Commands

diecut new

Generate a new project from a template.

Synopsis

diecut new <TEMPLATE> [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Default	Description
<TEMPLATE>	—	Template source: local path, gh:user/repo, gl:user/repo, bb:user/repo, sr:user/repo, or any Git URL
-o, --output <PATH>	—	Output directory
-d, --data <KEY=VALUE>	—	Override variable values (repeatable)
--defaults	false	Use default values without prompting
--overwrite	false	Overwrite output directory if it exists
--no-hooks	false	Skip running hooks

Examples

# From a local template
diecut new ./my-template --output my-project

# From a GitHub shorthand
diecut new gh:user/template-repo --output my-project

# Use defaults without prompting
diecut new gh:user/repo --defaults --output my-project

# Override specific variables
diecut new ./my-template -d project_name=foo -d license=MIT

Notes

• Git-hosted templates are cloned and cached locally on first use.
• The --data flag can be repeated to set multiple variables.
• When --defaults is set, any variable without a default value causes an error.

---

diecut list

List cached templates.

Synopsis

diecut list

Options

None.

Examples

diecut list

Notes

• Templates are cached at ~/.cache/diecut/templates/. Override with the DIECUT_CACHE_DIR environment variable.

---

diecut update

Update a previously generated project from its template.

Synopsis

diecut update [PATH] [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Default	Description
[PATH]	.	Path to the project
--ref <REF>	latest	Git ref (branch, tag, commit) to update to

Examples

# Update the project in the current directory
diecut update

# Update a project at a specific path
diecut update ./my-project

# Pin the update to a tag
diecut update ./my-project --ref v2.0.0

Notes

• Requires a .diecut-answers.toml file in the project directory. This file is written during diecut new and records the template source and variable values.

---

diecut check

Validate a template directory.

Synopsis

diecut check [PATH]

Options

Option	Default	Description
[PATH]	.	Path to the template

Examples

diecut check ./my-template

Notes

• Exits with code 1 if errors are found.
• Reports format detection, variable definitions, and any warnings.

---

diecut ready

Check if a template is ready for distribution.

Synopsis

diecut ready [PATH]

Options

Option	Default	Description
[PATH]	.	Path to the template

Examples

diecut ready ./my-template

Notes

• Stricter than check. Includes additional distribution-specific validations.
• Exits with code 1 if issues are found.

---

diecut migrate

Convert a cookiecutter template to native diecut format.

Synopsis

diecut migrate <PATH> [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Default	Description
<PATH>	—	Path to the cookiecutter template
-o, --output <DIR>	—	Write to a new directory instead of migrating in-place
--dry-run	false	Show planned changes without writing

Examples

# Preview what would change
diecut migrate ./cookiecutter-template --dry-run

# Migrate to a new directory
diecut migrate ./cookiecutter-template --output ./diecut-template

# Migrate in-place
diecut migrate ./cookiecutter-template

Notes

• Use --dry-run first to review planned changes before writing.
• Without --output, the template is converted in-place.