package-json-scaffolder

majiayu000's avatarfrom majiayu000

Generate complete package.json files with appropriate dependencies, scripts, and configuration for Node.js projects of various types. Triggers on "create package.json", "generate package.json for", "npm init for", "node project setup".

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[Code Generation]

When & Why to Use This Skill

The Package.json Scaffolder is a specialized utility designed to automate the creation of production-ready package.json files for Node.js projects. It streamlines the initial setup process by generating optimized configurations, including essential dependencies, build scripts, and metadata tailored for various frameworks like React, Next.js, and Express. By enforcing best practices such as LTS versioning and proper field structures, it helps developers avoid manual configuration errors and accelerate project bootstrapping.

Use Cases

  • Rapidly initializing a React application using Vite with pre-configured Vitest, ESLint, and TypeScript settings.
  • Setting up a robust Express.js API backend with integrated Prisma ORM, security middleware (Helmet/CORS), and automated test suites.
  • Configuring a professional NPM library with complex ESM/CJS export maps, type definitions, and prepublish validation scripts.
  • Bootstrapping a Monorepo environment using Turborepo and pnpm workspaces for multi-package management.
  • Creating standardized CLI tool configurations with built-in support for command-line argument parsing and terminal styling.
namepackage-json-scaffolder
descriptionGenerate complete package.json files with appropriate dependencies, scripts, and configuration for Node.js projects of various types. Triggers on "create package.json", "generate package.json for", "npm init for", "node project setup".

Package.json Scaffolder

Generate complete, production-ready package.json files with appropriate dependencies, scripts, and metadata for various Node.js project types.

Output Requirements

File Output: package.json Format: Valid JSON with 2-space indentation Compatibility: npm, yarn, pnpm compatible

When Invoked

Immediately generate a complete package.json with sensible defaults. Use current LTS versions for dependencies unless specified otherwise.

JSON Structure

Required Fields

{
  "name": "project-name",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Project description",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {},
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {}
}

{
  "author": "Author Name <email@example.com>",
  "license": "MIT",
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "https://github.com/user/repo.git"
  },
  "keywords": ["keyword1", "keyword2"],
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=18.0.0"
  }
}

Project Type Templates

React Application (Vite)

{
  "name": "react-app",
  "private": true,
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "type": "module",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "vite",
    "build": "tsc && vite build",
    "lint": "eslint . --ext ts,tsx --report-unused-disable-directives --max-warnings 0",
    "preview": "vite preview",
    "test": "vitest",
    "test:coverage": "vitest run --coverage"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^18.2.0",
    "react-dom": "^18.2.0",
    "react-router-dom": "^6.22.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/react": "^18.2.55",
    "@types/react-dom": "^18.2.19",
    "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^7.0.0",
    "@typescript-eslint/parser": "^7.0.0",
    "@vitejs/plugin-react": "^4.2.1",
    "eslint": "^8.56.0",
    "eslint-plugin-react-hooks": "^4.6.0",
    "eslint-plugin-react-refresh": "^0.4.5",
    "typescript": "^5.3.3",
    "vite": "^5.1.0",
    "vitest": "^1.2.0",
    "@vitest/coverage-v8": "^1.2.0"
  }
}

Next.js Application

{
  "name": "nextjs-app",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "next dev",
    "build": "next build",
    "start": "next start",
    "lint": "next lint",
    "test": "jest",
    "test:watch": "jest --watch"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "next": "14.1.0",
    "react": "^18.2.0",
    "react-dom": "^18.2.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/node": "^20.11.0",
    "@types/react": "^18.2.55",
    "@types/react-dom": "^18.2.19",
    "eslint": "^8.56.0",
    "eslint-config-next": "14.1.0",
    "typescript": "^5.3.3",
    "jest": "^29.7.0",
    "@types/jest": "^29.5.12",
    "jest-environment-jsdom": "^29.7.0"
  }
}

Express API Server

{
  "name": "express-api",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Express REST API",
  "main": "dist/index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "tsx watch src/index.ts",
    "build": "tsc",
    "start": "node dist/index.js",
    "lint": "eslint src --ext .ts",
    "test": "jest",
    "test:watch": "jest --watch",
    "db:migrate": "prisma migrate dev",
    "db:generate": "prisma generate"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.18.2",
    "cors": "^2.8.5",
    "helmet": "^7.1.0",
    "morgan": "^1.10.0",
    "dotenv": "^16.4.1",
    "zod": "^3.22.4",
    "@prisma/client": "^5.9.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
    "@types/cors": "^2.8.17",
    "@types/morgan": "^1.9.9",
    "@types/node": "^20.11.0",
    "typescript": "^5.3.3",
    "tsx": "^4.7.0",
    "prisma": "^5.9.0",
    "eslint": "^8.56.0",
    "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^7.0.0",
    "@typescript-eslint/parser": "^7.0.0",
    "jest": "^29.7.0",
    "@types/jest": "^29.5.12",
    "ts-jest": "^29.1.2"
  },
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=18.0.0"
  }
}

