Gnat

Gnat is a utility for Node starter kit generators. It is intended to serve as a simple installation process. It clones a Node module from a Git repository, detaches it from its upstream, and resets any identifying fields in package.json, prompting as necessary.

Installation

npm install -g gnat

Usage

gnat clone GIT-REPO-URL TARGET-PATH

Example

Suppose I have a Github repository https://github.com/edgar/static-site-generator, which I would like to clone as a new, separate Node project in the directory my-example-site

You would run the command:

gnat clone edgar/static-site-generator my-example-site

Effects:

• clone the repository into the given path
• prompt you for package.json changes (similar to npm init)
• remove repository from package.json
• remove .git in your new path

You can then change to your new directory, do your installations, and attach to a new repository.

TODO

• after prompting for package.json fields, it should show resulting changes and prompt for confirmation (default "y")
• have registry mapping simple names to git urls to clone and allow searching with subcommand "list"