CLI

npx simple-scaffold [options] [name]

Use --help (-h) to see all available options at any time.

Commands

Command	Description
(default)	Generate files from a template
init	Create a config file and example template
list / ls	List available template keys in a config

init

Scaffolds a config file and example template directory to get you started:

npx simple-scaffold init
npx simple-scaffold init --format mjs
npx simple-scaffold init --dir packages/my-lib

Option	Description
--dir / -d	Directory to create the config in (defaults to current directory)
--format / -f	Config format: js, mjs, or json (prompts if omitted)

Creates:

• A config file (scaffold.config.js by default) with a default template key
• A templates/default/ directory with an example {{name}}.md template

Existing files are never overwritten.

list

Lists all template keys defined in a config file:

npx simple-scaffold list
npx simple-scaffold list -c path/to/config.js
npx simple-scaffold list -g username/repo

Options

Flag	Short	Description	Default
--name	-n	Name for generated files (can also be positional arg)
--config	-c	Path to config file or directory	(auto-detect)
--git	-g	Git URL or GitHub shorthand (user/repo)
--key	-k	Template key from config	default
--output	-o	Output directory
--templates	-t	Template paths or glob patterns (repeatable)
--data	-d	Custom data as JSON string
--append-data	-D	Key-value data (key=string, key:=raw), repeatable
--subdir / --no-subdir	-s/-S	Create parent directory with the input name	false
--subdir-helper	-H	Helper to transform subdir name
--overwrite / --no-overwrite	-w/-W	Overwrite existing files	false
--dry-run	-dr	Preview output without writing files	false
--before-write	-B	Command to run before each file is written
--after-scaffold	-A	Shell command to run after all files are written
--quiet	-q	Suppress output (same as --log-level none)
--log-level	-l	Log level: none, debug, info, warn, error	info
--version	-v	Show version
--help	-h	Show help

Interactive Mode

When running in a terminal (TTY), Simple Scaffold prompts for any missing required values:

• Name — if --name is not provided
• Template key — if --key is not provided and the config has multiple templates
• Output directory — if --output is not provided
• Template paths — if --templates is not provided (comma-separated)

Inputs defined in config files are also prompted interactively.

In non-interactive environments (CI, piped input), missing required values cause an error.

Hooks

Before Write

Runs a command before each file is written. The command receives a temporary file path and should output the final content to stdout.

# Appends file path automatically
npx simple-scaffold -c . --before-write prettier

# Use tokens for explicit control
npx simple-scaffold -c . --before-write 'cat {{path}} | my-linter'

Tokens:

• {{path}} — temporary file path with Handlebars-processed contents
• {{rawpath}} — temporary file path with raw (unprocessed) contents

If no tokens are found, {{path}} is appended automatically. Returning an empty string (after trimming) discards the result and writes the original contents.

After Scaffold

Runs a shell command after all files are written. The command executes in the output directory:

npx simple-scaffold -c . --after-scaffold 'npm install'
npx simple-scaffold -c . --after-scaffold 'git init && git add .'

See the Node.js API for the function-based equivalent.

CLI Examples

# Use auto-detected config, default key
npx simple-scaffold MyProject

# Specify config and key
npx simple-scaffold -c scaffold.config.js -k component MyComponent

# GitHub remote template
npx simple-scaffold -g username/repo -k component MyComponent

# Full Git URL
npx simple-scaffold -g https://gitlab.com/user/repo.git -k component MyComponent

# One-off (no config file)
npx simple-scaffold -t templates/component -o src/components MyComponent

# With custom data
npx simple-scaffold -k component -D author=John -D license:='"MIT"' MyComponent

# Dry run
npx simple-scaffold -k component --dry-run MyComponent

package.json Scripts

{
  "scripts": {
    "scaffold": "simple-scaffold -k component",
    "scaffold:page": "simple-scaffold -k page"
  }
}

npm run scaffold -- MyComponent
npm run scaffold:page -- Dashboard