initgen

🚀 InitGen v2.1.0

A powerful, interactive command-line tool to scaffold modern web and backend projects with zero configuration. Create production-ready projects with your preferred tech stack in seconds!

📖 Full Documentation & Interactive Demo

🎉 What's New in v2.1.0

• 🗄️ Database ORM Support - Added Prisma ORM and Drizzle ORM backend options with PostgreSQL
• 🚀 Auto Database Creation - Drizzle templates now include db:create script for seamless database setup
• 🔧 Enhanced Database Workflows - Complete database migration, schema management, and studio tools
• ⚡ Zero Configuration Databases - Database templates work out of the box with Docker PostgreSQL
• 🛠️ Robust Environment Loading - Fixed environment variable loading for reliable database connections

✨ Previous Features (v2.0)

• 🎨 shadcn/ui Integration - Ready-to-use setup for shadcn/ui with automatic configuration
• 🔧 Enhanced Next.js Templates - Improved file structure with proper .jsx/.tsx extensions
• 📦 Tailwind CSS v4 Support - Available in specific templates (Vite + Tailwind, shadcn variants)
• 🎯 Better JavaScript Support - Proper .jsx extensions for JavaScript projects
• ⚡ Automatic Setup - Pre-configured project structure and dependencies

✨ Features

• 🎨 Beautiful Interactive UI - Animated CLI with colorful prompts
• 🔧 12 Tech Stacks Supported - React, Next.js, Vue, Node.js, Python frameworks + shadcn/ui + Database ORMs
• �️ Database ORM Integration - Prisma and Drizzle ORM with PostgreSQL support
• �📦 Automatic Dependency Installation - npm install & pip install handled automatically
• 🎯 TypeScript Support - Choose JS or TS for React, Vue, Next.js, Node.js, and Database projects
• 🎨 Tailwind CSS v4 - Modern styling in Tailwind-specific templates
• 🧩 shadcn/ui Setup - Ready-to-use configuration for adding shadcn components
• 🚀 Database Tools - Migration, schema generation, database studio, and auto-creation scripts
• 📝 Auto-generated Files - README, .gitignore, and project structure
• ⚡ Ready to Run - Projects work immediately after creation
• 🔧 Smart File Extensions - Proper .jsx/.tsx extensions based on language choice

📋 Supported Stacks

Frontend Frameworks

• React (Vite) - Lightning-fast React development with Vite
• Vite + React + Tailwind v4 - React with modern Tailwind CSS
• Vite + shadcn/ui - Complete React + Tailwind + shadcn component library
• Next.js - The React framework for production with Tailwind v4
• Next.js + shadcn/ui - Next.js with shadcn components and Tailwind v4
• Vue (Vite) - Progressive JavaScript framework

Backend Frameworks

• Node.js + Express - Fast, minimalist web framework
• Node.js + Express + Prisma (PostgreSQL) - 🆕 Express with Prisma ORM and PostgreSQL database
• Node.js + Express + Drizzle (PostgreSQL) - 🆕 Express with Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL database
• Python + Flask - Lightweight WSGI web framework
• Python + Django - High-level Python web framework

🛠️ Installation

Quick Start (Recommended)

Use npx to run without installation:

npx initgen

Global Installation

Install once, use anywhere:

npm install -g initgen

Then run with:

initgen

Local Installation (for development)

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/PankajKumardev/initgen.git
cd initgen
npm install

Run locally:

node index.js

Link globally (optional):

npm link

🚀 Usage

Run the CLI

node index.js

Or if you've linked it globally:

initgen

Interactive Prompts

1. Choose your tech stack - Select from 7 different frameworks
2. Project name - Enter your project name
3. Choose language - Select JavaScript or TypeScript (where applicable)
4. Initialize git - Optionally set up git repository

Example

$ initgen

Project Structure Generator 🚀
  ___       _ _    ____
 |_ _|_ __ (_) |_ / ___| ___ _ __
  | || '_ \| | __| |  _ / _ \ '_ \
  | || | | | | |_| |_| |  __/ | | |
 |___|_| |_|_|\__|\____|\___|_| |_|

Welcome to InitGen CLI!

? Choose your tech stack: React (Vite)
? Project name: my-app
? Choose language: TypeScript
? Initialize git repository? Yes

🔨 Creating your project...
📦 Installing dependencies...
✓ Installed dependencies
✓ Project created successfully!

