create-helix

Scaffold a HELiX design system project in seconds. TUI-powered CLI with a two-step starter-kit picker — first you tell it what the project builds (wc-storybook design system, react-next app, react-vite app, or drupal-theme), then it offers to bundle a shared design-system package alongside. 11 additional experimental frameworks are available behind --show-experimental.

New in v0.9.0 — SvelteKit joins the production-tier starter kits. The Q1 picker now offers five production-tier targets: wc-storybook, react-next, react-vite, astro, and svelte-kit. The SvelteKit starter ships a real SvelteKit 2 + Svelte 5 landing page on adapter-static (hero, features, showcase, browser-native View Transitions via onNavigate, theme toggle, two routed pages) and consumes the design system as <hx-*> web components natively — Svelte 5's compiler treats unknown lowercase-with-dash tags as DOM elements first-class, no isCustomElement config needed. Visual baselines ship under tests/e2e/screenshots/sveltekit/.

v0.8.0 — Astro joined the production tier with a real Astro 5 landing page (hero, features, view transitions, theme toggle, two routed pages) consuming the design system as <hx-*> web components natively. Baselines under tests/e2e/screenshots/astro/.

v0.7.0 introduced monorepo by default for app frameworks. When you pick react-next, react-vite, astro, or svelte-kit and keep the design system (the default Y at Q2), create-helix emits a turbo + pnpm-workspaces monorepo with apps/web/ + packages/{design-system,types,utils}/ — modeled on the shadcn apps/web + packages/ui precedent. Pass --no-design-system (or answer "n" at Q2) to keep the v0.6.x flat single-app shape. See Monorepo by default and MIGRATING.md.

The flagship wc-storybook template remains the default interactive selection and ships a brand-storytelling Storybook experience out of the box — Cover narrative, foundations IA (including a v0.6.0 Iconography page wired to @helixui/icons), per-component AAA conformance pages with auto-injected accessibility status cards, and a token-driven manager chrome that follows your brand. See WC-Storybook brand-storytelling experience below.

Quick Start

npx create-helix
# or
npm create helix

Follow the interactive prompts to choose your framework, component bundles, and features.

Drupal Theme Scaffolding

npx create-helix --drupal

Or pass a preset directly:

npx create-helix --drupal --preset healthcare

Supported Frameworks

The interactive prompt shows a curated slim list by default — the flagship wc-storybook factory plus the four production-tier app starters that have shipped beyond stub quality. The remaining 11 framework templates exist but are gated behind --show-experimental until they reach the same bar.

Framework	Command Hint	Features
WC Storybook (factory)	default — design system factory	Lit 3, Storybook 10, brand-storytelling docs, AAA cards, Iconography page, auto-catalog ~99 hx-* entries
React + Next.js 16	recommended for new app projects	SSR, App Router, React wrappers
React + Vite	best DX for SPAs	Hot reload, React wrappers, production landing page
Astro 5	islands + native web components	Landing page, view transitions, theme toggle, native <hx-*> consumption, Playwright visual baseline
SvelteKit 2 (new v0.9.0)	static-site + native web components	Landing page, browser-native View Transitions API, theme toggle, native <hx-*> consumption, Playwright baseline

Experimental templates

Run npx create-helix --show-experimental (or set HELIX_SHOW_EXPERIMENTAL=1) to surface these in the prompt, the list subcommand, and as valid --template <name> values:

remix, vue-nuxt, vue-vite, angular, lit-vite, solid-vite, qwik-vite, preact-vite, stencil, ember, vanilla

These templates compile and emit a project skeleton, but their docs / examples / DX polish lag behind the curated five. They'll graduate out of --show-experimental as they reach the same bar.

