The Problem
Every new project meant copy-pasting the same boilerplate: ESLint config, Prettier, Tailwind setup, tsconfig.json paths, shadcn init, Husky pre-commit hooks, and a sane folder structure. create-next-app gets you 20% of the way there. The other 80% was an hour of tedious setup — every single time.
Nobody was solving for opinionated scaffolding that matched how senior engineers actually structure production apps.
The Solution
Forge is a CLI you run once: npx forge-app my-project. It asks three questions, then generates a fully wired codebase — not just files, but a project you can start shipping from immediately.
What it sets up automatically:
- App Router folder structure with route groups
- Tailwind + shadcn/ui pre-configured with the design tokens
- ESLint + Prettier with the rules that actually matter
- Absolute imports via
tsconfig.jsonpath aliases - Husky + lint-staged pre-commit hooks
- GitHub Actions CI workflow out of the box
Built with Commander.js for the CLI interface, Inquirer for interactive prompts, and a template engine that supports conditional file generation based on user choices.
The Outcome
- 2,000+ weekly npm installs within 6 weeks of launch
- Featured in the Bytes.dev newsletter (190k subscribers)
- Saves an estimated 45–60 minutes of setup per project
- Open-source with 12 contributors from the community
- 99% positive feedback on the DX in GitHub Discussions