@phcdevworks/spectre-init

@phcdevworks/spectre-init is the project scaffolding CLI of the Spectre shell ecosystem. It creates a new TypeScript app from a bundled template, wires Spectre dependencies, and provides a predictable starter structure.

Maintained by PHCDevworks. It scaffolds new applications against the rest of the Spectre shell ecosystem (spectre-shell, spectre-shell-router, spectre-shell-signals, and the project-design packages) but is not itself a dependency of any other repo in the workspace.

Repository Snapshot

Field	Value
Project team	project-shell
Repository role	Spectre project scaffolding CLI
Package/artifact	@phcdevworks/spectre-init
Current version/status	1.3.0

Standard Workflow

1. Read AGENTS.md, then the agent-specific guide for the task.
2. Check TODO.md and ROADMAP.md for current scope.
3. Make the smallest repo-local change that satisfies the task.
4. Run npm run check when validation is required or practical.
5. Update docs and CHANGELOG.md only when behavior, public contracts, or release-relevant metadata changed.

Documentation Map

Guide	Path
Agent rules	AGENTS.md
Claude Code	CLAUDE.md
Codex	CODEX.md
Copilot	COPILOT.md
Jules	JULES.md
Roadmap	ROADMAP.md
Todo	TODO.md
Changelog	CHANGELOG.md
Security	SECURITY.md

CLI scaffolding for Spectre-ready applications. spectre-init creates a new TypeScript app from a bundled template, wires Spectre dependencies, and provides a predictable starter structure.

Contributing | Code of Conduct | Changelog | Roadmap | Security Policy

When To Use This Package

• You are starting a new Spectre-based application from scratch.
• You want a working starter with @phcdevworks/spectre-shell, @phcdevworks/spectre-tokens, and the router wired up from the first commit.
• You want project files, AGENTS.md, and AI-agent guidance pre-populated for the Spectre ecosystem.

When Not To Use This Package

• You are adding Spectre to an existing project — install packages individually instead.
• You need a non-TypeScript or non-vanilla-JS template — this scaffold is TypeScript-only.
• You need a framework-specific template (React, Vue, etc.) — those are out of scope.

Templates

Type	Description	Packages wired
vanilla	TypeScript + Vite starter with routing and Spectre UI.	spectre-shell, spectre-shell-router, spectre-tokens, spectre-ui
shell-app	Full shell app with bootstrapApp, router, signals, reactive effects, and Spectre components.	spectre-shell, spectre-shell-router, spectre-shell-signals, spectre-components, spectre-tokens, spectre-ui
astro	Astro starter using spectre-ui-astro components (SpButton, SpCard).	spectre-tokens, spectre-ui, spectre-ui-astro, astro

The interactive setup prompts for project type. The non-interactive path (spectre-init <name>) defaults to vanilla.

Ecosystem

Templates scaffold against the Spectre package family:

• spectre-shell — SPA bootstrap layer (bootstrapApp, lifecycle hooks)
• spectre-shell-router — client-side router with named routes and render/destroy hooks
• spectre-shell-signals — reactive primitives (signal, computed, effect)
• spectre-components — Spectre web components (for example sp-button in shell-app)
• spectre-tokens — design tokens as CSS variables (--sp-*), JS objects, and Tailwind theme
• spectre-ui — CSS bundles and type-safe recipe functions built on tokens
• spectre-ui-astro — SSR-safe Astro components built on spectre-ui recipes (used by astro)

Capabilities

• Scaffolds a Spectre-ready TypeScript application from a bundled template.
• Interactive setup: prompts for project name, type, and output directory with a confirmation summary before any files are written.
• Copies the bundled template starter into a new project directory.
• Validates project names before writing files.
• Updates the generated package name to match the requested project.
• Updates the generated spectre.manifest.json package entry to match the requested project.
• Validates scaffolded output before running npm install.
• Runs npm install after scaffolding so the app is ready to start.

