The itch
I've been creating a lot of throwaway TypeScript projects lately. You know that feeling. You have an idea for a quick script, a small API, or you just want to try something in TypeScript. Then you create a folder, run npm init
, install TypeScript, configure a tsconfig.json
, configure su paso de compilación, agregue un script de observación, pruebe un montón de opciones diferentes para obtener el sistema de módulos correcto y, cuando haya terminado, habrá olvidado lo que estaba intentando compilar en primer lugar.
I've done this dance a hundred times. And every time, I think "I should really automate this." So I finally did it.
The amazing part? Lo hice todo en Claude Code (justo después del lanzamiento de Opus 4.6), pasando literalmente de la idea a una herramienta de andamiaje funcional en aproximadamente una hora. It was wonderful. I told Claude exactly what I wanted and that generated the entire project for me. I just had to modify a few things here and there.
create-ts-dash
create-ts-dash is a simple scaffolding tool that takes you from zero to a functional TypeScript project with a single command:
npm create ts-dash my-app
That's all. You'll get a clean TypeScript project with reasonable defaults, ready to go. No repetitive fatigue, no decision paralysis. The project is created from scratch every time, so you always get the latest versions of the package.
What you get
Each project comes with:
- TypeScript with strict settings (because we are not animals)
- tsx to run TypeScript directly with file viewing
- ESM modules configured from the first moment
-
Git initialized with a
.gitignore
Do you need a web server?
If you are creating an API or a server, create-ts-dash allows you to choose from three frameworks:
- Express: the one you already know
- Fastify: fast and low overhead
- Hono: light and ultra-fast
Optional tools
You can also choose to:
- ESLint + Prettier for linting and formatting
- Vitest for testing.
Nothing is imposed on you. Choose what you need, skip what you don't.
"Doesn't this already exist?"
Yes. Probably. Almost certainly. I didn't do extensive research and I don't care. Sometimes you want to build something that works exactly how you think it should work. Something where you know every line of code because you wrote it. Something to scratch your specific itch.
I built create-ts-dash for myself. If you find it useful too, great. If you prefer something else, that's fine too. The world has room for another scaffolding tool.
try it
# with npm
npm create ts-dash my-app
# with thread
thread create ts-dash my-app
# with pnpm
pnpm create ts-dash my-app
# with bun
bun create ts-dash my-app
Or run it without a project name for interactive mode:
npm creates ts-dash
Check out the repository at github.com/elylucas/create-ts-dash, give it a try, and let me know what you think.
Happy coding!
