Project Initialization Best Practices

When creating new projects, always prefer official CLI tools and scaffolding commands over manually creating files and directories. These tools:

• Set up correct project structure and config

• Install dependencies with compatible versions

• Configure build tools, linting, testing

• Follow framework best practices

JavaScript/TypeScript

Framework Command

Vite bun create vite or npm create vite@latest

Next.js bunx create-next-app or npx create-next-app@latest

Remix bunx create-remix or npx create-remix@latest

Astro bun create astro or npm create astro@latest

SvelteKit bun create svelte or npm create svelte@latest

Nuxt bunx nuxi init or npx nuxi@latest init

React Native npx @react-native-community/cli init

Expo bunx create-expo-app or npx create-expo-app

Electron npm init electron-app@latest

Tauri bun create tauri-app or npm create tauri-app@latest

TypeScript Package Preference

• Prefer pnpm as the package manager for TypeScript packages/libraries.

• Prefer tsdown as the default bundler for TypeScript library packages.

• If scaffolding with npm/bun CLIs, switch the generated package to pnpm

• tsdown during setup.

Python

Tool Command

uv (recommended) uv init or uv init --lib for libraries

Poetry poetry new <name> or poetry init

PDM pdm init

Hatch hatch new <name>

Django django-admin startproject <name>

Flask Use cookiecutter or manual (minimal structure)

FastAPI Use cookiecutter or fastapi-cli

Other Languages

Language/Framework Command

Rust cargo new <name> or cargo init

Go go mod init <module>

Ruby on Rails rails new <name>

.NET dotnet new <template>

Java (Spring) Use start.spring.io or Spring CLI

Kotlin gradle init or IntelliJ

Monorepo Tools

Tool Command

Turborepo bunx create-turbo or npx create-turbo@latest

Nx bunx create-nx-workspace or npx create-nx-workspace

Lerna npx lerna init

Key Principles

• Don't manually create config files - Let the CLI generate them

• Use interactive prompts - Most CLIs ask about TypeScript, linting, testing

• Check framework docs - Commands change; verify current syntax

• Prefer package-manager conventions - use pnpm for TypeScript packages unless project constraints require otherwise

• Use templates - Many CLIs offer starter templates (e.g., --template react-ts )

When Manual Setup is OK

• Adding to existing monorepo with specific conventions

• Learning how tools work under the hood

• Very minimal projects (single script)

• Custom build requirements not covered by templates