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Creating projects from templatesλ︎

Creating projects using a template is a quick way to get started or create a common . A template will create the project structure, add libraries and even include example code.

deps-new provides Clojure CLI specific templates and Practicalli Project Templates provides production level templates with a REPL Reloaded workflow

deps-new built-in templates

The deps-new built-in templates for creating a project - app - simple project for a running application (uberjar) - lib - simple project for a library (jar) - scratch - a deps.edn file and src/scratch.clj - template - project for defining a custom template

Practicalli Project Templates

Practicalli Project Templates provide production level templates that include Practicalli REPL Reloaded Workflow tools, Docker & Compose configurations, Makefile tasks for a consistent command line UI and GitHub workflows to manage quality of code and configuration.

  • practicalli/minimal - essential tools, libraries and example code
  • practicalli/application - general Clojure production level project template
  • practicalli/service - production level web services template with component management, Http-kit, Reitit and Swagger
  • pracicalli/landing-page - simple clojurescript website with bulma.io CSS and Figheel-main build tool.
clj-new provides Leiningen format templates

The Practicalli :project/new alias provides the seancorfield/clj-new tool which can use a wide range of templates (although some may only create Leinginen projects). This project has been archived and deps-new is the recommended approach.

Migrate to a Clojure CLI project if the template does not include a deps.edn file

Clojure Projects with the REPL video demonstrates shows how to use clj-new

clj-new can create projects from deps.edn and Leiningen templates. A wide range of templates have been created by the Clojure community which can be found by searching on Clojars.org:

Add deps-newλ︎

Add deps-new via a Clojure CLI user alias or 🌐 install as a tool.

:project/create alias provided by Practicalli Clojure CLI Config runs the seancorfield/deps-new tool to create Clojure CLI specific projects.

:project/create alias includes the Practicall Project templates , extending the range of available templates

Create the following alias definitions in the Clojure CLI user configuration, e.g. $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/clojure/deps.edn or $HOME/.clojure/deps.edn

Clojure CLI user deps.edn configuration - :aliases {}
:project/create
{:replace-deps {io.github.seancorfield/deps-new
                {:git/tag "v0.5.2" :git/sha "253f32a"}
                io.github.practicalli/project-templates
                {:git/tag "2023-08-02" :git/sha "eaa11fa"}}
 :exec-fn      org.corfield.new/create
 :exec-args    {:template practicalli/minimal
                :name practicalli/playground}}

Create a projectλ︎

Open a terminal window and change to a suitable folder and create a project.

Create a project using the :project/create alias.

The practicalli/minimal template and practicalli/playground name are used if :template and :name arguments are not specified.

clojure -T:project/create

The -T execution option runs the tool with Clojure.exec which uses keywords to specify the options for creating the project.

Use the form domain/app-or-lib-name to specify a project name, typically with a company name or Git Service account name as the domain.

:template can be one of the deps-new built-in templates (app, lib) or one of the Practicalli Project Templates.

Create a project using the practicalli/application template and random-function name. 

clojure -T:project/create :template practicalli/application :name practicalli/random-function

Run Project in a REPLλ︎

Change into the directory and test the project runs by starting a REPL with Terminal REPL

cd playground && clojure -M:repl/rebel

A repl prompt should appear.

Type code expressions at the repl prompt and press RETURN to evaluate them.

(+ 1 2 3 4 5)
Try the project with your preferred editor

Using a Clojure aware editor, open the playground project and run the REPL. Then write code expressions in the editor and evaluate them to see the result instantly.

Running the projectλ︎

Run project with or without an alias:

clojure -M:alias -m domain.app-name
clojure -M -m domain.app-name

In the project deps.edn file it can be useful to define an alias to run the project, specifying the main namespace, the function to run and optionally any default arguments that are passed to that function.

:project/run
{:ns-default domain.main-namespace
 :exec-fn -main
 :exec-args {:port 8888}}

Then the project can be run using clojure -X:project/run and arguments can optionally be included in this command line, to complement or replace any default arguments in exec-args.