devist 0.3.0

Project bootstrap CLI for AI-assisted development. Spin up new projects from templates, manage backends, and keep your codebase comprehensible.
devist-0.3.0 is not a library.

devist

CI License: MIT

Project bootstrap CLI for AI-assisted development.

A Rust CLI that lets you scaffold new projects from templates, run multiple project backends without overloading your machine, and stay on top of what's in your codebase — even when most of the code was written by AI.

Built by Webchemist.

Status: v0.1.0 beta. APIs and template manifest schema may change before v1.0.

Why

Two pains modern dev workflows hit hard:

  1. Backend stack overload. One Supabase or Postgres docker stack per project melts your laptop. devist runs at most one backend at a time — switching projects auto-stops the previous one.
  2. AI-assisted code blindness. When AI writes most of the code, you stop knowing how the system fits together. devist gives you brief, scan, explain, and watch to keep your mental model intact.

Install

From source (any platform)

git clone https://github.com/WebchemistCorp/devist
cd devist
cargo install --path .

One-liner (macOS / Linux, prebuilt binary)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/WebchemistCorp/devist/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Specific version

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/WebchemistCorp/devist/main/scripts/install.sh | DEVIST_VERSION=v0.1.0 sh

Manual binary download

Grab the archive for your platform from the Releases page and extract devist somewhere on your PATH.

Homebrew tap (brew install WebchemistCorp/devist/devist) and crates.io publish are planned for v1.0.

Quick Start

devist setup
devist template add https://github.com/WebchemistCorp/devist-templates
devist init my-app --template=react-supabase
devist start my-app --dev

Command Reference

Project lifecycle

Command Purpose
devist setup Initialize ~/.devist/ workspace
devist doctor Check required CLIs (git, docker, node, pnpm, supabase)
devist init <name> --template=<t> Create a new project
devist init <name> -t <t> --var key=value Override template variables
devist start <name> Start the project's backend (lazy: stops others)
devist start <name> --dev Backend + dev server
devist stop [name] Stop active backend (or specific one)
devist project list List registered projects (active marked)
devist project forget <name> Remove from registry (files untouched)

Templates

Command Purpose
devist template list List installed templates
devist template add <git-url> Clone a template repo
devist template sync git pull all templates
devist template remove <name> Delete a template directory

Worker (background observer)

A long-running daemon watches a parent folder of projects, records every file event into a local SQLite store, and (in future phases) pushes them to the devist Supabase for web-based inspection.

Command Purpose
devist worker start Start the daemon (prompts for monitor folder on first run)
devist worker stop Stop the daemon
devist worker status Show PID, monitor folder, event/sync counts
devist worker watch Tail recent events live in the terminal
devist worker config show Print current config
devist worker config get <key> Read a single value
devist worker config set <key> <value> Update a value (e.g. monitor_dir, supabase_url)
devist worker config path Print config file path

State lives in ~/.devist/worker/:

worker.db    SQLite event log (L1 store)
config.toml  Worker config
worker.pid   Daemon PID
worker.log   Daemon stdout/stderr

Layout

~/.devist/
├── config.toml       Your settings
├── registry.toml     Projects you've created
├── state.toml        Currently active backend
├── templates/        Cloned template repos
├── worker/           Background worker state (db, pid, log, config)
└── cache/            Reserved

Templates

A template is a directory with a devist.toml manifest plus any project files. Files ending in .tmpl get variable substitution; everything else is copied as-is (binary-safe).

Minimal devist.toml:

[meta]
name = "my-stack"
version = "0.1.0"
description = "Short description"
author = "You"
tags = ["fullstack"]

[variables]
project_name = { default = "{{folder_name}}" }
description = { default = "A new project" }

[stack]
type = "supabase"   # or "docker-compose", "none"

[commands]
install = "pnpm install"
dev = "pnpm dev"
backend_start = "supabase start"
backend_stop = "supabase stop"
test = "pnpm test"

Variables are substituted in *.tmpl files with {{ name }} syntax. Auto-provided: project_name, folder_name. Override with --var key=value.

A single git repo can host multiple templates as subdirectories. The official WebchemistCorp/devist-templates repo is structured this way.

Development

cargo build
cargo test
cargo run -- --help

Required: Rust 1.70+, git. For most templates: docker, node, pnpm, supabase CLI.

Status

Active development. Phases:

Version Phase Contents
0.1 Phase 1 Core CLI, react-supabase + wordpress
0.2 Phase 2 + fastapi-postgres, react-native-supabase
0.3 Phase 3 + flutter-supabase, nestjs-postgres, rust-axum
0.4 Phase 4 + brief, scan, explain, watch
1.0 Phase 5 Public release (Homebrew, crates.io)

Currently at end of Phase 4.

License

MIT