📁 Project: my-app
📍 Location: /path/to/my-app

🚀 Next steps:

   cd my-app
   npm run dev

✨ Happy coding! ✨

📦 What Gets Created

React (Vite) / Vue

my-app/
├── src/
│   ├── App.jsx/tsx
│   ├── App.css
│   └── main.jsx/tsx
├── public/
├── index.html
├── package.json
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Vite + shadcn/ui

my-app/
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   │   └── ui/
│   │       ├── Button.jsx/tsx
│   │       └── Card.jsx/tsx
│   ├── lib/
│   │   └── utils.js/ts
│   ├── App.jsx/tsx
│   └── main.jsx/tsx
├── public/
├── index.html
├── tailwind.config.js
├── components.json
├── package.json
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Next.js

my-app/
├── src/
│   └── app/
│       ├── page.jsx/tsx
│       ├── layout.jsx/tsx
│       └── globals.css
├── public/
├── tailwind.config.js
├── package.json
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Next.js + shadcn/ui

my-app/
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   │   └── ui/
│   │       ├── button.jsx/tsx
│   │       └── card.jsx/tsx
│   ├── lib/
│   │   └── utils.js/ts
│   └── app/
│       ├── page.jsx/tsx
│       ├── layout.jsx/tsx
│       └── globals.css
├── public/
├── tailwind.config.js
├── components.json
├── package.json
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Node.js + Express

my-app/
├── src/
│   ├── index.js
│   ├── routes/
│   ├── controllers/
│   └── models/
├── package.json
├── .env.example
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Node.js + Express + Prisma (PostgreSQL) 🆕

my-app/
├── src/
│   └── index.js/ts
├── prisma/
│   └── schema.prisma
├── package.json
├── .env.example
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Node.js + Express + Drizzle (PostgreSQL) 🆕

my-app/
├── src/
│   ├── index.js/ts
│   └── db/
│       ├── index.js/ts
│       ├── schema.js/ts
│       ├── create.js/ts
│       ├── migrate.js/ts
│       └── migrations/
├── drizzle.config.js
├── package.json
├── .env.example
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Python + Flask

my-app/
├── app/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── routes/
│   └── models/
├── run.py
├── requirements.txt
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Python + Django

my-app/
└── my-app/
    ├── my-app/
    │   ├── settings.py
    │   ├── urls.py
    │   ├── wsgi.py
    │   └── asgi.py
    ├── app/
    │   ├── views.py
    │   └── urls.py
    ├── manage.py
    ├── requirements.txt
    └── .gitignore

🎨 Templates

All templates come with:

• ✅ Minimal Professional Design - Clean black background with gradient accents
• ✅ Responsive Layout - Works on all screen sizes
• ✅ Production Ready - Optimized configuration
• ✅ Pre-configured Routes - Basic API endpoints included
• ✅ Developer Experience - Hot reload, fast refresh, auto-restart
• ✅ Tailwind CSS v4 - Available in Tailwind-specific templates
• ✅ Smart File Extensions - Proper .jsx/.tsx based on language choice

Template Features

Frontend Templates

• Full-width black background
• Gradient hero text with Tailwind v4 styling
• 3-column feature grid with responsive design
• Minimal footer with creator credit
• Framework-specific optimizations
• Automatic Tailwind configuration

shadcn/ui Templates

• Ready-to-use shadcn/ui setup (no pre-installed components)
• Automatic dependency management (clsx, tailwind-merge, class-variance-authority)
• Proper TypeScript/JavaScript project structure
• shadcn CLI configuration (components.json)
• Tailwind v4 compatibility with CSS variables
• Ready for npx shadcn@latest add commands

Backend Templates

• RESTful API structure
• Health check endpoint
• Environment variable support
• Development server configuration
• Organized folder structure

Database Templates 🆕

Prisma ORM Templates

• Complete Prisma setup with PostgreSQL
• Auto-generated Prisma Client
• Database migration support
• Prisma Studio for database visualization
• TypeScript/JavaScript support
• Commented schema examples for quick start

Drizzle ORM Templates

• Lightweight Drizzle ORM setup with PostgreSQL
• Automatic database creation (db:create script)
• Schema generation and migration tools
• Drizzle Studio for database management
• TypeScript/JavaScript support
• Robust environment variable handling
• Zero-config Docker PostgreSQL compatibility

🔧 Configuration

Stack Commands

Located in src/config/stackCommands.js

Gitignore Templates

Located in src/config/gitignoreTemplates.js

Template Files

Located in src/templates/

• reactVite.js - React + Vite template
• tailwind.js - Tailwind CSS v4 setup
• shadcn.js - Vite + React + shadcn/ui template (New in v2.0)
• nextjs.js - Next.js template with shadcn/ui support (Enhanced in v2.0)
• vue.js - Vue template
• manualProjects.js - Node.js, Flask, Django templates

📝 Scripts

{
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node index.js",
    "dev": "node index.js"
  }
}

🤝 Dependencies

CLI Tools

• chalk - Terminal styling
• gradient-string - Gradient text effects
• chalk-animation - Animated text
• figlet - ASCII art text
• inquirer - Interactive prompts
• nanospinner - Loading spinners

🔧 v2.0 Features Deep Dive

shadcn/ui Integration

InitGen v2.0 includes shadcn/ui setup with:

• Ready-to-Use Configuration: Complete setup without pre-installed components
• Dependency Management: All required packages (clsx, tailwind-merge, class-variance-authority, @radix-ui/react-slot) automatically installed
• Tailwind v4 Compatibility: Custom CSS variables for seamless theming
• TypeScript/JavaScript Support: Proper project structure for both languages
• Components On-Demand: Add components with npx shadcn@latest add [component]