CLI Tool

{
  "name": "my-cli-tool",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "A command-line tool",
  "bin": {
    "mycli": "./dist/cli.js"
  },
  "main": "dist/index.js",
  "types": "dist/index.d.ts",
  "files": [
    "dist"
  ],
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "tsx src/cli.ts",
    "build": "tsup src/index.ts src/cli.ts --format cjs,esm --dts",
    "lint": "eslint src --ext .ts",
    "test": "vitest",
    "prepublishOnly": "npm run build"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "commander": "^12.0.0",
    "chalk": "^5.3.0",
    "ora": "^8.0.1",
    "inquirer": "^9.2.14"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/node": "^20.11.0",
    "@types/inquirer": "^9.0.7",
    "typescript": "^5.3.3",
    "tsx": "^4.7.0",
    "tsup": "^8.0.1",
    "eslint": "^8.56.0",
    "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^7.0.0",
    "@typescript-eslint/parser": "^7.0.0",
    "vitest": "^1.2.0"
  },
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=18.0.0"
  },
  "keywords": ["cli", "tool"]
}

NPM Library Package

{
  "name": "@scope/my-library",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "A reusable library",
  "main": "dist/index.js",
  "module": "dist/index.mjs",
  "types": "dist/index.d.ts",
  "exports": {
    ".": {
      "require": "./dist/index.js",
      "import": "./dist/index.mjs",
      "types": "./dist/index.d.ts"
    }
  },
  "files": [
    "dist"
  ],
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsup src/index.ts --format cjs,esm --dts --clean",
    "dev": "tsup src/index.ts --format cjs,esm --dts --watch",
    "lint": "eslint src --ext .ts",
    "test": "vitest",
    "test:coverage": "vitest run --coverage",
    "prepublishOnly": "npm run lint && npm run test && npm run build"
  },
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {
    "typescript": "^5.3.3",
    "tsup": "^8.0.1",
    "eslint": "^8.56.0",
    "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^7.0.0",
    "@typescript-eslint/parser": "^7.0.0",
    "vitest": "^1.2.0",
    "@vitest/coverage-v8": "^1.2.0"
  },
  "peerDependencies": {},
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=18.0.0"
  },
  "publishConfig": {
    "access": "public"
  },
  "keywords": [],
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "https://github.com/user/repo.git"
  },
  "license": "MIT"
}

Monorepo Root (Turborepo)

{
  "name": "monorepo",
  "private": true,
  "workspaces": [
    "apps/*",
    "packages/*"
  ],
  "scripts": {
    "build": "turbo run build",
    "dev": "turbo run dev",
    "lint": "turbo run lint",
    "test": "turbo run test",
    "format": "prettier --write \"**/*.{ts,tsx,md}\""
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "turbo": "^1.12.0",
    "prettier": "^3.2.4",
    "eslint": "^8.56.0"
  },
  "packageManager": "pnpm@8.15.0",
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=18.0.0"
  }
}

Common Script Patterns

Development

{
  "dev": "tsx watch src/index.ts",
  "dev:debug": "tsx watch --inspect src/index.ts"
}

Building

{
  "build": "tsc",
  "build:watch": "tsc --watch",
  "clean": "rm -rf dist"
}

Testing

{
  "test": "vitest",
  "test:watch": "vitest --watch",
  "test:coverage": "vitest run --coverage",
  "test:e2e": "playwright test"
}

Linting & Formatting

{
  "lint": "eslint . --ext .ts,.tsx",
  "lint:fix": "eslint . --ext .ts,.tsx --fix",
  "format": "prettier --write .",
  "format:check": "prettier --check ."
}

Database

{
  "db:migrate": "prisma migrate dev",
  "db:push": "prisma db push",
  "db:generate": "prisma generate",
  "db:studio": "prisma studio",
  "db:seed": "tsx prisma/seed.ts"
}

Validation Checklist

Before outputting, verify:

  • Valid JSON syntax
  • 2-space indentation
  • Name is lowercase, no spaces (use hyphens)
  • Version follows semver (x.y.z)
  • Scripts are appropriate for project type
  • Dependencies use ^ for minor version flexibility
  • DevDependencies vs dependencies are correct
  • Engine requirements specified if needed
  • No duplicate dependencies

Example Invocations

Prompt: "Create package.json for a React TypeScript project with testing" Output: Complete package.json with Vite, React, TypeScript, Vitest configured.

Prompt: "Generate package.json for Express API with Prisma" Output: Complete package.json with Express, Prisma, testing scripts.

Prompt: "Package.json for publishable npm library" Output: Complete package.json with proper exports, types, and publish config.