cargo-inherit

Generate new Rust projects from templates — with variables, hooks, and zero boilerplate.

cargo-inherit is a CLI tool that scaffolds new projects from Git-hosted templates. Define variables in Inherit.toml, use @VAR@ placeholders in your files, and let Inherit handle the rest.

Installation

sh cargo install cargo-inherit

Quick Start

Generate a project from a GitHub template:

``sh

Basic usage

cargo inherit user/template-repo

With custom output directory

cargo inherit user/template-repo to my-project

Using an alias (configured in ~/.config/inherit/config.toml)

cargo inherit rust-lib to my-lib ``

Template example (Inherit.toml):

``toml [template] name = "rust-lib" description = "Minimal Rust library template"

[variables] PROJECT_NAME = "Name of the crate" AUTHOR = "Your name and email" LICENSE = "License identifier (MIT, Apache-2.0, etc.)"

[hooks] post_create = [ "cargo fmt", "cargo clippy --fix --allow-dirty" ] ``

Use variables in your template files:

``toml

Cargo.toml template

[package] name = "@PROJECT_NAME@" version = "0.1.0" authors = ["@AUTHOR@"] license = "@LICENSE@" ``

Configuration

Inherit uses ~/.config/inherit/config.toml for:

• Default variable values (skips prompts for known vars)
• Template aliases (rust-lib → vi-is-ramen/rust-template)
• Cache directory, GitHub token, post-generation commands

Run cargo inherit once to generate a commented config template.

Documentation

Full CLI reference, template authoring guide, and configuration options are available in the book.

License

MIT OR Apache-2.0