template

nself template

Browse, install, and publish full-stack app templates from the ɳSelf Template Marketplace.

Synopsis

nself template <subcommand> [flags]
nself init --template <slug> [dest-dir]

Description

Templates are full-stack app packages that include a Postgres schema, Hasura metadata, seed data, and an optional Flutter starter. They follow the same manifest format as nself init language scaffolds but are community-authored and distributed through the ɳSelf Template Marketplace at nself.org/templates.

Use nself template list to browse from the CLI, nself template info <slug> to inspect a specific template, and nself init --template <slug> to install one into a new project directory.

Authors publish via nself template publish and receive 80% revenue share on paid templates (requires a KYC-approved author account, see B55 plugin-author-revenue-share).

Subcommands

Subcommand	Description
list	List all templates, with optional category and price filters
info <slug>	Show detail for a single template including required plugins
publish	Validate and submit a template to the registry
update	Apply incremental schema migrations for the installed template

Bundled Clone Templates

Six clone templates are embedded directly in the CLI binary. They work without any network access and are available on every install regardless of connectivity or license tier.

Template	Version	Required plugins	Description
airbnb-clone	1.0.0	auth, notify, photos	Property rental marketplace with listings, bookings, and reviews
discord-clone	1.0.0	chat, realtime, auth, moderation	Real-time messaging platform with servers, channels, and roles
notion-clone	1.0.0	cms, auth, realtime	Collaborative note-taking with workspaces, pages, and blocks
slack-clone	1.0.0	chat, livekit, realtime, auth, notify	Team messaging with threads, reactions, and voice/video
substack-clone	1.0.0	cms, notify, auth	Newsletter platform with subscriber tiers and post publishing
zoom-clone	1.0.0	livekit, recording, auth, notify	Video meeting platform with lobby, recording, and participant management

All bundled templates are free (no license check). Scaffold one with:

nself init --template <name> [dest-dir]

See nself init for the --no-seed and --dry-run flags.

nself template list

nself template list [flags]

Flag	Default	Description
--category		Filter by category: saas, marketplace, social, productivity, media, ecommerce
--free	false	Show free templates only
--sort	installs	Sort by: installs, rating, newest, price
--json	false	Output raw JSON

Examples:

nself template list
nself template list --category saas
nself template list --free --sort rating
nself template list --json

nself template info

nself template info <slug> [flags]

Flag	Default	Description
--json	false	Output raw JSON

Examples:

nself template info saas-starter
nself template info media-server --json

nself init --template (marketplace)

When the slug passed to --template is not a built-in language scaffold (express, fastapi, go, rust), it is resolved against the marketplace registry, downloaded, its SHA256 checksum verified, and extracted into the destination directory.

nself init --template <slug> [dest-dir]

Flag	Default	Description
--force	false	Overwrite destination directory if non-empty
--quiet	false	Suppress output messages

Examples:

nself init --template saas-starter ./my-saas
nself init --template media-server /srv/media --force

Paid templates require an active license key:

nself license set nself_pro_<your-key>
nself init --template marketplace-starter ./shop

After installation the CLI prints the required plugins list. Install them with:

nself plugin install auth notify cms
nself start

nself template publish

nself template publish [flags]

Flag	Default	Description
--tarball		Path to the compiled template archive (.tar.gz) , required
--manifest	template.yml	Path to the template manifest file

The command validates the template.yml manifest, computes the SHA256 of the tarball, and prints submission instructions. Final upload and review happen through the author portal at nself.org/developers/templates.

Manifest format (template.yml):

slug: saas-starter
display_name: SaaS Starter
description: Multi-tenant SaaS with billing, auth, and dashboard
version: "1.2.0"
price_usd: 0
category: saas
required_plugins:
  - auth
  - notify
  - cms
preview_url: https://saas-starter-demo.nself.org
cli_min_version: "1.0.9"

Example:

tar -czf dist/my-template.tar.gz schema/ metadata/ seed/ flutter/
nself template publish --tarball dist/my-template.tar.gz --manifest template.yml

nself template update

nself template update [flags]

Flag	Default	Description
--force	false	Allow destructive migrations (DROP, TRUNCATE) , requires confirmation
--dry-run	false	Print pending migrations without applying them

Runs incremental .sql files from the project's migrations/ directory. Only additive changes are applied without flags. Destructive migrations require --force plus an explicit prompt.

Examples:

nself template update --dry-run
nself template update
nself template update --force

Environment variables

Variable	Description
NSELF_TEMPLATE_REGISTRY_URL	Override the default template registry URL (https://nself.org/api/templates)
NSELF_LICENSE_KEY	License key , required for paid template downloads

Related

• nself init, Project initialisation including built-in language scaffolds
• nself plugin, Plugin management
• Template Marketplace, Browse templates in the browser
• Publish a template, Author guide

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