A modular project composition engine with a plugin ecosystem.
npx @systemlabs/foundation-cli create my-appA senior developer should be able to go from zero to a running, linted, type-checked, database-connected app with auth in under 3 minutes — no manual config editing, no missing dependencies, no broken imports.
Foundation CLI is a dependency-aware project assembler. You describe your intent — "I want a SaaS with Next.js, Express, PostgreSQL, and JWT auth" — and the engine resolves the full dependency graph, merges configurations without conflicts, injects integration code, and produces a working project.
It is NOT:
- A static template copier (like
create-next-appordegit) - A code scaffolding tool (like Yeoman or Hygen)
- A monorepo manager (like Nx or Turborepo) — though it can generate one
- A deployment tool — it generates deployment config, not deploy artifacts
| Feature | Foundation CLI | T3 Stack | create-next-app |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stack flexibility | Any combo (4 frontends, 4 backends, 5 DBs, 5 auth...) | Opinionated (Next.js + tRPC + Prisma only) | Next.js only |
| Conflict detection | ✅ DAG-based resolver blocks incompatible modules | ❌ Fixed stack, no conflicts possible | ❌ No modules to conflict |
| Existing project support | ✅ foundation add stripe/redis/openai |
❌ Init only | ❌ Init only |
| Config merging | ✅ Deep merge: package.json, tsconfig, .env, docker-compose | ❌ Static copy | ❌ Static copy |
| Atomic writes | ✅ Stage → commit, full rollback on failure | ❌ No rollback | ❌ No rollback |
Early-stage project — actively evolving
- Project generation (end-to-end)
- Module resolution (frontend + backend + DB)
- Presets (SaaS, AI app, API backend)
- Code generation (models, CRUD)
- Plugin ecosystem (still stabilizing)
- Some module combinations may have edge-case conflicts
- Improve module compatibility system
- Expand plugin ecosystem
- Better error diagnostics
If you try it and hit issues, please open an issue — feedback directly shapes the project.
# One-shot — no install needed
npx @systemlabs/foundation-cli
# Or install globally
npm install -g @systemlabs/foundation-cli
foundation create my-app━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
FOUNDATION CLI · Build your architecture in minutes
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? Project name › my-saas-app
? What are you building?
❯ SaaS Application ← loads smart defaults
AI Application
E-commerce
API Backend
Internal Tool
? Frontend › Next.js
? Backend › Express
? Database › PostgreSQL
? ORM › Prisma
? Auth › JWT
? UI › Tailwind + ShadCN
? Deploy › Docker
✔ Dependencies resolved (6 modules, 0 conflicts)
✔ Files staged (47 files)
✔ npm packages installed (12s)
🎉 my-saas-app is ready.
cd my-saas-app && npm run dev
▸ Frontend http://localhost:3000
▸ Backend http://localhost:3001
Here’s what Foundation CLI generates out of the box:
foundation create [name] # interactive
foundation new [name] # alias
foundation create my-app --preset saas # non-interactive / CI modeAvailable presets: saas · ai-app · ecommerce · api-backend · internal-tool · crm · dashboard
foundation add orm-prisma # add a built-in module
foundation add stripe # add an official add-on
foundation add foundation-plugin-redis # add a community plugin
foundation switch orm prisma # swap the active ORM
foundation switch backend nestjs # swap the active backend
foundation switch database mongodb # swap the database
foundation search <query> # search the plugin registry on npmfoundation generate model Post # interactive field prompts → ORM schema
foundation generate crud Post # model + service + controller + routes
foundation generate --list # list all available generatorsfoundation info # stack, modules, ORM, plugins
foundation doctor # Node version, env vars, compatibility checks
foundation validate # validate project.lock and foundation.config.jsonfoundation dev # delegates to npm run dev
foundation test # delegates to npm run test
foundation db migrate # npm run db:migrate / alembic upgrade head
foundation db seed
foundation db reset
foundation db studio # Prisma Studio (Prisma only)
foundation db push # Prisma db push (Prisma only)foundation eject [module-id] # copy module files into your project
foundation upgrade [--dry-run] # upgrade modules via the lockfile
foundation create-plugin [name] # scaffold a new plugin packagefoundation ai "create a blog with posts, comments, and JWT auth"
# Requires ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY
See MODULES.md for the full per-module reference — every file generated, every dependency installed, and the compatibility matrix.