Enhanced Next.js Templates

• Smart File Extensions: Automatically creates .jsx files for JavaScript projects, .tsx for TypeScript
• Tailwind v4 Integration: All Next.js templates now use Tailwind CSS instead of custom CSS
• shadcn/ui Ready: Next.js + shadcn/ui option for component-based development
• Improved Structure: Better app router structure with proper layout files

File Extension Intelligence

InitGen v2.0 automatically handles file extensions:

• JavaScript Projects: Creates .jsx files for React components
• TypeScript Projects: Creates .tsx files for React components
• Consistent Naming: Proper extensions across all framework templates

�🐛 Troubleshooting

shadcn/ui Component Issues

If shadcn components aren't working:

1. Check if all dependencies are installed:

   npm list clsx tailwind-merge class-variance-authority
   

2. Verify Tailwind configuration is correct

3. Manual fallback components are included for reliability

Port Already in Use

If you get a port error, another process is using that port. Stop the other process or change the port in your project.

Python Dependencies Not Installing

Make sure you have pip installed:

python -m pip --version

Node Modules Not Installing

Make sure you have npm installed:

npm --version

TypeScript Errors

If you get TypeScript errors, make sure you have the latest version:

npm install -g typescript

File Extension Issues

If you're seeing .js files instead of .jsx in JavaScript projects, you're using an older version. Update to v2.1.0:

npm update -g initgen

Database Connection Issues 🆕

PostgreSQL "role does not exist" error:

# Make sure PostgreSQL is running and check your DATABASE_URL
# For Docker PostgreSQL without password:
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres@localhost:5432/your_db_name"

Environment variables not loading:

• Database templates in v2.1.0+ automatically load environment variables
• If using older templates, manually add dotenv.config() to your database connection file

Drizzle database creation fails:

# Use the built-in database creation script:
npm run db:create

# Then proceed with schema setup:
npm run db:generate
npm run db:push

🌟 Examples

Create a React App with shadcn/ui (New in v2.0)

npx initgen
# Choose: Vite + shadcn/ui
# Name: my-shadcn-app
# Language: TypeScript
# Git: Yes

Create a Next.js App with shadcn/ui (Enhanced in v2.0)

npx initgen
# Choose: Next.js + shadcn/ui
# Name: my-nextjs-app
# Language: JavaScript (creates .jsx files)
# Git: Yes

Create a React App with Tailwind

npx initgen
# Choose: Vite + React + Tailwind v4
# Name: my-react-app
# Language: TypeScript
# Git: Yes

Create a Node.js API

npx initgen
# Choose: Node.js + Express
# Name: my-api
# Git: Yes

Create a Django Project

npx initgen
# Choose: Python + Django
# Name: my-django-app
# Git: Yes

Create a Node.js API with Prisma (PostgreSQL) 🆕

npx initgen
# Choose: Node.js + Express + Prisma (PostgreSQL)
# Name: my-prisma-api
# Language: TypeScript
# Git: Yes

# After creation:
cd my-prisma-api
npm run db:migrate
npm run dev

Create a Node.js API with Drizzle (PostgreSQL) 🆕

npx initgen
# Choose: Node.js + Express + Drizzle (PostgreSQL)
# Name: my-drizzle-api
# Language: JavaScript
# Git: Yes

# After creation:
cd my-drizzle-api
npm run db:create    # Auto-creates database
npm run db:generate  # Generates schema
npm run db:push      # Pushes to database
npm run dev

📄 License

MIT License - feel free to use this for personal or commercial projects!

👨‍💻 Author

Pankaj Kumar

• Website: www.pankajk.tech
• GitHub: @PankajKumardev

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with love using Node.js
• Inspired by create-react-app, create-next-app, and create-vite
• Thanks to the open-source community

🚀 Roadmap

Completed in v2.1.0 ✅

• Database ORM support (Prisma, Drizzle) with PostgreSQL
• Automatic database creation for Drizzle templates
• Database migration and schema management tools
• Database studio integration for visual database management
• Robust environment variable handling for database connections

Completed in v2.0 ✅

• shadcn/ui setup for React and Next.js (configuration ready)
• Enhanced Next.js templates with proper file extensions
• Tailwind CSS v4 support in specific templates
• Smart JavaScript/TypeScript file extension handling

Future Plans

• Add more database options (MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB)
• Add authentication templates (NextAuth, Clerk, Supabase Auth)
• Add more UI libraries (Ant Design, Material UI, Chakra UI)
• Add more backend frameworks (FastAPI, Express with TypeScript)
• Add CI/CD configuration files
• Add Docker support and configuration
• Add testing framework setup (Jest, Vitest, Playwright)
• Add more frontend frameworks (Svelte, Solid)
• Add mobile frameworks (React Native, Flutter)
• Add API documentation generation (Swagger/OpenAPI)

💡 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the project
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

⭐ Show Your Support

Give a ⭐️ if this project helped you!

Made with ❤️ by Pankaj Kumar

InitGen - Create projects at lightning speed!