cookiecutter

Cookiecutter is a command-line utility that creates projects from templates. It is an open-source tool written in Python and is commonly used to standardize project scaffolding, speeding up the process of bootstrapping new software projects. By generating a ready-to-use directory structure and configuration, cookiecutter helps teams enforce consistency across repositories and environments.

The tool works by consuming a template, which defines the desired project layout and variables. When invoked, cookiecutter renders the template using user-supplied values or defaults defined in a cookiecutter.json file. It uses Jinja2 templating to substitute placeholders in both file contents and filenames, enabling customization of project names, authors, and other metadata. Templates may also include post-generation hooks, which run optional commands after the project is created.

A template typically includes a cookiecutter.json file that declares variables, a directory structure that uses placeholders like {{ cookiecutter.project_name }}, and content templates that will be rendered. Some templates provide a hooks/ directory with Python or shell scripts that run during or after generation. Templates can be hosted in local directories or remote repositories, including version control systems, and cookiecutter will fetch and render them accordingly.

Usage and installation are straightforward: install via pip as pip install cookiecutter, then run cookiecutter with a template URL or path, for example cookiecutter https://github.com/example/template. Options include --no-input to skip prompts, -o to specify an output directory, and -f to overwrite existing files.

Cookiecutter is widely used to bootstrap projects across languages and frameworks, not limited to Python, by providing repeatable, configurable project skeletons.