FerrisUp CLI

A powerful Rust project bootstrapping tool - Start Anywhere, Scale Anywhere

Note: FerrisUp is under active development. While the core templates are fully functional, some advanced features are still in development.

Overview

FerrisUp CLI is a versatile command-line tool for creating and managing Rust projects with flexible templates. Like Create React App for React, FerrisUp makes it easy to start new Rust projects with the right structure and dependencies.

Features

• Multiple Templates: From minimal binaries to full-stack applications
• Transform Capability: Start with a simple project and scale as you grow
• Data Science Support: Built-in templates for Polars and Linfa
• Edge Computing: WebAssembly and serverless-ready templates
• Embedded Systems: Support for RP2040, ESP32, STM32, and Arduino
• Interactive CLI: User-friendly command interface

Installation

# Install from crates.io
cargo install ferrisup

# Or install from source
git clone https://github.com/Jitpomi/ferrisup.git
cd ferrisup
cargo install --path .

Usage

FerrisUp provides a simple and intuitive command-line interface for creating and managing Rust projects. Here's how to use it:

# Get help information
ferrisup --help

# Create a new project (interactive mode)
ferrisup new

# List available component types
ferrisup list

# Preview a component type
ferrisup preview --component-type server --framework axum

# Transform an existing project
ferrisup transform

# Manage dependencies
ferrisup dependency add tokio serde

See the Commands section below for more detailed usage instructions.

Quick Start

# Create a new project
ferrisup new my_project

# Create a new minimal project
ferrisup new my_project --component-type minimal

# Create a  leptos client project
ferrisup new my_client --component-type client --framework leptos

# Create a data science project
ferrisup new my_data_app --component-type data-science --framework polars

# Create a server with Axum
ferrisup new my_server --component-type server --framework axum

# Create an edge computing project for Cloudflare
ferrisup new my_edge_app --component-type edge --provider cloudflare

Available Component Types

View all available component types:

ferrisup list

Current component types include:

• minimal - Simple binary with a single main.rs file
• binary - Command-line application with CLI features
• library - Rust library crate with a lib.rs file
• embedded - Embedded systems firmware for microcontrollers
• server - Web server with API endpoints (Axum, Actix, or Poem)
• client - Frontend web application (Leptos, Yew, or Dioxus)
• serverless - Serverless function (AWS Lambda, Cloudflare Workers, etc.)
• data-science - Data science and machine learning projects
• edge - Edge computing applications (Cloudflare, Vercel, Fastly, AWS, etc.)
• shared - Shared code libraries for workspace components

Commands

new

Create a new Rust project with a predefined structure.

ferrisup new [PROJECT_NAME] [--git] [--build]

# Component-specific options (use one of these combinations):
ferrisup new [PROJECT_NAME] [--component-type TYPE] [--framework FRAMEWORK]
ferrisup new [PROJECT_NAME] [--component-type TYPE] [--provider PROVIDER]
ferrisup new [PROJECT_NAME] [--component-type TYPE] [--application-type APPLICATION_TYPE]

• PROJECT_NAME: Optional name for your project
• --component-type: Specify a component type (server, client, data-science, edge, binary, etc.)
• --framework: Specify a framework for the selected component type (e.g., polars, linfa for data-science; axum, actix, poem for server)
• --provider: Specify a cloud provider for serverless or edge components (e.g., cloudflare, vercel, aws)
• --application-type: Specify an application type for certain components
• --git: Initialize a git repository
• --build: Run cargo build after creation

transform

Transform an existing project into a different structure or add components. This command enables the "Start Anywhere, Scale Anywhere" philosophy by allowing you to evolve your project structure as your needs grow.

ferrisup transform [--project PATH] [--test-mode]

The transform command provides an interactive menu with the following capabilities:

• Convert to Workspace: Transform a single-crate project into a Rust workspace

  • Intelligently detects the component type of your existing project (including binary/CLI projects)
  • Uses the project name as the default name suggestion (preserves the project's identity for publishing and deployments)
  • Implements strict safeguards to prevent critical source and build files from remaining at root
  • Smart file selection prompts that only allow build artifacts and temporary files to remain at root
  • Automatic backup of existing root-level files (README.md, .gitignore) before creating workspace versions
  • Creates comprehensive workspace README.md with project structure documentation
  • Properly moves all project files to the component directory
  • Updates package names to use project-prefixed format (e.g., projectname_componentname)
  • Automatically updates import paths to maintain project integrity after transformation
  • Provides clear color-coded terminal messaging throughout the transformation process
  • Supports non-interactive test mode via the --test-mode flag or FERRISUP_TEST_MODE environment variable

• Add Components: Add new components to an existing workspace

  • Supports all component types (client, server, shared, edge, data-science, binary, etc.)
  • Uses the component type as the default name suggestion when adding new components
  • Uses the same framework options as the new command
  • Creates components with proper package naming conventions
  • When adding a shared component, makes it accessible to all other workspace members via a module named shared::*
  • Directly uses the new command functionality for consistent component creation
  • Updates the workspace Cargo.toml automatically
  • Preserves and updates component metadata during transformation

