Backpack
A tool to curate and automate your starter projects
Key Features • How To Use • Download • Contributing • License
Key Features
- Generate from full project, subfolders, branches, tags
🌠 - use complete, versions, or any parts of repos you like - Shortcuts
🚀 - create a personal or team list of your projects with global and local shortcuts - Variable replacements - replace variables in content and path (like cookiecutter)
- Automated setup steps
🤖 - runyarn installormakeautomatically after a clone - Interactive inputs - define steps to take inputs and select options in YAML while generating a new project
- Fast & efficient
🏃 - no history or.gitfolder, local caching of content by default, supportinggitandtar.gzdownload
How to Use
$ bp --help
backpack 2.0.0
Set up projects and download files from existing repos
USAGE:
bp [OPTIONS] [ARGS] [SUBCOMMAND]
ARGS:
<shortlink> A full or short link to a repo (e.g. org/user)
<dest> Target folder
OPTIONS:
-c, --config <config> Use a specified configuration file
-f, --fetch Fetch and apply into the current folder
-g, --git Clone with git
-h, --help Print help information
-n, --no-cache Fetch resources without using the cache
-V, --version Print version information
-w, --overwrite Always overwrite target file(s)
SUBCOMMANDS:
add Save a repo as a project
cache Cache handling
config Create a personal configuration
help Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
To download and generate a new project, you can use any repo:
$ bp your/repo
Download
For macOS:
brew tap rusty-ferris-club/tap && brew install backpack
Otherwise, grab a release from releases and run bp --help:
🔨
Create starters from ordinary repos
Go to your ordinary repo and follow the add wizard:
$ cd your-repo
$ bp add
Note that if a repo contains a .backpack-project.yaml file, it will be automatically used. A .backpack-project.yaml file is a way for the repo author to give instructions for how to make a template out of their project, here's an example:
project:
shortlink: kriasoft/react-starter-kit
actions:
- name: "name of file"
hook: before
interaction:
kind: input
prompt: name of your app
out: file_name
swaps:
- key: README.md
val_template: "{{file_name}}"
path: .*
- key: tsconfig.json
val: ts-config.json
You create this file and format in your own repos to make them backpack friendly.
🔨
Create starters manually
Create a backpack.yaml:
$ bp config --init
wrote: /Users/jondot/.backpack/backpack.yaml.
Configure a starter:
projects:
rust-starter:
shortlink: jondot/rust-starter # you can use any custom prefix here too
# is_git: true # force fetch from ssh
actions:
- name: run an initial build
run: cargo build
And now run:
$ bp rust-starter
To personalize a project you can take input and replace content:
projects:
rust-starter:
shortlink: jondot/rust-starter # you can use any custom prefix here too
actions:
- name: get app name
hook: before
interaction:
kind: input
prompt: name of your app
out: app_name
swaps:
- key: APP_NAME
val_template: "Welcome to {{app_name}}"
path: "README.md"
Example of a fully personalize config in my ~/.backpack/backpack.yaml, with minimal prompts (generating from rust-starter):
Show example
projects:
jondot-rs:
shortlink: rusty-ferris-club/rust-starter
actions:
- name: project
interaction:
kind: input
prompt: project name (e.g. newtool)
out: project
hook: before
- name: description
interaction:
kind: input
prompt: description (e.g. one liner)
out: description
hook: before
swaps:
- key: __V_PROJECT_NAME__
val_template: "{{project}}"
path: ".*"
- key: __V_REPO_NAME__
val_template: "jondot/{{project}}"
path: ".*"
- key: __V_REPO_URL__
val_template: "https://github.com/jondot/{{project}}"
path: ".*"
- key: __V_PROJECT_FORMULA__
val_template: "{{project | capitalize}}"
path: ".*"
- key: __V_TAP_NAME__
val: "jondot/homebrew-tap"
path: ".*"
- key: __V_BIN_NAME__
val_template: "{{project}}"
path: ".*"
- key: __v_bin_name__
val_template: "{{project}}"
path: ".*"
- key: __V_AUTHOR__
val: "[email protected]"
path: ".*"
- key: __V_DESCRIPTION__
val_template: "{{description}}"
path: ".*"
🙋♀️
Configure user projects
bp (with no args) will automatically display a list of projects if configure those.
Projects define repos and custom actions and / or swaps you want to attach to each.
Generate a global user configuration file:
$ bp config --init --global
Edit the file:
$ vim ~/.backpack/backpack.yaml
Add to the projects section:
projects:
rust-starter:
shortlink: rusty-ferris-club/rust-starter
🚨
Run actions and user input
You can add custom actions to a project:
projects:
rust:
shortlink: rusty-ferris-club/rust-starter
actions:
- name: 🚨 ====== init git ===========
run: git init . && git add . && git commit -am "first commit"
- name: 🚨 ====== first build ========
run: cargo build
You can also add inputs, selections and confirmation, including variable capture.
