Everything you need to scaffold, extend, and publish with Anesis
Anesis is a CLI tool for creating new projects from templates and extending existing ones with addons. This documentation covers installation, day-to-day usage, and how to build and publish your own templates and addons.
First-run flow
Log in, scaffold a project from a template, then apply an addon.
anesis login
anesis new my-app react-vite-ts
cd my-app
anesis addon install nest-drizzle
anesis use nest-drizzle install
# Or scaffold a template + a pinned set of addons in one shot
anesis new my-app --stack nest-drizzle-stackHow Anesis works
Three primitives — templates, addons, and stacks — cover the full project lifecycle.
Templates are project starters. Run anesis new my-app react-vite-ts and Anesis downloads the template, prompts for any inputs the template declares, renders every .tera file through those inputs plus the project name, and writes the output to disk.
Addons extend an existing project. Run anesis use nest-drizzle install and Anesis reads the addon manifest, detects your project variant, prompts for inputs, and applies declarative file operations — tracked so they can be undone with anesis undo.
Stacks tie the two together. Run anesis new my-app --stack <id>and Anesis scaffolds the stack's template, then applies its ordered list of addons with their inputs pre-filled — one command instead of a template followed by several anesis use calls.
All three are cached locally under ~/.anesis. Anesis only re-downloads when the backend reports a new commit SHA, and addon runs are recorded in anesis.lock.
Documentation map
Every page is focused on one job. Jump straight to what you need.
- InstallationShell installers, npm wrapper, cargo install, manual release artifacts, PATH setup, and endpoint overrides.
- AuthenticationBrowser login, local auth file semantics, account lookup, logout behavior, and which commands need a token.
- Using TemplatesInstall, create new projects, list, remove, and update templates from the registry.
- Creating TemplatesBuild your own template with
anesis.template.json, Tera rendering, and the project scaffolding contract. - Using AddonsInstall addons, run commands inside a project, and understand how the lock file tracks your work.
- Creating AddonsAuthor
anesis.addon.jsonmanifests with variant detection, inputs, and declarative file operation steps. - Publishing TemplatesPublish and update templates in the registry with a GitHub URL.
- Publishing AddonsPublish and update addons in the registry with a GitHub URL.
- Using StacksScaffold a template plus an ordered, pre-configured set of addons in a single
anesis new --stackcall. - CLI CommandsComplete command reference: aliases, usage signatures, flags, and runnable examples for every command.
- Local State & SchemaWhere Anesis stores files under
~/.anesis, cache/lock file fields, and validation rules. - AI Agents & MCPNon-interactive flags, token auth, and the
anesis mcpserver for AI agents and CI.