boiler

README

Boiler

Build Less. Ship More.

Fetch code from anywhere. Scaffold full features in one command. Reuse everything across every project.

Documentation • Use Cases • Guides

Pre-release - v0.x.x - Feel free to use it, break it. Every idea and bug report shapes what we build next.

Open an issue or start a discussion anytime.

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Instant .gitignore - 500+ Templates, One Command

bl gi Node        # Node.js
bl gi Python      # Python
bl gi Go          # Go
bl gi Global/macOS  # macOS global
bl gi community/JetBrains+all  # JetBrains IDEs

No browser, no copy-paste. Powered by the official github/gitignore repo with 225+ popular templates and 300+ community templates.

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Pull Files From GitHub - Without git clone

# Grab a single file from any public repo
bl use alice/snippets:js/errorHandler.js ./src/utils

# Grab a specific subfolder as a project template
bl use vercel/next.js:examples/blog ./my-blog

# Entire repo (no clone, no zip download)
bl use rishiyaduwanshi/express-starter ./my-api

# From GitLab or any direct URL
bl use https://gitlab.com/myorg/templates:Dockerfile .

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Scaffold Full Features in One Command

Write a .bl script that creates routes, controllers, and auto-wires them into your existing codebase:

bl new feat user
# ✓ Created src/routes/user.route.js
# ✓ Created src/controllers/user.controller.js
# ✓ Injected import into src/api.js
# ✓ Injected app.use('/user', userRouter) into src/api.js

# bl/commands/feat.bl
__var bl__feature = bl__1.lowercase()
__var bl__Feature = bl__1.capitalize()

add route.js ./src/routes/bl__feature.route.js --local
add controller.js ./src/controllers/bl__feature.controller.js --local

inject ./src/api.js -d imports -a -c `
import bl__featureRouter from './routes/bl__feature.route.js';
`
inject ./src/api.js -d routes -a -c `
app.use('/bl__feature', bl__featureRouter);
`

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Store Once. Reuse Everywhere.

# Store a snippet with template variables
bl store utils/dbConnect.js
# ✓ Stored snippet 'dbConnect@1.js'

# Reuse in any project
cd ~/new-service
bl add dbConnect ./src
#   bl__DB_URL [mongodb://localhost:27017]: ...
# ✓ Added snippet → ./src/dbConnect.js

Variables replaced. Metadata stripped. Clean code, ready to use.

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Installation

Windows:

iwr -useb https://boiler.iamabhinav.dev/install | iex

Linux / macOS:

curl -fsSL https://boiler.iamabhinav.dev/install | bash

npm (all platforms):

npm install -g @boilercli/core

Verify:

bl version

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Features

• ✅ Remote Fetching - GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, direct URLs, custom registries
• ✅ Zero-Clone - Pull individual files or entire repos without git clone
• ✅ Automation Scripts - .bl scripts scaffold multiple files and inject code
• ✅ Template Variables - bl__VAR_NAME syntax with interactive prompts
• ✅ Built-in gi Alias - 500+ gitignore templates via bl gi <language>
• ✅ Aliases + Vars - Build your own one-word power commands
• ✅ Local & Global Stores - Per-project bl/ directory or global ~/.boiler
• ✅ Automatic Versioning - @1, @2, etc. per resource
• ✅ Language Agnostic - JS, Python, Go, Rust, Java, Docker, configs - anything
• ✅ Framework Agnostic - Express, Next.js, Django, Spring, whatever you use
• ✅ OS Agnostic - Windows, Linux, macOS
• ✅ Self-Updating - bl self update

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Commands

bl store <file>              # Store a file as snippet
bl store <folder>            # Store a directory as stack (bl init required first)
bl add <name> [path]         # Add snippet or stack (default: ./boiler)
bl add <name> -r             # Fetch from remote and save to local store
bl use <url-or-repo> [path]  # One-shot fetch - no local caching
bl gi <language>             # Instant gitignore (bl gi Node, bl gi Python, etc.)
bl new <script> [args]       # Run a .bl automation script
bl ls                        # List all stored resources
bl search <query> [-r]       # Search local or remote store
bl info <name>               # Show resource details
bl alias [k=v]               # Create a command shortcut
bl var [k=v]                 # Set a reusable variable
bl init                      # Initialize stack/snippet config
bl conf                      # View or edit configuration
bl clean                     # Remove resources from store
bl path                      # Show installation paths
bl self update               # Update Boiler to latest
bl self uninstall            # Uninstall Boiler
bl version                   # Show version

Full docs: boiler.iamabhinav.dev

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Project-Local Store

For project-specific templates that shouldn't be in your global store:

bl init -c          # Creates boiler.local.json with scope: local

my-project/
├── boiler.local.json          ← scope: local
└── bl/
    ├── commands/
    │   └── cmp.bl             ← bl new cmp <ComponentName>
    └── snippets/
        └── component.jsx      ← local template

All bl commands automatically use bl/ instead of ~/.boiler/ when scope: local is set.

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Team Registry

Host a shared snippet library on GitHub. Any developer pulls standardized patterns in seconds:

# One-time setup
bl conf --set-registry https://github.com/myteam/boiler-snippets

# Pull approved patterns (cached locally for offline use)
bl add jwtAuth -r
bl add rateLimiter -r
bl add mongoConfig -r

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Contributing

git clone https://github.com/rishiyaduwanshi/boiler.git
cd boiler
mise run setup   # Install deps and hooks
mise run dev     # Build development binary

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines. For security reporting, see SECURITY.md.

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License

Apache-2.0 © Abhinav Prakash

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