Cookiecutter

A command-line utility that creates projects from project templates, e.g. creating a Python package project from a Python package project template.

• Documentation: http://cookiecutter.rtfd.org
• GitHub: https://github.com/audreyr/cookiecutter
• Free software: BSD license
• PyPI: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/cookiecutter

Features

Did someone say features?

• Cross-platform: Windows, Mac, and Linux are officially supported.

• Works with Python 2.6, 2.7, 3.3, and PyPy. (But you don't have to know/write Python code to use Cookiecutter.)

• Project templates can be in any programming language or markup format: Python, JavaScript, Ruby, CoffeeScript, RST, Markdown, CSS, HTML, you name it. You can use multiple languages in the same project template.

• Simple command line usage:

  # Create project from the cookiecutter-pypackage.git repo template
  # You'll be prompted to enter values.
  # Then it'll create your Python package based on those values.
  $ cookiecutter https://github.com/audreyr/cookiecutter-pypackage.git

• Can also use it at the command line with a local template:

  # Create project from the local cookiecutter-pypackage/ template
  $ cookiecutter cookiecutter-pypackage/

• Or use it from Python:

  from cookiecutter.main import cookiecutter
  
  # Create project from the cookiecutter-pypackage/ template
  cookiecutter('cookiecutter-pypackage/')
  
  # Create project from the cookiecutter-pypackage.git repo template
  cookiecutter('https://github.com/audreyr/cookiecutter-pypackage.git')

• Directory names and filenames can be templated. For example:

  {{cookiecutter.repo_name}}/{{cookiecutter.repo_name}}/{{cookiecutter.repo_name}}.py
  

• Supports unlimited levels of directory nesting.

• 100% of templating is done with Jinja2. This includes file and directory names.

• Simply define your template variables in a cookiecutter.json file. For example:

  {
      "full_name": "Audrey Roy",
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "project_name": "Complexity",
      "repo_name": "complexity",
      "project_short_description": "Refreshingly simple static site generator.",
      "release_date": "2013-07-10",
      "year": "2013",
      "version": "0.1.1"
  }

• If generating a project from a git repo template, you are prompted for input:

  • Prompts are the keys in cookiecutter.json.
  • Default responses are the values in cookiecutter.json.
  • Prompts are shown in order.

Available Templates

Here is a list of working Cookiecutter project templates for you to use or fork:

• cookiecutter-pypackage: @audreyr's ultimate Python package project template.
• cookiecutter-jquery: A jQuery plugin project template based on jQuery Boilerplate.
• cookiecutter-flask : A Flask template with Bootstrap 3, starter templates, and working user registration.
• cookiecutter-django: A Django project template with Bootstrap 3, customizable users app, starter templates, and working user registration.
• cookiecutter-djangopackage: A template designed to create reusable third-party PyPI friendly Django apps. Documentation is written in tutorial format.
• bootstrap.c: A template for simple projects written in C with autotools.
• cookiecutter-openstack: A template for an OpenStack project.
• cookiecutter-component: A template for a Component JS package.

Make your own, then submit a pull request adding yours to this list!

Similar projects

• Paste has a create option that creates a skeleton project.
• Diecutter: an API service that will give you back a configuration file from a template and variables.
• Django's startproject and startapp commands can take in a --template option.
• python-packager: Creates Python packages from its own template, with configurable options.
• Yeoman has a Rails-inspired generator system that provides scaffolding for apps.
• Pyramid's pcreate command for creating Pyramid projects from scaffold templates.