• Add Components Without Workspace: Add related components without converting to a workspace

  • Creates sibling component projects in the same parent directory
  • Maintains the same component selection experience as the workspace version
  • Preserves the original project structure

• Update Metadata: Manage project configuration stored in .ferrisup/metadata.toml

  • More accurate component type detection based on project structure and dependencies
  • Ensures metadata consistency between .ferrisup/metadata.toml and component Cargo.toml
  • Properly identifies and sets "binary" component type for CLI applications

• Next Steps Guide: Provides clear instructions after transformation

  • Shows commands to build all components at once
  • Explains how to run specific components
  • Offers guidance on adding dependencies

list

List available component types and frameworks.

ferrisup list

preview

Preview a component type without creating any files.

ferrisup preview [--component-type TYPE] [--framework FRAMEWORK]

dependency

Manage dependencies in your Rust project with interactive features.

# Add dependencies with interactive feature suggestions
ferrisup dependency add [DEPENDENCIES...] [OPTIONS]

# Remove dependencies
ferrisup dependency remove [DEPENDENCIES...] [OPTIONS]

# Update dependencies
ferrisup dependency update [DEPENDENCIES...] [OPTIONS]

Options for dependency add:

• --version, -v: Specify a version constraint (defaults to "*")
• --features, -f: Specify features to enable (comma separated)
• --dev, -d: Add as a development dependency
• --path, -p: Specify project path (defaults to current directory)

Smart Dependency Management:

• When adding a dependency with --dev that already exists in main dependencies, it will be automatically moved to dev-dependencies
• When adding a dependency without --dev that already exists in dev-dependencies, it will be automatically moved to main dependencies
• Clear output messages inform you when dependencies are being moved between sections

component

Manage project components (add/remove/list) with the same component types available in the new and transform commands.

# Add a component to your project (interactive)
ferrisup component --action add

# Add a specific component type
ferrisup component --action add --component-type client

# List components in a project
ferrisup component --action list

# Remove a component (interactive)
ferrisup component --action remove

Options:

• --action, -a: Specify action to perform (add, remove, list)
• --component-type, -c: Specify component type (client, server, shared, edge, data-science, embedded)
• --project, -p: Specify project path (defaults to current directory)

The component command uses the same component creation logic as the transform command, ensuring consistency across FerrisUp. When adding components, it provides the same interactive menus and framework selection options as the new and transform commands.

Workspace vs. Non-Workspace Projects:

• In workspace projects, all component types are available: client, server, shared, edge, data-science, and embedded
• In non-workspace projects, only module-compatible components are available: shared and minimal
• The command automatically detects your project structure and shows the appropriate options

The add command provides interactive feature suggestions for common crates:

• When adding popular crates like tokio, serde, or reqwest, FerrisUp will suggest commonly used features
• You can select features interactively or specify them directly with the --features flag
• This helps you choose the right features without needing to know all options in advance

unused-features

Find and remove unused features in your Cargo dependencies to optimize your project.

ferrisup unused-features [--path PATH]

The command will:

1. Check if the unused-features tool is installed (and install it if needed)
2. Analyze your project for unused features in dependencies
3. Display a list of unused features grouped by dependency
4. Provide specific recommendations for removing them from your Cargo.toml

Component Types and Frameworks

FerrisUp supports various component types, each with specialized frameworks or providers:

Server Components

• Frameworks: axum, actix, poem
• Example: ferrisup new my_server --component-type server --framework axum

Client Components

• Frameworks: leptos, dioxus, tauri
• Example: ferrisup new my_client --component-type client --framework leptos

Data Science Projects

• Frameworks:
  • polars: Data analysis framework similar to pandas in Python
  • linfa: Machine learning framework for classification, regression, and clustering
• Example: ferrisup new my_data_app --component-type data-science --framework polars

Edge Components

• Providers: cloudflare, vercel, aws
• Example: ferrisup new my_edge_app --component-type edge --provider cloudflare

Development and Testing

FerrisUp includes a comprehensive test suite to ensure functionality and compatibility. You can run the tests with:

# Run all tests
cargo test

# Run specific test
cargo test test_name

# Run tests in specific file
cargo test --test file_name

For automated testing and CI/CD pipelines, the transform command supports a --test-mode flag (or the FERRISUP_TEST_MODE environment variable) that allows for non-interactive execution of workspace transformations.

Contributing

We welcome and encourage contributions from the community! If you believe in the project and would like to help make FerrisUp even better, please consider contributing.

How to Contribute:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature'
4. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
5. Open a Pull Request

Priority Areas for Contribution:

• Enhancing the transform command to fully support project transformation between templates
• Implementing comprehensive scale functionality for enterprise deployments
• Expanding the component and workspace management features
• Improving the dependency management system
• Adding new templates or enhancing existing ones

For major contributions or if you'd like to discuss implementation details before starting work, please email us at dev@jitpomi.com.