Show full example
actions:
- name: "Install deps"
interaction:
kind: confirm
prompt: "are you sure?"
run: yarn install
ignore_exit: true
- name: select a DB
interaction:
kind: select
prompt: select a database
options:
- sqlite
- postgres
- mysql
default: sqlite
out: db
- name: "generate a model"
interaction:
kind: input
prompt: name of your app?
out: name
run: yarn run init-app {{db}} {{name}}
Actions have a before and after hook, which make them run before copying content (e.g. user input), and after the content have being copied (e.g. installing dependencies).
By default actions are hooked to the after event, but you can change it:
- name: name
hook: before
interaction:
kind: input
prompt: name of your project
out: project_name
💡
Replace content
Define keys to swap, where a key can be anything.
- Swaps can happen both in content or path.
- You can limit to a path with a regex
- You can use a
val_templatewhich pulls a variable from those you gathered while running actions. You also have a set of inflections such as{{project_name | kebab_case}}
Show example
projects:
my-project:
shortlink: kriasoft/react-starter-kit
swaps:
- key: MIT
val: Apache 2.0
path: README.md
- key: AUTHOR_NAME
val_template: Dr. {{user_name}}
path: src/.*
FAQ
How can I set up an enterprise / hosted git, or use Gitlab or others?
You can use custom git vendors.Start by generating a configuration file:
$ bp config --init
Example: configure a Github Enterprise instance:
vendors:
custom:
ghe: # <--- this prefix is yours
kind: github
base: enterprise-github.acme.org
# `---- it will point here now
And now, you can use the ghe: prefix for your shortlinks:
$ bp ghe:user/repo
What's the difference between `bp` and `bp -f`?
$ bp kriasoft/react-starter-kit my-react-project
- Create a new project into
my-react-project - Resolves to https://github.com/kriasoft/react-starter-kit
- Finds the default branch, downloads it and caches locally. Next time you run, it'll be much faster.
$ bp -f kriasoft/react-starter-kit/-/.github
Let's say you really like how react-starter-kit configured its Github Action, and you'd like to copy that to your existing project. You can do this:
- Use
/-/to access a subfolder - Use
-fto overlay files onto your current working directory
Can I generate a project without typing the name of the repo?
$ bp
And follow the interactive menu, which will let you:
- Pick a project, if you have any configured
- Input a shortlink
- Input a destination or pick an auto generated one
What's a shortlink?
A shortlink is a pointer to a Git repo which looks like this:
Any one of these is a legal shortlink:
user/repo -> resolves to https://github.com/user/repo
gl:user/repo -> resolves to https://gitlab.org/user/repo
user/repo/-/subfolder -> takes only 'subfolder'
user/repo#wip -> takes the 'wip' branch
user/repo which defaults to Github.
Is it possible to use backpack only on parts of source repos?
Yes, use the folder notation /-/:
$ bp user/repo/-/path/to/folder dest-folder
Can I generate from a given branch?
Branches or tags can be used with the #branch specifier.
$ bp kriasoft/react-starter-kit#feature/redux my-starter
Can I use backpack on empty or populated directories?
Yes. Use -f to grab content and apply it to an existing empty or populated directories:
$ cd your-directory
$ bp -f user/repo
Can backpack work on self hosted Git servers?
If it's one of the supported vendors, you can create a custom prefix configuration:
vendors:
custom:
gh:
kind: github
base: github.acme.com/my-org
Note that in addition to the custom hosted github.acme.com server, we also specified a default org my-org above, so it saves a bit of typing. Then you can run:
$ bp gh:my-repo my-repo
Can backpack infer the name of the destination folder and save me some more typing?
Where it's non ambiguous, yes. For example, when you specify a subfolder:
$ bp user/repo/-/my-folder
Will grab just my-folder from user/repo and create in a destinaton folder called my-folder.
If there's a inference strategy you think will work, open an issue or submit a PR.
How to install backpack globally?
With Homebrew it happens automatically. Otherwise, download a binary and add its containing folder to your PATH in the way that's supported by your OS.
We're accepting PRs for other OS specific installers.
Any requirements or dependencies for backpack?
Just git to exist (and we will eventually remove that dependency). Other than that the bp binary is self contained and has no dependencies.
Can I get a single file?
Yes. backpack will act differently when the source is a file, it will do what you're expecting it to.
For example, this will give you a .gitignore file from another project:
$ cd my-project
$ bp -f rusty-ferris-club/backpack/-/.gitignore
$ tree
.gitignore
This will copy just a single workflow file, but also the entire hierarchy of folders:
$ cd my-project
$ bp -f rusty-ferris-club/backpack/-/.github/workflows/build.yml
$ tree
.github/
workflows/
build.yml
Or in other words:
- When you specify a target file verbatim, it will use that
- If you're not specifying a target file, the destination file and folder path will be copied from the source.
Contributing
We are accepting PRs. Feel free to submit PRs.
To all Contributors - you make this happen, thanks!
License
Copyright (c) 2022 @jondot. See LICENSE for further details.
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