Quickstart

This walkthrough takes you from an empty directory to a working monorepo with a backend service and the live mission-control dashboard. It assumes you have installed the CLI and are on Node.js 18+.

1. Initialize a workspace

re-shell init scaffolds a monorepo: package-manager config, workspace layout, linting, Docker, and a pnpm-workspace.yaml/turbo.json so tooling works out of the box.

re-shell init acme-platform
cd acme-platform

Useful flags (re-shell init --help):

Flag	Purpose
--package-manager <pm>	npm, yarn, pnpm (default), or bun.
--template <template>	blank (default), ecommerce, dashboard, saas.
--skip-install	Scaffold without running the package install.
--no-git	Skip Git repository initialization.
-y, --yes	Skip interactive prompts and accept defaults.

# Non-interactive, no install (fast scaffold)
re-shell init acme-platform --package-manager pnpm --skip-install -y

2. Scaffold a backend service

Preview before you write. templates apply is a dry-run that computes the exact file set a scaffold would produce, without touching your workspace:

re-shell templates apply express --name billing

🔍 Dry run: express → "billing"

Would create 27 files (39040 bytes). Nothing written.

  + package.json (2360b)
  + src/index.ts (2915b)
  + src/controllers/auth.controller.ts (3328b)
  + src/routes/index.ts (608b)
  ...

Then generate the real service:

re-shell generate backend billing --framework express --language typescript

Browse all 205 templates across 36 languages with templates list, or read the Template Catalog.

3. Check workspace health

Every data command speaks the typed JSON contract. Run a health check both ways — human-readable and machine-readable:

re-shell workspace health
re-shell workspace health --json

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": {
    "score": 50,
    "status": "critical",
    "checks": [
      { "name": "Workspaces", "status": "warning", "message": "No workspaces found in monorepo" }
    ]
  },
  "warnings": ["No workspaces found in monorepo"]
}

A fresh, empty workspace scores low until you add packages — that is expected.

4. Open the dashboard

re-shell ui launches the bundled mission-control dashboard: a token-authenticated, 127.0.0.1-bound web app for inspecting your workspace.

re-shell ui

This opens http://127.0.0.1:3333 with seven screens — Overview, Workspace Graph, Templates, Command Builder, Jobs & Logs, Health, and Settings. The dashboard talks to the CLI over a hardened local hub (see Dashboard and the Secure Hub architecture).

Preview the launch plan without starting anything:

re-shell ui --dry-run
re-shell ui --json

5. Diagnose your environment

doctor runs health checks on the monorepo and can auto-fix common issues:

re-shell doctor
re-shell doctor --fix
re-shell doctor --json

Where to go next

• Core Concepts — the mental model.
• CLI Reference — every command group.
• Template Catalog — all 205 frameworks.
• Dashboard — the seven screens in depth.