Create Elm App

Create Elm apps with no build configuration.

• Getting Started – How to create a new app.
• User Guide – How to develop apps bootstrapped with Create Elm App.

Quickstart

npm install create-elm-app -g
create-elm-app my-app
cd my-app/
elm-app start

When you are done developing, create a production build with elm-app build

Getting Started

Installation

Node >=4 is required only as a build dependency.

npm install create-elm-app -g

If you are running Linux OS, you should install it as superuser:

sudo npm install create-elm-app -g

Creating an App

To create a new app, run:

create-elm-app my-app
cd my-app/

This will create a new my-app folder with files for your future project.

my-app/
  .gitignore
  README.md
  elm-package.json
  src/
    favicon.ico
    index.html
    index.js
    main.css
    Main.elm
  tests/
    elm-package.json
    Main.elm
    Tests.elm

When installation is done, you can run other commands from the project directory.

elm-app start

Runs the app in development mode. Open http://localhost:3000 to view it in the browser.

The page will reload if you make edits. You will see the build errors and lint warnings in the console.

elm-app build

Builds the app for production to the build folder. It bundles Elm app and optimizes the build for the best performance.

The build is minified and the filenames include the hashes.

Guide

Every generated project will contain a readme with guidelines for future development. The latest version is avalilable here

Why use this?

Developing with elm-platform is fun and easy, but at some point you will hit a couple limitations.

• elm-make does not provide an efficient build tool for optimizing your project.
• elm-reactor does not work with apps, that rely on ports.
• You can not use Hot Module Replacement.

Create Elm App adds a tool for optimizing production builds and running a development server with your app, which supports HMR.

All of that, combined with all the basic functionality of elm-platform is bundled within a single command line tool, which you might use as a dependency or eject any time.

Want a custom setup?

If you are a power user and you are not happy with the default configuration, you can elm-app eject anytime.

That way, you can use Create Elm App as a tool for boilerplate generation.

This operation will make changes to your project, which are hard to revert, if you will want to go back.

Philosophy

Inspired by create-react-app

• One Dependency: There is just one build dependency. It uses Elm Platform, Webpack and other amazing projects, but provides a cohesive curated experience on top of them.

• Zero Configuration: There are no configuration files or command line options. Configuring both development and production builds is handled for you so you can focus on writing code.

• No Lock-In: You can “eject” to a custom setup at any time. Run a single command, and all the configuration and build dependencies will be moved directly into your project, so you can pick up right where you left off.

What is inside

This tool contains a local installation of elm-platform and heavily relies on webpack in the build process.

Alternatives

• elm-webpack-starter
• elm-app-boilerplate
• elm-hot-loader-starter
• elm-starter
• elm-live
• generator-elmlang