Monorepo by default (v0.7.0+)

When you pick an app framework (react-next, react-vite, astro, or svelte-kit as of v0.9.0) and keep the design system at the second prompt — the default Y — create-helix emits a turbo + pnpm-workspaces monorepo:

my-project/
├── apps/
│   └── web/                # Next.js, Vite, Astro, or SvelteKit app
├── packages/
│   ├── design-system/      # Lit web components + Storybook
│   ├── types/              # Shared TS types + brand utilities
│   └── utils/              # Shared helpers (cn, isPresent, …)
├── pnpm-workspace.yaml
├── turbo.json
├── tsconfig.base.json
└── package.json

apps/web declares the workspace packages via workspace:* deps. The framework-specific wiring per starter kit:

• Next.js carries transpilePackages + experimental.externalDir; the design system is consumed via generated React wrappers from packages/design-system/src/react.ts.
• Vite carries optimizeDeps.exclude + server.fs.allow: ['..', '../..']; React wrappers as with Next.
• Astro (v0.8.0) consumes the design system as <hx-*> web components natively — no React wrappers, no createComponent indirection — because Astro's island architecture is web-component-first.
• SvelteKit (v0.9.0) also consumes the design system as <hx-*> web components natively — Svelte 5's compiler treats unknown lowercase-with-dash tags as DOM elements first-class (no isCustomElement config required). adapter-static output; browser-native View Transitions wired via onNavigate; apps/web/vite.config.ts carries the same optimizeDeps.exclude + server.fs.allow wiring.

Running pnpm dev at the root runs turbo run dev, which boots both apps/web and packages/design-system Storybook (port 6006) concurrently. Default app ports: Next.js 3000, Vite 5173, Astro 4321, SvelteKit 5173.

The shape mirrors the shadcn apps/web + packages/ui monorepo precedent — proven at scale, familiar to consumers.

Available starter-kit combinations

After Q1 (what does this project build?) and Q2 (include design system?), the supported combinations are:

• Design system (wc-storybook, flat — always flat, it is the design system)
• Next.js + design system (monorepo, default for Next pick)
• Vite + design system (monorepo, default for Vite pick)
• Astro + design system (v0.8.0) — monorepo, default for Astro pick
• SvelteKit + design system (new v0.9.0) — monorepo, default for SvelteKit pick

Opting out

Three escape valves keep the v0.6.x flat single-app shape available:

• Interactive — answer "n" at the "Include design-system package?" prompt.
• CLI flag — pass --no-design-system (or --monorepo=false).
• API — scaffold({ framework: 'react-next' | 'react-vite' | 'astro', monorepoMode: false }).

wc-storybook always scaffolds flat — it is itself the design system, so wrapping it in a monorepo would duplicate the layer.

The flat Astro path is deprecated as of v0.8.0 — still reachable via the API + --no-design-system for back-compat, but the monorepo is now the supported shipping target. New Astro investment lands in the monorepo emit. See MIGRATING.md v0.7 → v0.8 section.

Existing v0.5.x / v0.6.x / v0.7.x scaffolds are not broken. Their shape on disk is unchanged. A create-helix migrate-to-monorepo subcommand is deferred; see MIGRATING.md for the manual recipe (which covers Next/Vite/Astro alike — they share the same workspace shape).

Cross-kit feature parity (v0.9.1+)

The 4 production kits (react-next, react-vite, astro, svelte-kit) share a deliberately consistent consumer surface so a developer moving between them recognizes the shape:

Feature	react-next	react-vite	astro	svelte-kit
<h1>	"Build interfaces on web standards."	same	same	same
<title>	{name} — built with create-helix	same	same	same
Theme toggle	native <button> w/ aria-label	same	same	same
localStorage key	helix-theme	same	same	same
Pre-hydration boot script	inline <script>	/public/theme-boot.js	inline <script is:inline>	inline <script>
Pre-hydration prefers-color-scheme fallback	yes	yes	yes	yes
<main> landmark	per-page (exactly 1)	in App.tsx	in Layout	in +layout.svelte
Hero CTAs	styled <a class="button">	same	same	same
<hx-*> consumption	@lit/react wrappers	@lit/react wrappers	native	native

What's intentionally platform-specific:

• App structure — App Router multi-route (Next), SPA (Vite), static + ClientRouter (Astro), file-based routing (SvelteKit).
• View transitions — Astro's <ClientRouter /> and SvelteKit's onNavigate + browser-native View Transitions API. React kits don't get these for free.
• Build artifacts — .next/, dist/, dist/ (astro), build/ + .svelte-kit/.

