# kickstart
A CLI tool to easily get a new project up and running by using pre-made templates.
This is a slightly more powerful version of an equivalent tool in Python, [cookiecutter](https://github.com/audreyr/cookiecutter). It is an alternative to NodeJS projects such as [Yeoman](https://yeoman.io/) or [Slush](https://github.com/slushjs/slush).
[](https://crates.io/crates/kickstart)
## Installation
`kickstart` is available only through crates.io:
```bash
$ cargo install kickstart
```
Or as a pre-built binary [on the Releases page](https://github.com/Keats/kickstart/releases).
Run `kickstart --help` for a full listing of the available commands and their flags/options.
## Features
- Cross-platform: Windows, Mac and Linux supported
- Single binary: no need to install a virtualenv or anything else
- Simple to use
- Directory names and filenames can be templated: `{{ repo_name }}/{{author}}.md` is a valid path
- All templating done through [Tera](https://tera.netlify.com/docs/) - a template engine inspired by Jinja2
- Choose your own adventure: it supports conditional questions based on previous answers
- It can load templates from a local directory or from a Git repository
- It has conditional cleanup to not let irrelevant files in the output directory after generation
- Templates can be made for any kind of projects/languages
The main drawback compared to cookiecutter is the lack of hook scripts support, which can be mitigated a bit by the conditional cleanup.
[builtin]: https://tera.netlify.com/docs/#built-in-filters
Lastly, since Windows does not allow `|` in file paths, you may use a [tera built-in filter][builtin]
by using the `$$` separator instead.
Note that, in file templates, you should keep using `|` for filtering, as the `$$` syntax is only for files and directories. Keep in mind the characters `()` are not allowed on Windows so do not use filter parameters if you want to be cross-platform.
## Try it out
```bash
# From the root of this repo
$ kickstart examples/super-basic
$ kickstart examples/complex -o Hello
# Anywhere
$ kickstart https://github.com/Keats/kickstart -s examples/super-basic
$ kickstart https://github.com/Keats/kickstart-sample -o sample
```
## Creating your own template
Creating a template is fairly simple: create files and then just add a `template.toml` in the root folder. Here is a description of all the fields available in it:
```toml
# Required, name of the template
name = "Django"
# Optional, longer form description
description = "A fully-featured Django template"
# Required, the version of the kickstart schema, currently only `1` is used
kickstart_version = 1
# Optional, the URL of the template
url = "https://google.com"
# Optional, a list of authors for this template
authors = [
]
# Optional, a list of keywords for this template
keywords = [
]
# Optional, those files will NOT be copied over when generating the template
# Use it to remove template-specific like its CI or its README/docs
ignore = [
"README.md",
"CONTRIBUTING.md",
".travis.yml",
"docs",
]
# If this is set, kickstart will use this directory as a base for the template instead of
# the root directory. This is useful when your template has its own documentation/CI/etc and you don't want
# to ignore it.
directory = "some-directory"
# Optional, a list of patterns. All files matching one of the patterns will
# be copied over without going through Tera.
# Use it for files that contain syntax similar to Tera for example
copy_without_render = [
"*.html",
]
# Optional, a list of cleanup actions to do.
# All paths listed will be deleted if the `name` has the value `value` after
# the questions have been answered and the project generated.
cleanup = [
{ name = "spa", value = true, paths = ["{{ project_name }}/templates/"]},
{ name = "auth_method", value = "none", paths = ["{{ project_name }}/docs/auth.md"]},
]
# A list of variables, the schema is explained in detail below
[[variables]]
name = "project_name"
default = "my-project"
prompt = "What is the name of this project?"
validation = "^([a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_-]+)$"
[[variables]]
name = "database"
default = "postgres"
prompt = "Which database do you want to use?"
choices = ["postgres", "mysql", "sqlite"]
[[variables]]
name = "pg_version"
default = "10.4"
prompt = "Which version of Postgres?"
choices = [
"10.4",
"10.3",
"10.2",
"10.1",
"9.6",
"9.5",
"9.4",
"9.3",
]
only_if = { name = "database", value = "postgres" }
[[variables]]
name = "auth_method"
default = "jwt"
prompt = "How are users going to be authenticated?"
choices = ["jwt", "sessions", "none"]
[[variables]]
name = "sentry"
default = true
prompt = "Do you want to add Sentry integration?"
[[variables]]
name = "spa"
default = false
prompt = "Is the frontend a SPA?"
[[variables]]
name = "js_framework"
default = "React"
prompt = "Which JS framework do you want to setup?"
choices = [
"React",
"Angular",
"Vue",
"None",
]
only_if = { name = "spa", value = true }
[[variables]]
name = "typescript"
default = true
prompt = "Do you want to use TypeScript?"
only_if = { name = "spa", value = true }
```
A variable has the following required fields:
- `name`: the name of the variable in Tera context
- `default`: the default value for that question, `kickstart` uses that to deduce the type of that value (only string, bool and integer are currently supported)
- `prompt`: the text to display to the user
And three more optional fields:
- `choices`: a list of potential values, `kickstart` will make the user pick one
- `only_if`: this question will only be asked if the variable `name` has the value `value`
- `validation`: a Regex pattern to check when getting a string value
## List of templates
- [Rust CLI application](https://github.com/Keats/rust-cli-template)
## Changelog
### 0.3.0 (unreleased)
- Update dependencies
### 0.2.1 (2020-02-07)
- Allow using `$$` for filters in filenames/directories
### 0.2.0 (2020-01-09)
- Update all dependencies
- Add the `directory` field to change the template directory away from the current one
- VCS files are not automatically ignored anymore
### 0.1.8 (2018-09-30)
- Allow loading templates from a subdirectory
### 0.1.7 (2018-08-09)
- Work with Git aliases
- The crate now works as a library as well as a binary
### 0.1.6 (2018-08-02)
- Add a `--no-input` flag to the main command to generate a template from defaults
- Validate that a template only uses allowed TOML types (String, integer and boolean) in `validate` command
- Better question UI
### 0.1.5 (2018-07-31)
- Fix git clone command
### 0.1.4 (2018-07-31)
- Fix missing error display impl
- Fix TOML error not showing up
- Fix multi-layered questions being asked when they shouldn't
### 0.1.3 (2018-07-31)
- Add pattern to match in the question when there is on
### 0.1.2 (2018-07-31)
- Add optional `validation` field to validate a string against a regex
- Add colours and boldness to CLI
- Use `git` command rather than git2 crate to avoid some build issues
- Add `cleanup` field to template definition for post-generation cleanup
- Add `validate` command to diagnose errors in a `template.toml` file
