lalibelacli

# Lalibela CLI

Production-grade backend scaffolding for Go teams.
Lalibela gives you a fast, modern developer experience (inspired by Vite), but built as a lightweight Go CLI with zero runtime dependencies.

Why Lalibela?

Lalibela was built to improve developer productivity by reducing repetitive setup work and helping teams ship faster with confidence.

It automates common backend workflows, simplifies complex project bootstrapping, and enforces secure defaults from the start so new services begin with a strong baseline.

The Name and Its Symbolism

The name "Lalibela" is inspired by architectural precision and craftsmanship. It reflects the belief that strong software, like great architecture, is shaped with structure, intention, and durability.

This philosophy guides the CLI design: practical foundations, clear structure, and reliable outcomes for real-world engineering.

Features

• Scaffolds new Go web projects from templates
• Supports multiple server frameworks (gin, echo, fiber, net/http)
• Auto-configures templates/index.html welcome page
• Starts local development server with lalibela run
• Optional browser auto-open (--open)
• Interactive and non-interactive modes (--yes)
• Actionable errors with command-specific help
• Colorized help/version output for better terminal UX
• Built-in feature installation system (lalibela add <feature>)
• Safe self-uninstall command (lalibela uninstall with optional --force)
• Embedded templates in the binary
• Cross-platform support: Windows, macOS, Linux

Installation

Option 1: Install with Go

go install github.com/naodEthiop/lalibela-cli/cmd/lalibela@latest

Option 2: Download prebuilt binaries

1. Open Releases: https://github.com/naodEthiop/lalibela-cli/releases
2. Download your OS/architecture archive
3. Extract and add lalibela to your PATH

Quick Start

# 1) Scaffold a new project
lalibela

# 2) Move into the generated folder
cd myapp

# 3) Start development server
go run .

Non-interactive:

lalibela --yes -name myapi -framework gin
cd myapi
go run .

CLI Usage

Root

lalibela [flags]
lalibela help [command]

Commands

lalibela add <feature>
lalibela run [--open]
lalibela uninstall [--force]

Common Flags

• -h, --help show help
• -v, --version print version
• -y, --yes auto-accept prompts / non-interactive mode
• -fast scaffold with defaults
• -name <project> set project name
• -framework <gin|echo|fiber|nethttp> select framework
• -features "Clean,Logger,PostgreSQL,JWT,Docker" select legacy scaffold features
• -template-list print template catalog
• -config <path> custom config file path

Examples

lalibela
lalibela --yes -name billing-api -framework echo
lalibela -name auth-api -framework gin -features "Logger,JWT,Docker"
lalibela add postgres
lalibela add redis
lalibela run
lalibela run --open
lalibela uninstall
lalibela uninstall --force
lalibela help add
lalibela help run
lalibela help uninstall

Example Generated Project Structure

myapi/
|- .env
|- go.mod
|- main.go
|- startup.go
|- templates/
|  |- index.html
|  |- lalibela2.webp
|- internal/
|  |- routes/
|  |  |- routes.go
|  |- middleware/
|  |  |- jwt.go            (if selected)
|  |- config/
|  |  |- config.go         (default production feature)
|  |- logger/
|  |  |- logger.go         (default production feature)
|  |- server/
|     |- health.go
|     |- cors.go
|     |- error_handler.go
|     |- graceful_shutdown.go
|- .lalibela/
   |- features.json

Configuration (~/.lalibela.json)

{
  "project_name": "starter-api",
  "framework": "gin",
  "features": ["Logger", "Docker"],
  "fast": false
}

Use a custom config file:

lalibela -config ./lalibela.json

Roadmap

• Improved plugin ecosystem for third-party templates
• Expanded framework-aware feature patching
• Database migration command workflow
• Optional CI/CD starter profiles
• Shell completion support
• Better project upgrade/diff tooling

Contributing

Contributions are welcome.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Run tests: go test ./...
4. Open a PR with:
   • clear summary
   • rationale
   • before/after CLI output when relevant

Please keep changes backward compatible and UX-focused.

License

MIT License.