Scaffold a project

Quick example

spin new myapp https://github.com/example/go-cli-template.git

spin opens a two-step interactive form: params first, then hook review with Run / Skip / Cancel. It renders the _base/ tree into ./myapp and runs [[post]] steps.

Template specs

--template accepts any of these:

You can also pass the template positionally:

spin new myapp https://github.com/example/go-cli-template.git

If you pass a single positional argument that looks like a template spec, spin treats it as the template and prompts for the project name:

spin new ~/code/templates/go-cli

Params

Templates declare params in spin.toml. By default spin new opens an interactive form. In scripts or CI, pass every param with --param:

spin new myapp --template go-cli \
  --param port=8080 \
  --param verbose=true \
  --param features=auth,db

Type coercion:

Preview modes

Print the resolved params without writing files:

spin new myapp --template go-cli --print-params

List the files that would be written:

spin new myapp --template go-cli --print-hooks
spin new myapp --template go-cli --dry-run

--print-hooks shows the hooks without running them. --dry-run renders to a temp directory and lists the files without writing. Both imply non-interactive and do not run [[post]] steps.

Destination

By default the project is written to ./<name>. Use --dest to change the directory:

spin new myapp --template go-cli --dest ~/projects/myapp

CI/CD

In CI, pass every param and use --yes to skip prompts. Redirect stdin so spin detects non-interactive mode:

# GitHub Actions
- name: Scaffold project
  run: |
    curl -sSfL https://spincli.pages.dev/install.sh | sh
    spin new myapp --template official/go-cli \
      --param project_name=myapp \
      --param license=MIT \
      --param private=false \
      --yes \
      --dest ./output \
      < /dev/null

# Generic shell
spin new myapp --template official/go-cli \
  --param project_name=myapp \
  --param license=MIT \
  --yes \
  < /dev/null

Add --verbose if you want hook output in CI logs. Add --print-params first to preview what will be resolved before committing to a run.