cmd template

nself template

Browse, install, and publish full-stack app templates from the nSelf registry.

Synopsis

nself template <subcommand> [flags]

Description

nself template provides access to the nSelf template registry: a catalog of community and official full-stack starter templates. Each template bundles Postgres schema, Hasura metadata, seed data, and a Flutter starter in a single archive.

Templates can be listed, inspected, and applied during project init:

nself init --template saas-starter ./my-app

This command also covers publishing new templates and applying incremental schema migrations from an installed template's migrations/ directory.

Two template sources are available:

• Bundled: embedded in the CLI binary, always available offline
• Registry: community templates at nself.org/templates, fetched on demand (graceful fallback when unavailable)

Subcommands

Subcommand	Description
list	List available templates from bundled store and the online registry
info <slug>	Show full detail for a single template
publish	Validate and submit a template to the nSelf registry
update	Apply incremental SQL migrations from the installed template

Flags

nself template list

Flag	Default	Description
--category	""	Filter by category: saas, marketplace, social, productivity, media, ecommerce
--free	false	Show free templates only
--sort	installs	Sort by: installs, rating, newest, price
--json	false	Output raw JSON (includes both bundled and registry entries)

nself template info

Flag	Default	Description
--json	false	Output raw JSON

nself template publish

Flag	Default	Description
--tarball	""	Path to the compiled template tarball (.tar.gz). Required.
--manifest	template.yml	Path to the template manifest file

nself template update

Flag	Default	Description
--force	false	Allow destructive migrations containing DROP or TRUNCATE
--dry-run	false	Show pending migrations without applying them

Environment variables

Variable	Description
NSELF_TEMPLATE_REGISTRY_URL	Override the registry API base URL (default: https://nself.org/api/templates)

Examples

# List all templates (bundled + registry)
nself template list

# Filter by category
nself template list --category saas

# Free templates only, sorted by newest
nself template list --free --sort newest

# Detail for the saas-starter template
nself template info saas-starter

# Apply a template during init
nself init --template saas-starter ./my-app

# Preview pending schema migrations (dry run)
nself template update --dry-run

# Apply pending migrations
nself template update

# Apply a migration that includes DROP statements
nself template update --force

# Compute tarball SHA256 and print submission instructions
nself template publish --tarball ./dist/my-template.tar.gz

# Use a non-default manifest path
nself template publish --tarball ./dist/my-template.tar.gz --manifest my-template.yml

Publishing a template

Templates are submitted via the web form at nself.org/developers/templates. nself template publish validates your manifest locally and prints the tarball SHA256 needed for the submission form. The publishing workflow is:

1. Build your template archive: tar -czf dist/my-template.tar.gz schema/ metadata/ seed/ flutter/
2. Run nself template publish --tarball ./dist/my-template.tar.gz to validate and get the SHA256.
3. Upload the tarball to a public URL (e.g. a GitHub release).
4. Fill in the submission form at https://nself.org/developers/templates.

Author review and approval typically takes 1-3 business days.

Manifest required fields

A valid template.yml must include these fields:

slug: my-template
display_name: My Template
version: 1.0.0
category: saas

See Also

• cmd-init — scaffold a project from a template
• cmd-db — run schema migrations on a live project
• Plugin-Dev-Guide — build and publish plugins

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