Creating CLI Tools for React Development

Every developer has their preferred project setup. I got tired of manually configuring new React projects, so I built ace—a CLI tool that scaffolds React apps the way I like them.

Why Build a CLI?

• Consistency - Same setup across all projects
• Speed - New project in seconds, not minutes
• Learning - Great way to understand Node.js tooling

Getting Started

npx ace create my-app
cd my-app
npm start

How It Works

The CLI uses a few key packages:

import { Command } from 'commander';
import inquirer from 'inquirer';
import chalk from 'chalk';
import ora from 'ora';

const program = new Command();

program
  .command('create <name>')
  .description('Create a new React application')
  .action(async (name) => {
    const spinner = ora('Creating project...').start();

    await copyTemplate(name);
    await installDependencies(name);

    spinner.succeed(chalk.green('Project created!'));
  });

Project Structure

Ace creates projects with:

• TypeScript configuration
• ESLint + Prettier
• Jest for testing
• Styled Components
• Folder structure I prefer

Publishing to NPM

Publishing was straightforward:

npm login
npm publish

The package is available at npmjs.com/package/ace.