sloppy create

Copy a built-in project template into a new local app directory.

sloppy create <name> [--template api|minimal-api|program|cli|package-api|node-compat]
                     [--force] [--no-git] [--format text|json]

Default template: api.

Templates

Template	Purpose
api	SQLite-backed backend starter with routes, services, config, and packaging flow.
minimal-api	Tiny API for the smallest possible first run.
program	Small Program Mode starter.
cli	Practical CLI-style Program Mode starter.
package-api	Backend starter using a compatible local pure-JS package.
node-compat	Program starter using supported Node compatibility shims.

sloppy create <name> defaults to api. These starters are public alpha, alpha templates: they are intended for real experiments and early apps, but their structure and supported runtime surface can still change before a stable release. The package-api template includes a local file: dependency and needs npm install --ignore-scripts --no-audit before sloppy build. Sloppy can bundle supported package modules from node_modules, including packages that stay inside the documented Node compatibility shims, but it does not install packages, solve versions, or provide full Node compatibility.

Examples

sloppy create my-api
sloppy create my-api --template minimal-api
sloppy create my-tool --template program
sloppy create my-cli --template cli
sloppy create my-package-api --template package-api
sloppy create my-node-tool --template node-compat
sloppy create my-api --format json

Then:

cd my-api
sloppy build
sloppy routes .sloppy
sloppy run .sloppy --once GET /health
sloppy package

Template-specific next steps:

cd my-api
sloppy build
sloppy routes .sloppy
sloppy run .sloppy --once GET /health

cd my-minimal-api
sloppy build
sloppy run .sloppy --once GET /health

cd my-tool
sloppy run src/main.ts -- --name Ada

cd my-cli
sloppy run src/main.ts -- --help

cd my-package-api
npm install --ignore-scripts --no-audit
sloppy build
sloppy deps .sloppy

cd my-node-tool
sloppy build
sloppy run .sloppy

Overwrite behavior

create refuses to copy into a non-empty destination. Use --force only when you intentionally want to remove an existing destination directory before copying the template. This deletes stale files in that directory before the new template files are written.

--no-git is reserved for future git initialization behavior. create currently does not run git init, and template files such as .gitignore are copied either way.

JSON output

--json and --format json print a small structured success object:

{
  "created": true,
  "path": "my-api",
  "template": "api",
  "next": ["cd my-api", "sloppy build", "sloppy routes .sloppy", "sloppy run .sloppy --once GET /health"]
}

Errors are diagnostics on stderr and exit with status 1.