Project Initialization Best Practices

When creating new projects, always prefer official CLI tools and scaffolding commands over manually creating files and directories. These tools:

• Set up correct project structure and config
• Install dependencies with compatible versions
• Configure build tools, linting, testing
• Follow framework best practices

JavaScript/TypeScript

Framework	Command
Vite	bun create vite or npm create vite@latest
Next.js	bunx create-next-app or npx create-next-app@latest
Remix	bunx create-remix or npx create-remix@latest
Astro	bun create astro or npm create astro@latest
SvelteKit	bun create svelte or npm create svelte@latest
Nuxt	bunx nuxi init or npx nuxi@latest init
React Native	npx @react-native-community/cli init
Expo	bunx create-expo-app or npx create-expo-app
Electron	npm init electron-app@latest
Tauri	bun create tauri-app or npm create tauri-app@latest

TypeScript Package Preference

• Prefer pnpm as the package manager for TypeScript packages/libraries.
• Prefer tsdown as the default bundler for TypeScript library packages.
• If scaffolding with npm/bun CLIs, switch the generated package to pnpm + tsdown during setup.

Python

Tool	Command
uv (recommended)	uv init or uv init --lib for libraries
Poetry	poetry new <name> or poetry init
PDM	pdm init
Hatch	hatch new <name>
Django	django-admin startproject <name>
Flask	Use cookiecutter or manual (minimal structure)
FastAPI	Use cookiecutter or fastapi-cli

Other Languages

Language/Framework	Command
Rust	cargo new <name> or cargo init
Go	go mod init <module>
Ruby on Rails	rails new <name>
.NET	dotnet new <template>
Java (Spring)	Use start.spring.io or Spring CLI
Kotlin	gradle init or IntelliJ

Monorepo Tools

Tool	Command
Turborepo	bunx create-turbo or npx create-turbo@latest
Nx	bunx create-nx-workspace or npx create-nx-workspace
Lerna	npx lerna init

Key Principles

1. Don't manually create config files - Let the CLI generate them
2. Use interactive prompts - Most CLIs ask about TypeScript, linting, testing
3. Check framework docs - Commands change; verify current syntax
4. Prefer package-manager conventions - use pnpm for TypeScript packages unless project constraints require otherwise
5. Use templates - Many CLIs offer starter templates (e.g., --template react-ts)

When Manual Setup is OK

• Adding to existing monorepo with specific conventions
• Learning how tools work under the hood
• Very minimal projects (single script)
• Custom build requirements not covered by templates