📦 ValidStart

ValidStart is a powerful yet simple CLI tool designed to help you scaffold any kind of software project — fast.

Whether you're building a frontend website, backend API, fullstack app, CLI tool, or even a reusable library/package, ValidStart eliminates the repetitive setup process. No more digging through documentation or manually setting up folders — just answer a few questions and your project is ready to go.

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✅ What Does It Do?

ValidStart automates the boilerplate setup for new projects. It:

• Lets you select the project type: Frontend, Backend, Fullstack, CLI tool, or Library
• Supports multiple languages: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Go, Rust, Java, PHP, HTML/CSS
• Offers popular frameworks: React, Vue, Next.js, Django, Laravel, Spring Boot, and more
• Adds extra tools/libraries as needed
• Automatically creates:
  • Project folder structure
  • Initial files (README.md, .gitignore, .env, install.sh, etc.)
  • Installs relevant dependencies
  • Initializes a Git repository

You get a ready-to-code project in seconds.

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🚀 Quick Install (Recommended)

npm install -g validstart

Make sure you have Node.js installed (see below if you don't).

Once installed, you can use the validstart command from anywhere on your machine.

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🧰 Don’t Have Node.js?

No problem. Here’s how to install it in a beginner-friendly way:

🔧 Step-by-Step for Windows/macOS/Linux:

1. Visit: https://nodejs.org
2. Click on the LTS (Long Term Support) version (recommended)
3. Download and run the installer
4. Follow the installation prompts
5. After installation, open a terminal or command prompt and run:

node -v
npm -v

If both show version numbers, you're good to go.

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🧪 Verify Installation

Once you’ve installed Node.js and ValidStart, run:

validstart hello

You should see:

✅ Hello from ValidStart!

🎥 CLI Demo

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📁 Create a New Project

To start a new project, run:

validstart init

You’ll be guided through a few questions:

• 📛 What’s your project name?
• ⚙️ What kind of project? (Frontend, Backend, etc.)
• 🧑‍💻 Which programming language?
• 🧱 Which framework?
• 🧩 Any additional tools/libraries?
• 📄 Should it include helper files like .gitignore, README.md, etc.?

Then ValidStart will:

• Create the right folder structure
• Generate starter code
• Install dependencies
• Initialize a Git repository

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🧑‍💻 For Developers & Contributors

Want to contribute or work on ValidStart locally? Follow these steps:

🔧 Clone and Build Locally:

git clone https://github.com/thevalidcode/validstart.git
cd validstart
npm install
npm run build

▶️ Run Locally Without Global Install:

node dist/index.js init

🔗 Link Globally for Development:

npm link
validstart init

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📥 Contribution Guidelines

We welcome contributions! To maintain a clean and professional workflow, please follow these steps:

1. Fork the Repository

   Go to https://github.com/thevalidcode/validstart and click Fork.

2. Clone Your Fork

   git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/validstart.git
   cd validstart

3. Create a New Branch

   git checkout -b feature/my-new-feature

4. Make Your Changes

5. Test Your Changes

   Ensure everything works locally by running:

   npm run build
   node dist/index.js

6. Commit Your Work

   git add .
   git commit -m "feat: added my new feature"
   git push origin feature/my-new-feature

7. Open a Pull Request

   Go back to GitHub and open a PR from your branch.

✅ Follow the Conventional Commits style: feat:, fix:, chore:, etc.

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🔨 Built With

ValidStart uses modern tools to deliver a fast and flexible developer experience:

• Node.js – Cross-platform runtime
• TypeScript – Type-safe development
• Commander.js – Command-line interface parsing
• Inquirer.js – Interactive prompts
• Execa – Shell command execution
• Chalk – Styled terminal output
• fs-extra – File handling utilities

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the ISC License — free for personal and commercial use.

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👤 Author

Ibeh Precious (Valid)

• GitHub: @thevalidcode
• Twitter: @thevalidcode
• LinkedIn: @thevalidcode

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💬 Have ideas or suggestions? Open an issue or reach out on social media.