dir projects

• Creates a new project named my-new-project using cjs template.
• Applies defaults for missing options.
• Installs to $CWD/projects/my-new-project.

Install in Current Directory

mkdir ./my-new-project
cd ./my-new-project
npm init @chet.manley/node-project cjs my-new-project

• Creates a new project named my-new-project using cjs template.
• Prompts for any missing options.
• Installs to $CWD.

Load User Config

~/projects/my-new-project.json:

{
  "projectName": "my-new-project",
  "repository": "https://gitlab.com/name.space/my-new-project.git",
  "targetDir": "~/projects",
  "template": "mytmplname",
  "templatesDir": "~/projects/my-templates",
  "update": true
}

cd ~/
npm init @chet.manley/node-project -c projects/my-new-project.json

• Loads user config from /home/<username>/projects/my-new-project.json.
• Loads user templates from /home/<username>/projects/my-templates/.
• Creates a new project named my-new-project using mytmplname template.
• Installs to /home/username/projects/my-new-project/.
• Updates package dependencies.
• Adds remote origin URL.

User Defined Templates

:information_source:
See the @chet.manley/node-project-templates repository for information regarding creating your own templates.

Quick Reference

Positional Arguments

Name	Position	Default	Short Description
template name	0	'base'	Name of template to apply
project name	1	$CWD basename	Name of project

Options

Flags	Type	Default	Short Description
-c, --config	string	-	path/to/user-config.js[on]
--no-git-init	boolean	false	Do not init Git repo
--no-npm-install	boolean	false	Do not run npm install
-r, --repository	string	-	Add Git remote repo URL
-t, --target-dir	string	$CWD	path/to/target/dir
--templates-dir	string	-	path/to/user/templates
-u, --update	boolean	false	Update dependencies before npm install
-U, --update-all	boolean	false	Update dependencies for all templates, then exit
-V, --verbose	count	0	Set output verbosity
-y, --yes	boolean	false	Accept defaults

Built with

Contributing

The community is welcome to participate in this open source project. Aspiring contributors should review the contributing guide for details on how to get started. First-time contributors are encouraged to search for issues with the ~"good first issue" label.

License

Copyright © 2020 Chet Manley.