scaffold-author — Create, edit, and test scaffold templates

scaffold-author — Create, edit, and test scaffold templates

User-invocable: true Auto-triggerable: true

Triggers when: User wants to create a new scaffold template, edit scaffold.yaml, write template files, or test/validate a scaffold.

Scaffold Types

Project Scaffold

Creates a new directory named after the project. The user is prompted for a project name.

my-scaffold/
├── scaffold.yaml
└── {{ .ProjectKebab }}/          # or any project name pattern
    ├── README.md
    └── src/
        └── main.go

Valid root directory names: {{ .Project }}, {{ .ProjectSlug }}, {{ .ProjectSnake }}, {{ .ProjectKebab }}, {{ .ProjectCamel }}, {{ .ProjectPascal }}

Template Scaffold

Generates files into the current directory. No project name prompt. The templates/ prefix is stripped from output paths. Use rewrites and inject to place files precisely.

my-scaffold/
├── scaffold.yaml
└── templates/
    ├── component.tsx
    └── component.test.tsx

Quick Start: Project Scaffold

scaffold init  # creates .scaffold/ with example template scaffold

Or create manually:

.scaffold/my-project/
├── scaffold.yaml
└── {{ .ProjectKebab }}/
    └── main.go

scaffold.yaml:

questions:
  - name: description
    prompt:
      message: "Project description"
    validate:
      required: true

  - name: license
    prompt:
      message: "License"
      default: "MIT"
      options: ["MIT", "Apache-2.0", "GPL-3.0"]

presets:
  default:
    description: "My project"
    license: "MIT"

{{ .ProjectKebab }}/main.go:

// {{ .Scaffold.description }}
package main

func main() {}

Quick Start: Template Scaffold

.scaffold/add-component/
├── scaffold.yaml
└── templates/
    └── component.tsx

scaffold.yaml:

questions:
  - name: component_name
    prompt:
      message: "Component name"
    validate:
      required: true

rewrites:
  - from: templates/component.tsx
    to: "src/components/{{ .Scaffold.component_name }}.tsx"

presets:
  default:
    component_name: "Button"

Bootstrapping

scaffold init

Creates .scaffold/ with a hello-world template scaffold example.

scaffold init --stealth

Same as above, but adds .scaffold to .git/info/exclude so it's hidden from git without touching .gitignore. Useful for personal scaffolds in shared repos.

scaffold.yaml Reference

See scaffold-yaml-schema.md for the complete field reference. Key sections:

• questions — Interactive prompts that collect user input
• computed — Derived variables from template expressions
• features — Conditional file inclusion/exclusion
• rewrites — Remap output file paths (template scaffolds)
• inject — Insert content into existing files (template scaffolds)
• presets — Named variable sets for non-interactive use
• each — Multi-file expansion from list variables
• skip — Glob patterns for files copied without template rendering
• delimiters — Custom template delimiters per file glob
• messages — Pre/post scaffold markdown messages
• metadata — Version constraints

Template Engine

See template-engine.md for the complete template reference. Key points:

• Variables: .Project, .ProjectKebab, .Scaffold.*, .Computed.*, .Each.*
• Functions: All sprout functions + wraptmpl, toPlural, toSingular, isPlural, isSingular, partial
• File/directory names are also templates
• Partials go in a partials/ directory at the scaffold root

Testing Workflow

1. Lint the config

scaffold lint .scaffold/my-scaffold/scaffold.yaml

Validates question names, prompt types, computed names, skip globs, rewrite paths, injection modes, and delimiter configs.

2. Inspect the metadata

scaffold inspect .scaffold/my-scaffold

Outputs JSON showing questions (with resolved types), presets, computed values, features, and messages. Use this to verify the scaffold looks correct.

3. Dry-run

scaffold new --dry-run --no-prompt --preset default .scaffold/my-scaffold

Renders fully but writes nothing. Outputs JSON listing all files that would be created. Catches template errors without side effects.

4. Snapshot test

scaffold new \
  --output-dir :memory: \
  --no-prompt \
  --preset default \
  --snapshot stdout \
  .scaffold/my-scaffold

Renders in-memory and outputs a full AST with file contents. Ideal for:

• Verifying exact output content
• CI/CD diffing against expected output
• Catching regressions

5. Full test command (recommended)

scaffold \
  --log-level error \
  new \
  --output-dir :memory: \
  --no-prompt \
  --preset default \
  --snapshot stdout \
  .scaffold/my-scaffold

Reading Template Errors

Template errors show:

• File path and line:column where the error occurred
• Context lines (the error line plus surrounding lines)
• Delimiter info if custom delimiters are in use

Common causes:

• Referencing undefined variables (e.g., .Scaffold.typo)
• Missing closing delimiters
• Calling undefined functions
• Type mismatches in template expressions

Preset-Driven Testing

Always define at least one preset (typically default) so scaffolds can be tested non-interactively. The preset should provide valid values for all required questions.

presets:
  default:
    description: "Test project"
    license: "MIT"
    use_database: true
    db_type: "postgres"
  minimal:
    description: "Minimal"
    license: "MIT"
    use_database: false

Test each preset:

for preset in default minimal; do
  scaffold new --output-dir :memory: --no-prompt --preset "$preset" --snapshot stdout .scaffold/my-scaffold
done