@mkvlrn/newts

This is a very VERY VERY opinionated CLI tool and set of templates for the setup of a few different TypeScript projects with a focus on code quality and consistency from the start.

It attempts to provide a minimalistic setup with modern tools and practices without bloat - but bloat means different things to different people, so your mileage may vary.

requirements

• Node.js 20+ - don't use anything lower than that, node 22 is the current LTS, keep up
• npm 10+ (npx should be used to run the CLI tool, but you can pick any package manager you want for the project itself)
• A unix-like shell - if you're on Windows, you should use WSL2 or Git Bash

usage

Usage is as follows: npx --yes @mkvlrn/newts@latest. The CLI is interactive.

The --yes flag is used to skip the npx confirmation prompt, and the @latest tag is used to ensure you are always getting the latest version of the tool.

tools and configurations

Each project will be an ESM (type: module) project with the following tools and configurations:

• editorconfig to maintain consistent coding styles between different editors and IDEs
• git with a standard .gitignore file
• prettier with a opinionated configuration on top of editorconfig
• eslint with a few plugins and a configuration that aims to be somewhat strict without being too annoying; based on the recommended eslint rules for typescript and the awesome unicorn rules
• vitest as a test runner, because Jest is terrible
• lint-staged to glue together the other tools that need to run on staged files
• husky to run the lint-staged commands on pre-commit hooks
• commitlint to enforce conventional commit messages
• esbuild as a TypeScript compiler and tsx as dev runner

another cli, huh?

Each available CLI out there brings some opinions and tools that might not be what you want or need, and this one is no different. The main difference is that this one is my opinion, and I'm sharing it with you.

Instead of using create-vite, @nestjs/cli, or create-next-app tools to initialize those projects, this CLI tool will do it from scratch, adding only the tools and configurations that I think are necessary for a good starting point (see above).

NestJs and Next.js have their own way of doing things, and both of them are okay, but I think they can be improved. Also they seem to be very resistant to moving to ESM, and that's a shame.

no huge readme with exhaustive explanations

Just generate a project and see for yourself. If you have any questions, feel free to open an issue or a PR.

The defaults are opinionated, but very sane and easy to adapt to your needs.