node-starter

A scaffolding CLI for generating projects from preferred stack configurations.

Installation

# Run directly from GitHub (no install needed)
bunx github:pders01/node-starter create my-app

# Or clone and link globally
git clone https://github.com/pders01/node-starter.git
cd node-starter
bun install
bun link

# Then use from anywhere
node-starter create my-app

Usage

Interactive mode

node-starter create

Flag mode

# CLI project
node-starter create my-app --type cli

# Frontend + BFF with Vue and Hono
node-starter create my-app --type frontend-bff --framework vue

# Frontend + BFF with SolidJS, Elysia, and daisyUI
node-starter create my-app --type frontend-bff --framework solid --server elysia --ui daisyui

# Complex frontend + BFF (uses Rsbuild instead of Vite)
node-starter create my-app --type frontend-bff --framework vue --complexity complex

# TUI project (uses bun create tui)
node-starter create my-app --type tui

# Remote template
node-starter create my-app --from github:user/repo

List available templates

node-starter list

Template Types

Type	Description	Scaffolder
cli	Node CLI application	Built-in (citty + consola)
frontend-bff	Frontend + Backend-for-Frontend	Vite or Rsbuild + BFF overlay
tui	Terminal UI application	bun create tui (OpenTUI)

Frontend-BFF Options

Frameworks

• vue - Progressive JavaScript framework
• solid - Simple and performant reactivity
• lit - Simple, fast web components

Server Frameworks

• hono - Lightweight, ultrafast web framework (default)
• elysia - Ergonomic framework for Bun
• h3 - Minimal H(TTP) framework (UnJS)
• express - Classic Node.js framework

UI Libraries

• none - No UI library (default)
• daisyui - Tailwind CSS component library
• basecoat - Minimal Tailwind components

Complexity

• simple - Bun runtime, Vite bundler (default)
• complex - pnpm, Rsbuild bundler

CLI Options

Option	Alias	Description
--type	-t	Template type (cli, frontend-bff, tui)
--framework	-f	Frontend framework (vue, solid, lit)
--server	-s	BFF server framework (hono, elysia, h3, express)
--ui	-u	UI library (daisyui, basecoat, none)
--runtime	-r	Runtime (bun, pnpm)
--complexity	-c	Project complexity (simple, complex)
--from		Remote template source
--git		Initialize git repository (default: true)
--install	-i	Install dependencies (default: true)

Development

# Run CLI in development
bun run dev

# Build CLI
bun run build

# Run directly
bun run start create my-app --type cli

Project Structure

node-starter/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts              # CLI entry point
│   ├── commands/
│   │   ├── create.ts         # Main scaffold command
│   │   └── list.ts           # List available templates
│   ├── prompts/
│   │   └── interactive.ts    # Interactive prompt flows
│   ├── scaffolder/
│   │   ├── index.ts          # Core scaffolding logic
│   │   ├── local.ts          # Local template handling
│   │   └── remote.ts         # Remote template fetching
│   └── utils/
│       ├── templates.ts      # Template discovery
│       └── package-manager.ts # Runtime detection
├── templates/
│   ├── cli/                  # CLI template (built-in)
│   └── _partials/            # Shared configurations
│       ├── bff/              # BFF server templates
│       │   ├── hono/
│       │   ├── elysia/
│       │   ├── h3/
│       │   └── express/
│       ├── tailwind/         # Tailwind + UI configs
│       ├── oxlint/           # Linting config
│       └── tsconfig/         # TypeScript base config
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json

How It Works

• CLI template: Uses our own simple template with citty and consola
• Frontend-BFF: Shells out to bun create vite or bun create rsbuild, then overlays the BFF server and shared configs
• TUI template: Shells out to bun create tui (OpenTUI)

This approach minimizes maintenance by leveraging official scaffolders while adding project-specific configurations on top.

Troubleshooting

bunx github: fails with "could not determine executable"

This is a known bun caching issue. Try clearing the cache:

bun pm cache rm
bunx github:pders01/node-starter create my-app

If it persists, use the clone+link approach instead.

License

MIT