bootstrapper

Bootstrapper

Bootstrapper is a handy Node.js command line application to manage templates and boilerplates.

Bootstrapper stores user-defined templates in its template folder where they are always available every time they are needed.

Installing Bootstrapper

Bootstrapper is available via npm. I suggest to install it globally so the executable is always available without having to change the $PATH.

In order to install it just type the following into the terminal:

sudo npm install -g bootstrapper

or, in case you want to avoid a global installation just type:

npm install bootstrapper

Bootstrapper depends on wrench-js, as that was the most convenient way to quickly copy and delete directories recursively.

How to

The semantic of the tool is very simple.

Show help information:

mmarcon@wallace$ bootstrapper help

List all the available templates:

mmarcon@wallace$ bootstrapper list
* Just another template [My new test template for bootstrapper,  Created by Massimiliano Marcon on 14/04/2012]
* My new test template [Hello,  Created by mmarcon on 14/04/2012]
* Nokia Maps boilerplate app [A boilerplate to build a map-based application using the Nokia Maps API,  Created by Massimiliano Marcon on 14/04/2012]

Create an empty template (the tool requests some information on the new template):

mmarcon@wallace$ bootstrapper generate

Add a template to the template database:

mmarcon@wallace$ bootstrapper add path/to/template_directory

Remove a template from the template database:

mmarcon@wallace$ bootstrapper remove "Template Name"

Use a template (creates a new folder containing the template files):

mmarcon@wallace$ bootstrapper use

Details

Bootstrapper stores all the data into $HOME/.bootstrapper.

The directory contains a log folder (currently unused) and a templates folder where all the templates are stored. The structure of a template is very simple:

- template_name_lowercase
   |- template.json
   |- some_other_template.file
   |- some_subfolder
   

template.json is just a little JSON file that contains name, description, author and creation date for the template.

Next steps

I am planning on adding a command that allows for adding templates to the local database from a remote source, e.g. a GIT repository. This will provide a key capability for people to share their templates with the rest of the community.