What's deferred to upstream:

• <hx-select> placeholder color contrast (#94a3b8 on white = 2.56:1) — single remaining axe-core violation across all 8 default page-visits. Tracked in the BST Helix Bug Reports.md vault doc.

WC-Storybook brand-storytelling experience

npx create-helix → choose WC Storybook (factory) to scaffold a Lit 3 design system with a fully-staged Storybook out of the box. Three brand prompts shape the experience:

• Design system codename (--ds-name) — drives element prefix ({ds}-button) and CSS token namespace ({prefix}-*).
• Brand tagline (--brand-tagline) — surfaces in Cover.mdx and Brand.mdx. Falls back to a neutral default.
• Brand verticals (--brand-verticals "fintech,wellness") — populates the brand toolbar dropdown. Empty = single-brand mode.

The scaffolded Storybook ships:

• Cover.mdx with brand tagline + vertical chips + quick-start commands.
• Overview.mdx explaining the three-tier token cascade (primitive → semantic → component).
• Foundations — 8 MDX pages: Tokens, Color, Typography, Spacing, Layout, Brand, Accessibility, Iconography (new in v0.6.0 — renders the full @helixui/icons catalog plus a curated showcase, wired to setBasePath('/icons') and the @helixui/icons/dist static dir). All live-bound to the consumer's var({prefix}-*) tokens.
• Token deep-dives — dedicated Foundations/Tokens/Borders and Foundations/Tokens/Shadows pages with live swatches, plus a Foundations/Tokens/Playground story for interactive token inspection.
• Per-component AAA conformance pages — 8 hand-authored MDXes (button, card, checkbox, dialog, form, select, tabs, text-input) parameterized by {dsName} so <aurora-card>, <aurora-form> etc. render the consumer's tags. Each ships hero scenarios + auto-injected A11yStatusCard reading from CEM helixMeta.aaa.* + APG pattern card + consumer obligations.
• Accessibility narrative — top-level Accessibility/* namespace with 8 pages: Dashboard, AAA Story Template, Keyboard Contracts, Success Criteria, Consumer Obligations, Focus Management, Contrast Deep-Dive, Forced Colors. Editorial content modeled on HELiX's own Storybook depth.
• Scene stories — 3 cross-domain-neutral pattern playgrounds (Account Setup, Team Dashboard, Settings) demonstrating composition of multiple components in real flows.
• React helper components — TokenSwatchGrid, ContrastMatrix, RatioCard, CodeBlock, CodeTabs, plus useResolvedToken hook and APCA contrast util. Available under src/stories/_components/ for consumers to compose their own MDXes.
• InlineAuditPanel opt-in pattern — ships as a no-op stub by default. Consumers wire their own markdown prop to surface per-component AAA-AUDIT content (the audit source lives inside the HELiX monorepo and isn't published; see docs/FOLLOW-UP-shared-storybook-kit.md for the trigger conditions that would make this live).
• Token-driven manager chrome — light / dark / high-contrast modes via @helixui/tokens. FOUC-prevention sync scripts so dark/HC pages don't flash white on reload.
• Brand toolbar + persistence via localStorage["helix:storybook:globals"].
• 8 Storybook addons — a11y, docs, themes, vitest, designs, links, pseudo-states, chromatic-com.
• helix.storybook.config.ts at the consumer root — opt out of components / docs pages / brand verticals / AAA / narrative pages without diving into .storybook/.
• Auto-catalog on install (v0.6.0) — when scaffolding with --install-deps (default), pnpm cem:catalog runs immediately after pnpm install so the ~99-entry hx-* catalog sidebar (atoms / molecules / organisms) is populated on first pnpm storybook boot. If you used --no-install, the Next-steps banner explicitly lists pnpm install && pnpm cem:catalog so the catalog populates before first boot.

