Add a Template

Templates are curated project starters: a starter, a layout, and a set of feature packs pre-wired together, plus a custom theme and extra pages. The template command installs one into a Hype Stack project, and scaffolds the project first when you run it in an empty directory.

Usage

Install a template by id:

bash

npx @hype-stack/cli template better-studio

Omit the id to pick interactively:

bash

npx @hype-stack/cli template

If there is no project in the current directory, the create wizard runs first, preseeded with the template's theme, radius, and color mode. Then the command expands the template into one variant per slot (starter, layout, billing provider) plus its fixed feature packs, installs them like a normal compose, and layers the template's frontend overrides (landing page, custom theme, re-skinned auth screens, and so on) on top so the template owns those paths. Docker and migrations run at the very end, once, after every pack is in.

Use the wizard

You rarely need to hand-build the full command. Run npx @hype-stack/cli template with no flags and the wizard walks you through picking a template, swapping slot variants, and handling licenses. Reach for the flags below only in CI or scripts where prompts aren't an option.

Swapping slot variants

A template names a pack family for each slot rather than a concrete pack, so you can swap variants at install time. Every family the template ships is a slot: the auth starter, the layout, and the billing provider. Pick interactively, or preselect with --variants:

bash

npx @hype-stack/cli template better-studio --variants starter-saas=starter-saas-workos,layout=layout-basic,pack-billing=pack-billing-polar

A template license covers every variant of each slot, so swapping never costs extra. A family the template has no slot for, or a pack from a different family, aborts before anything is written and lists the real options.

Adding extra packs

Add feature packs that fall outside the template's own scope with --packs:

bash

npx @hype-stack/cli template better-studio --packs pack-notifications,pack-projects

Overriding the template's look

Every template ships a canonical theme, corner radius, and color mode. Those preselect the pickers during install, and these flags override them outright, which is how the preview site's copy-command button reproduces the combination you were looking at:

bash

npx @hype-stack/cli template better-studio --packs pack-teams --theme ocean --radius 1rem --mode dark

The admin app, mobile app, and browser extension all follow the frontend unless you say otherwise with their own flags (--admin-theme, --mobile-theme, --extension-theme, and the matching -radius flags).

Flags

Flag	What it does
`[id]`	Template id. Omit to choose from a list.
`--variants <family=pack,...>`	Preselect slot variants instead of prompting.
`--packs <a,b,c>`	Extra feature packs to add on top of the template.
`-t, --theme <theme>`	Frontend color theme, overriding the template's.
`--admin-theme <theme>`	Admin color theme. Defaults to `--theme`.
`--mobile-theme <theme>`	Mobile app color theme. Defaults to `--theme`.
`--extension-theme <theme>`	Extension color theme. Defaults to `--theme`.
`--radius <value>`	Frontend corner radius as a CSS length, e.g. `1rem`.
`--admin-radius <value>`	Admin corner radius. Defaults to `--radius`.
`--mobile-radius <value>`	Mobile app corner radius. Defaults to `--radius`.
`--extension-radius <value>`	Extension corner radius. Defaults to `--radius`.
`--mode <light\|dark>`	Color mode the app boots in, overriding the template's `defaultMode`.
`--force`	Overwrite existing files.
`-y, --yes`	Skip confirmation prompts (requires an id).
`--cwd <path>`	Run against a different working directory.

Running in CI

There is no credential flag. Create an API key on the API keys page and pass it as an env var:

bash

HYPE_STACK_TOKEN=hsk_ci_xxx npx @hype-stack/cli template better-studio --yes

HYPE_STACK_TOKEN takes priority over whatever npx @hype-stack/cli login stored locally, so the same command works on your machine and on a runner.

Available templates

Every template takes a starter slot and a layout slot. The table shows the default variants and the packs that are fixed.

Template	Fixed packs	Default layout	Look
`better-studio`	`pack-billing-stripe`	`layout-glass`	ocean, dark
`open-calendar`	`pack-billing-stripe`, `pack-calendar`	`layout-glass`	lime, light
`aether`	`pack-billing-stripe`, `pack-ai-chat`	`layout-glass`	default, dark
`vault`	`pack-billing-stripe`	`layout-basic`	black, dark
`mind-map`	`pack-billing-stripe`, `pack-whiteboard`	`layout-joyful`	paper, light
`indie-hacker`	`pack-newsletter`	`layout-basic`	crimson, light

Billing is a slot too: a pack from a family (Stripe here) is swappable for its siblings, so any of these can run on Lemon Squeezy or Polar instead.

A template license covers every variant of every slot plus the fixed packs. The third-party accounts behind them (WorkOS, Stripe, Resend, an AI provider) are yours to create; each template page lists which ones it needs.

After install

The template and its packs are recorded in stack.json, the template as its own install record:

json

{
  "installedPacks": ["starter-saas-betterauth", "layout-glass", "pack-billing-stripe"],
  "installs": [
    { "kind": "base", "id": "BetterTyped/hype-stack", "commit": "d6eb1559" },
    { "kind": "pack", "id": "starter-saas-betterauth", "version": "1.0.0", "commit": "3f2a91c0" },
    { "kind": "template", "id": "better-studio", "version": "1.0.0", "commit": "3f2a91c0" }
  ]
}

Templates are starting points, not constraints. Once installed, you own all the code. Modify routes, swap providers, restructure the layout. Nothing is locked.

The template's copy lands in messages/en.json on top of what its packs contributed, so the app name and any wording the template rephrases win. Adding a language is the same as for a plain pack install: see Translations.

Add more packs on top at any time:

bash

npx @hype-stack/cli compose

At the end of a template or compose run the CLI offers to walk you through onboard, which fills in any new env vars the template and its packs need. You can also run it yourself later.