create-ilha

The official project scaffolding tool for Ilha.

Create a new Ilha application in seconds: pick a template, pick a package manager, and start building. No global install, no runtime dependencies.

npm create ilha@latest

Usage

# Interactive
npm create ilha@latest

# Non-interactive
npm create ilha@latest my-app -- --template oxide-spa --pm pnpm --no-install

# Other package managers
pnpm create ilha my-app --template dashboard
bun create ilha my-app -y

Options

Flag	Description
-t, --template <name>	Template to scaffold (id or alias, see below)
-p, --pm <manager>	npm, pnpm, yarn or bun
--install / --no-install	Install dependencies after scaffolding
--git / --no-git	Create a git repository and an initial commit
--start	Start the dev server when scaffolding is done
-f, --force	Overwrite a non-empty target directory
-y, --yes	Accept every default and skip the prompts
-l, --list	List the available templates
-v, --version	Print the version
-h, --help	Show help

Without flags the CLI asks for the directory, template, package name, package manager, git and install. It detects the package manager that invoked it (npm create, pnpm create, bun create) and offers that first.

Templates

Template	Aliases	What you get
minimal	blank, basic	Vite + one island, no router, plain CSS
vite-spa	spa, vite	Client SPA: file routes, layouts, Tailwind CSS + daisyUI
oxide-spa	ssr, oxide, server-islands	Oxide server, server pages and server islands
landing	marketing	Landing page: hero, features, pricing, waitlist form
dashboard	admin	App shell: sidebar, stats, filterable table, dynamic route, error boundary
blog	oxide-blog	Server-rendered content site with a streaming reactions island
showcase	portfolio	Personal site: project grid, about page, validated contact form
component-library	library, ui	Publishable library with a playground and custom elements
astro	astro-islands	Astro site that hydrates Ilha islands via @ilha/astro

The vite-spa and oxide-spa templates mirror the official templates in the Ilha repository.

Every template ships with TypeScript, a README, a .gitignore and scripts for dev, build and preview.

What the CLI does

1. Copies the template, restoring dotfiles (_gitignore → .gitignore).
2. Replaces {{projectName}} and {{packageManager}} placeholders.
3. Rewrites package.json with your project name.
4. Optionally installs dependencies with your package manager.
5. Optionally runs git init and commits the scaffold.
6. Prints the next steps and the docs links that matter for the template you chose.

Development

pnpm install
pnpm build       # bundle src/ to dist/index.js
pnpm test        # build, then run the unit and end-to-end tests
pnpm typecheck   # tsc --noEmit
pnpm lint        # ultracite check

Adding a template:

1. Create templates/<id>/ — store dotfiles as _gitignore, _npmrc, _env.
2. Use {{projectName}} in package.json, README.md and page titles, and {{packageManager}} in docs commands.
3. Register it in src/templates.ts with a label, hint, description and aliases.

tests/templates.test.ts checks that every directory is registered and every registered template ships the expected files.

Links

• Ilha docs
• Server islands guide
• Showcase
• Discord

License

MIT