@chet.manley/create-node-project NPM

@chet.manley/create-node-project

Quickly generate new node projects from templates.

Releases

@chet.manley/create-node-project

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

:informationsource:\ **_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

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.json
`--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.