Manifest Registration

Every template includes a starter spectre.manifest.json describing the scaffolded app as a single package that consumes the Spectre packages listed in its dependencies field (@phcdevworks/spectre-shell, @phcdevworks/spectre-tokens, and so on, depending on template). spectre-init renames the manifest's package entry, system.name, and $id to match your project name, the same way it patches package.json.

This manifest is a starting point, not an automatic registration — it isn't validated by the scaffolded app's own scripts by default. To validate it:

npm install --save-dev @phcdevworks/spectre-manifest
npx spectre-manifest-validate spectre.manifest.json
npx spectre-manifest-check spectre.manifest.json .

Keep the dependencies array on the app's package entry in sync with the @phcdevworks/* entries in package.json — spectre-manifest-check flags drift between the two.

Installation

Run once with npx:

npx @phcdevworks/spectre-init my-app

Or install globally:

npm install -g @phcdevworks/spectre-init
spectre-init my-app

Quick Start

Interactive (guided setup):

npx @phcdevworks/spectre-init

Non-interactive (name provided, no prompts):

npx @phcdevworks/spectre-init my-app
cd my-app
npm run dev

API

This package exposes the spectre-init binary.

spectre-init                  # interactive setup
spectre-init <project-name>   # skip prompts, scaffold immediately
spectre-init update [path]    # sync an existing project's config files and dependency pins
spectre-init --help
spectre-init --version

Updating An Existing Project

spectre-init update [path] (default path: current directory) brings an existing scaffolded project's boilerplate up to date with the currently installed spectre-init version:

• Detects the project's template (vanilla, shell-app, or astro) from its @phcdevworks/* dependencies.
• Overwrites config files that are boilerplate, not application code: .gitignore, AGENTS.md, tsconfig.json, and vite.config.ts / astro.config.ts.
• Refreshes spectre.manifest.json from the current template, preserving the project's own name.
• Bumps the version pin for any @phcdevworks/* (or other) dependency the project already has, to match the current template — it does not add dependencies the project doesn't already have, and never touches scripts, name, or other package.json fields.
• Never touches anything under src/. Run npm install afterward to apply any dependency changes.

Boundaries

This package owns project scaffolding and starter templates. It does not own runtime routing, reactive state, design tokens, UI components, or framework adapters.

Development

npm install
npm run check

Useful scripts:

• npm run typecheck validates TypeScript without emitting files.
• npm run lint runs ESLint.
• npm run build emits the CLI to dist.
• npm run check:version-sync checks README/package.json version parity.
• npm run check:ecosystem validates the spectre-manifest entry.
• npm run check runs the standard package verification flow.

AI-agent coordination starts in AGENTS.md, with companion guidance in CLAUDE.md, CODEX.md, COPILOT.md, JULES.md, and .github/copilot-instructions.md.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
npm run check fails	Type or lint error	Run npm run typecheck or npm run lint to isolate
Scaffolded app fails npm install	Network or registry issue	Run npm install manually inside the generated directory
Project name rejected	Name contains uppercase, spaces, or invalid characters	Use lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores, and dots only
spectre-init --version shows wrong version	Stale global install	Run npm install -g @phcdevworks/spectre-init to update

AI And Automation Boundaries

Claude Code (claude-sonnet-4-6) is the primary development agent for this repository. Codex handles releases, including cutting tagged releases and GitHub Releases, and production stabilization. Jules handles small automated fixes and dependency updates. GitHub Copilot provides development support.

All AI agents with repository access (Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Jules) have commit, push, and tag authority in this repository. Publishing to npm remains Bradley Potts's sole authority. See AGENTS.md for the full commit-policy and release-authority grant.

Protected from automated change: the scaffolding-only scope (no runtime routing, reactive state, UI components, or framework adapters added locally) and the token-driven template constraint (no hardcoded hex colors or spacing literals in templates). See AGENTS.md for full agent governance and boundary rules.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. The gate is npm run check. Template changes must preserve the token-driven constraints — no hardcoded hex colors or spacing literals. See AGENTS.md for boundaries.

Release Notes

See CHANGELOG.md.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.