nself template

Generate a new custom service from one of 40+ pre-configured language templates. The scaffolded service is wired into the nSelf stack as a CS_N slot — no Docker boilerplate to write by hand.

Quick start

# Browse available templates
nself template list

# Scaffold a FastAPI service into ./my-api/
nself template scaffold fastapi my-api

# Scaffold into a specific directory
nself template scaffold gin my-api --into ./services/

# Remove a template you no longer need
nself template remove fastapi

Synopsis

nself template <SUBCOMMAND> [ARGS] [FLAGS]

Description

Custom services (CS_1 through CS_10) let you run any HTTP service alongside the core nSelf stack.nself template scaffold generates the boilerplate for one of those slots: a working service skeleton with a health endpoint, environment variable wiring, and a Dockerfile tuned for the target runtime. After scaffolding, add the service to your .env and run nself build to include it in the generated compose file.

Templates are versioned alongside the CLI. Use nself template list to see which templates are available in your installed version.

Subcommands

nself template list

Print all available templates with their language, framework, and a short description.

nself template list
# TEMPLATE        LANGUAGE    FRAMEWORK
# express-ts      TypeScript  Express
# nest-ts         TypeScript  NestJS
# fastapi         Python      FastAPI
# flask           Python      Flask
# django          Python      Django
# gin             Go          Gin
# echo            Go          Echo
# fiber           Go          Fiber
# axum            Rust        Axum
# actix           Rust        Actix-web
# spring          Java        Spring Boot
# rails           Ruby        Rails API
# phoenix         Elixir      Phoenix
# ...and 30+ more

nself template list --json

nself template scaffold <name> [dir]

Generate a service from the named template. dir is the output directory name — defaults to the template name if omitted.

# Scaffold into ./fastapi/
nself template scaffold fastapi

# Scaffold into ./my-api/
nself template scaffold fastapi my-api

# Scaffold into a specific parent directory
nself template scaffold nest-ts worker --into ./services/

The scaffolded directory contains:

• A working service with a GET /healthz endpoint
• A Dockerfile optimised for the target runtime
• A .env.example with the variables the service expects
• A README.md with wiring instructions

nself template remove <name>

Remove a template from the local cache. The template is re-downloaded if you scaffold it again.

nself template remove fastapi

Flags — scaffold

Wiring the scaffolded service

After scaffolding, add the service to your project:

# 1. Add to .env (or .env.dev)
CUSTOM_SERVICE_1_NAME=my-api
CUSTOM_SERVICE_1_PATH=./my-api
CUSTOM_SERVICE_1_PORT=3100

# 2. Regenerate docker-compose
nself build

# 3. Start the full stack
nself start

Available templates (partial list)

Run nself template list for the complete set in your installed version.

Related

• nself generate — generate Hasura migrations and GraphQL types
• nself init — initialise a new nSelf project
• nself up — start the full stack