| Category | Options |
|---|---|
| Frontend | Next.js · React + Vite · Vue 3 · Svelte |
| Backend | Express · NestJS · FastAPI · Django |
| Database | PostgreSQL · MySQL · MongoDB · SQLite · Supabase |
| ORM | Prisma · TypeORM · Mongoose · SQLAlchemy |
| Auth | JWT · OAuth · Session · Clerk · Auth0 |
| UI | Tailwind CSS · ShadCN/UI · Material UI · Chakra UI · Bootstrap |
| State | Zustand · Redux Toolkit · TanStack Query |
| Deployment | Docker · Vercel · Render · AWS ECS |
| Add-ons | Stripe · Redis · OpenAI · community plugins |
Start with battle-tested defaults. All selections can be overridden interactively.
| Archetype | Frontend | Backend | Database | Auth | UI | Deploy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
saas |
Next.js | Express | PostgreSQL | JWT | Tailwind | Docker |
ai-app |
Next.js | Express | PostgreSQL | JWT | Tailwind | TanStack Query |
ecommerce |
Next.js | Express | PostgreSQL | Session | ShadCN | Zustand |
api-backend |
None | Express | PostgreSQL | JWT | None | Docker |
internal-tool |
Next.js | Express | PostgreSQL | JWT | Tailwind | None |
crm |
Next.js | NestJS | PostgreSQL | OAuth | MUI | Redux |
dashboard |
Next.js | Express | PostgreSQL | JWT | ShadCN | TanStack Query |
foundation generate model Post # prompts for fields → writes ORM schema
foundation generate crud Post # model + service + controller + routesGenerated output is ORM-aware:
| Active ORM | Model output | CRUD output |
|---|---|---|
| Prisma | prisma/schema.prisma (model block appended) |
src/services/, src/controllers/, src/routes/ |
| TypeORM | src/entities/Post.entity.ts |
Express or NestJS controllers |
| Mongoose | src/models/Post.model.ts |
Express controllers |
| SQLAlchemy | src/post.py |
FastAPI router + Pydantic schemas |
All four relation types are supported: many-to-one, one-to-many, one-to-one, many-to-many.
Foundation CLI is built to grow through community plugins.
# Install any community plugin
foundation add foundation-plugin-<name>
# Scaffold a new plugin
foundation create-plugin my-pluginA plugin is a standard npm package with the foundation-plugin keyword. Plugin hooks execute in a sandboxed context — they cannot access paths outside projectRoot.
Plugin trust tiers:
| Tier | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Community | Published to npm with foundation-plugin keyword |
| Verified | Security audit passed; manifest hash pinned |
| Official | Maintained by the Foundation CLI org |
| Package | npm | Description |
|---|---|---|
@systemlabs/foundation-cli |
 |
User-facing CLI |
@systemlabs/foundation-core |
 |
Engine — resolver, planner, pipeline, ORM service |
@systemlabs/foundation-modules |
 |
All built-in modules |
@systemlabs/foundation-plugin-sdk |
 |
Public plugin contract, types, manifest schema |
@systemlabs/foundation-testing |
 |
Test utilities for module and plugin authors |
- Node.js ≥ 18
- pnpm ≥ 9
git clone https://github.com/ronak-create/Foundation-Cli.git
cd Foundation-Cli
pnpm install
pnpm turbo buildpnpm turbo build # build all (cached)
pnpm turbo dev # watch mode
pnpm turbo typecheck # type-check without emitting
pnpm turbo test # all tests
pnpm turbo lint # lint all packages
# Run the CLI locally
node packages/cli/dist/bin.js createplugin-sdk → core → modules → cli
Enforced by turbo dependsOn: ["^build"].
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| ARCHITECTURE.md | Engine internals, data flow diagrams, subsystem contracts, error types |
| MODULES.md | Per-module reference — files generated, dependencies, compatibility matrix |
| CONTRIBUTING.md | How to contribute — setup, module authoring, testing, commit conventions |
Contributions are welcome — bug fixes, new modules, documentation improvements, community plugins. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a PR.
Found a bug? Open an issue.
Have an idea? Start a discussion.
Release notes are published on GitHub Releases. Each release includes a changelog broken into New features, Bug fixes, Breaking changes, and Contributors.
| Purpose | Library |
|---|---|
| Prompts | @inquirer/prompts |
| Terminal colour | chalk |
| Spinners | ora |
| Templating | ejs |
| Schema validation | ajv |
| YAML | js-yaml |
| Process execution | execa |
| Build | tsup |
| Tests | vitest |
| Monorepo | pnpm + turbo |
MIT — see LICENSE for details.
Foundation CLI — Designed for longevity. Built for scale.