Drupal Presets

Preset	Description	SDC Count
standard	Core Drupal SDCs for general-purpose themes	7
blog	Standard + blog-specific content components	12
healthcare	Blog + healthcare-specific components (HIPAA-aware)	16
intranet	Standard + employee portal components	11

Each preset generates a complete Drupal theme directory with:

• Theme info and libraries YAML files
• Single Directory Components (SDCs) with Twig templates
• HELiX component CDN integration via helixui.libraries.yml
• Drupal behaviors using the once() pattern
• composer.json and package.json

See docs/drupal-presets.md for full details.

Component Bundles

When scaffolding a framework project, you can select which component bundles to include:

Bundle	Components	Description
All Components	98	The full HELiX library
Core UI	14	button, card, badge, text, icon, avatar, divider, chip
Form Components	16	text-input, select, checkbox, radio, switch, textarea, field
Navigation	12	nav, sidebar, tabs, breadcrumb, pagination, menu
Data Display	10	data-table, stat, progress, meter, counter, structured-list
Feedback & Overlays	8	alert, toast, dialog, drawer, banner, skeleton
Layout	11	grid, stack, split-panel, accordion, carousel

Additional Features

• TypeScript -- strict mode configuration
• ESLint + Prettier -- code quality and formatting
• HELiX Design Tokens -- CSS custom properties for theming
• Dark Mode Support -- automatic dark mode via prefers-color-scheme
• Example Pages -- forms, dashboard, and settings page examples

Roadmap & Migration

• Migrating from v0.6.x → v0.7.0 — see MIGRATING.md. Existing flat scaffolds keep working; the new monorepo shape is opt-in via the second prompt (or --monorepo). A manual flat → monorepo recipe is included for early adopters who want to convert.
• create-helix migrate-to-monorepo subcommand — deferred to v0.7.1. Will automate the manual recipe in MIGRATING.md.
• Publishable design-system package — deferred. v0.7.0 emits packages/design-system as a workspace-internal package only; publishing it standalone to npm needs additional wiring (build pipeline, narrowed peer deps).
• npm / yarn workspace support — not on the v0.7.x roadmap. v0.7.0 is pnpm-only (pnpm-workspace.yaml + workspace:*).
• @helixui/storybook-kit shared package extraction — deferred. See docs/FOLLOW-UP-shared-storybook-kit.md for trigger conditions and scope sketch. Today's wc-storybook factory ports helix's Storybook depth at scaffold time; a future iteration may consume a shared kit instead.

Requirements

• Node.js >= 22.0.0

Development

git clone https://github.com/bookedsolidtech/create-helix-app.git
cd create-helix-app
npm install
npm run build

Scripts

Script	Description
npm run build	Compile TypeScript
npm run dev	Watch mode
npm start	Run the CLI
npm run type-check	TypeScript strict check
npm run lint	ESLint
npm run format	Prettier auto-fix
npm run format:check	Prettier check
npm test	Run tests
npm run verify	lint + format:check + type-check
npm run preflight	verify + test

Contributing

1. Fork the repo and create a feature branch
2. Make your changes
3. Run npm run verify before pushing (enforced by pre-push hook)
4. Run npm test to ensure all tests pass
5. Open a pull request against dev

Secret Scanning

This repo uses gitleaks to prevent secrets from being committed. Install it locally to enable pre-commit scanning:

# macOS
brew install gitleaks

# Linux
GITLEAKS_VERSION="8.21.2"
curl -sSfL \
  "https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks/releases/download/v${GITLEAKS_VERSION}/gitleaks_${GITLEAKS_VERSION}_linux_x64.tar.gz" \
  | tar -xz -C ~/.local/bin gitleaks

# Windows (via scoop)
scoop install gitleaks

If gitleaks is not installed, the pre-commit hook will warn but will not block your commit. CI always runs the full scan. Configuration is in .gitleaks.toml.

License

MIT -- Copyright 2026 BookedSolid Tech