Project Status

FerrisUp is currently in active development. Here's the current status of various features:

Fully Implemented Features

• Core templates (minimal, library, server, data-science, edge, embedded, serverless)
• Basic project creation with the new command
• Template listing with the list command
• Template preview with the preview command
• Transform command for converting projects to workspaces and adding components
• Unused features detection

Features In Development

The following features are prioritized for the next releases as we work toward version 1.0:

Core Functionality Improvements

• Configuration System Integration: Properly integrate the existing config command with the rest of the application
• Component Command Refinement: Further align component command behavior with transform and new commands
• CLI Help Text Enhancements: Improve help text clarity and examples throughout the application
• Error Handling Improvements: More user-friendly error messages and recovery suggestions

Developer Experience

• Interactive Template Preview: Preview templates before project creation
• Project Scaffolding Wizard: Step-by-step guided project creation for beginners
• Template Customization: Allow users to customize templates during project creation
• Dependency Version Management: Smart handling of dependency version conflicts

Stability and Testing

• Integration Test Suite: Comprehensive test coverage for all commands
• Cross-Platform Validation: Ensure consistent behavior across operating systems
• Template Validation: Automated testing of all template combinations
• Performance Optimization: Reduce startup and execution time

Future Work

The following features and improvements are planned for future releases of FerrisUp:

Configuration System Integration

The existing configuration system (ferrisup config) has the foundation for powerful user preference management but needs further integration:

• Persistent User Preferences: Allow users to set default values for common flags (git initialization, build after creation, interactive mode)
• Template Directory Management: Streamline custom template usage with configurable template directories
• Project Defaults: Set default component types, frameworks, and other project settings
• Profile Support: Create and switch between different configuration profiles for different types of projects

Scaling and Deployment Enhancements

• Enhanced Cloud Integration: Streamlined deployment workflows for existing cloud providers
• Advanced Container Orchestration: Extended Kubernetes support with service mesh integration
• Multi-Cloud Management: Tools for managing deployments across multiple cloud providers
• Serverless Enhancement: Advanced triggers, event processing, and cold start optimization
• Infrastructure as Code: Terraform and Pulumi integration for infrastructure provisioning
• Multi-Region Deployment: Tools for deploying applications across multiple regions with replication

Database Components and Integration

• Advanced Schema Management: Enhanced database migration tools with versioning and rollback
• Cross-Database Compatibility: Tools for working with multiple database types in the same project
• Database Performance Optimization: Query optimization and indexing recommendations
• Advanced Data Modeling: Smart entity relationship mapping and code generation
• Database Replication: Support for master-slave configurations and read replicas
• Time-Series Database Support: Integration with specialized time-series databases
• Graph Database Templates: Support for graph databases like Neo4j and Amazon Neptune

Embedded Systems and IoT Enhancements

• Ariel OS Integration: Collaboration with Ariel OS for batteries-included Embassy support
• OTA Update Infrastructure: Support for over-the-air updates for embedded devices
• Embedded Debugging: Integrated probe support for hardware debugging
• Cross-Platform Embedded UI: Dioxus integration for embedded UIs
• Real-Time Operating System Templates: Enhanced RTOS support for time-critical applications

Network Automation and Mesh Networking

• WireGuard Mesh Networking: Multi-region mesh network configuration and deployment
• Network Automation Tools: Integration with network automation frameworks
• Service Mesh Configuration: Automatic service mesh setup for distributed applications
• P2P Communication: Peer-to-peer communication infrastructure for distributed applications
• Network Monitoring: Built-in monitoring and observability for network components

Bare Metal and Self-Hosted Deployment

• PXE/iPXE Boot Support: Bare metal deployment via network boot
• Colocation Server Deployment: Streamlined deployment to self-hosted infrastructure
• Unified Deployment Pipeline: Single pipeline for cloud, bare metal, and hybrid deployments
• Hardware-Optimized Configurations: Performance tuning based on specific hardware
• Cross-Environment Compatibility: Deploy the same application across different infrastructure types

CI/CD and Deployment Automation

• One-Click Deployment: Simplified deployment of Dioxus/Axum backend and database stacks
• GitHub Actions Integration: Built-in workflow templates for common CI/CD scenarios
• Database Schema Migration: Automated schema migration handling during deployments
• Environment Management: Development, staging, and production environment configuration
• Deployment Rollbacks: Automated rollback mechanisms for failed deployments
• Deployment Metrics: Performance and resource utilization tracking for deployments

Additional Planned Features

• Improved Template Management: Version control and community template sharing
• More Component Types and Frameworks: Support for emerging Rust frameworks
• Enhanced Dependency Management: Smart dependency resolution and conflict detection
• Project Analysis and Optimization Tools: Performance analysis and optimization suggestions
• Testing Framework Integration: Built-in testing templates and test generation
• Documentation Generation: Automatic documentation generation for projects
• Internationalization Support: Tools for building multi-language applications

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.