xspring: The Interactive Spring Boot Project Generator

xspring is a powerful, modern command-line interface (CLI) for creating and configuring Spring Boot applications. Built for ease of use and developer productivity while levaraging the speed of Rust, xspring provides an interactive, guided experience that streamlines project setup, from simple web applications to complex microservices. It combines the flexibility of the official Spring Initializr with the convenience of a fast, local, and feature-rich tool.

Whether you're a seasoned Spring developer who values automation or a newcomer learning the ecosystem, xspring is designed to get you from idea to public static void main in seconds.

Core Features

• Interactive by Default: Run xspring with no arguments to enter a step-by-step guided mode. It prompts you for everything needed to create a project, including:
  • Project metadata (Group ID, Artifact ID, Name, Description)
  • Build tool (Maven or Gradle)
  • Language (Java, Kotlin, or Groovy)
  • Spring Boot version
  • Packaging (Jar or War)
  • Java version
  • Dependencies
• Intelligent Fuzzy-Finding: Forget memorizing exact option names. Simply start typing to filter through choices for dependencies, Spring Boot versions, languages, and more.
  • Example: Typing sec might suggest Spring Security.
  • Navigate suggestions with arrow keys and select your desired thing.
• Accelerated Setup With Quick Interactivity: Use the quick subcommand for a faster, streamlined project setup with sensible defaults.
  • use -e or --extended flag to scaffold a project more quickly
  • use -m or --maven if you prefer to change the default project type
  • use -d or --deps to add dependencies to your project interactively
• Discoverability and Exploration: xspring helps you explore the Spring ecosystem without leaving your terminal.
  • xspring list --deps or -d: Browse all available dependencies by category.
  • xspring list --boot or -b: See a list of supported Spring Boot versions (stable, milestone, and snapshot).
  • xspring list --java or -j: Check the available Java runtimes.
  • xspring list --type or -t: Check the available project types.
  • xspring list --language or -l: Check the available languages.

Why Use xspring?

• Speed: Written in Rust, xspring is incredibly fast and responsive.
• User-Friendly: Its interactive nature makes it accessible to developers of all skill levels.
• Reduces Errors: By guiding the user, it helps prevent typos and misconfigurations.
• Boosts Productivity: Automates the repetitive boilerplate of starting a new project, letting you focus on writing code.
• Modern Tooling: Brings a CLI experience on par with tools from other ecosystems like create-react-app or cargo.

Installation

You can install xspring from Crates.io:

cargo install xspring

Usage

Interactive Mode

Run xspring with no arguments to enter the interactive mode:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/bd81382f-f7f5-406d-b36e-06b31715eaf7

Quick-Interactive Mode

For a faster setup, you can use the quick subcommand. This mode uses sensible defaults for most options, only prompting for the essential information.

Default Quick Mode

By default, the quick subcommand will prompt for the Group ID, Artifact ID, Display Name, and Description.

$ xspring quick
📦 Group ID: com.mycorp
🎫 Artifact ID: user-service
📝 Display Name: User Service
💡 Project Description: A RESTful API for managing users

Extended Quick Mode (-e or --extended)

You can further streamline the process with the -e or --extended flag, which uses default values for the Display Name and Description, only prompting for the Group ID and Artifact ID.

$ xspring quick -e
📦 Group ID: com.mycorp
🎫 Artifact ID: user-service

Dependencies Flag (-d or --deps)

The -d or --deps flag allows you to select dependencies for your project. This can be combined with other flags.

$ xspring quick -d
📦 Group ID: com.mycorp
🎫 Artifact ID: user-service
📝 Display Name: User Service
💡 Project Description: A RESTful API for managing users
🧩 Dependencies: › Spring Security - Spring Web - Lombok - ...

Maven Flag (-m or --maven)

By default, the quick subcommand uses Gradle as the project type. The -m or --maven flag allows you to override this and set the project type to Maven without prompting. This can be combined with either of the above modes.

$ xspring quick -e -m
📦 Group ID: com.mycorp
🎫 Artifact ID: user-service

Listing Options

• List Dependencies: xspring list -d or xspring list --deps
• List Spring Boot Versions: xspring list -b or xspring list --boot
• List Java Versions: xspring list -j or xspring list --java
• List Project Types(Ex. Maven): xspring list -t or xspring list --type
• List Languages: xspring list -l or xspring list --language

# List all available dependencies
$ xspring list --deps

# List all supported Java versions
$ xspring list --java

Output Directory

• -o or --output: Specify a directory to output the generated project to.

  xspring -o my-new-project
  

Logging

xspring creates daily rotating log files in a logs directory in the directory where it is executed.

You can control the log verbosity with the following flags:

• -v, --verbose: Increases the verbosity of the output. Can be used multiple times to increase the level of detail (e.g., -v for warnings, -vv for info, -vvv for debug, -vvvv for trace).
• -q, --quiet: Suppresses all output except for errors.

# Run with verbose output to show debug information
$ xspring -vvv

# Run in quiet mode
$ xspring --quiet

Building from Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/MohdShahulMalik/xspring.git
   

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd xspring
   

3. Install the project:

   cargo install --path .
   

4. The executable will be in ~/.cargo/bin/xspring.

License

This project is licensed under either of the following, at your option:

• Apache License, Version 2.0, (LICENSE-APACHE or http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
• MIT license (LICENSE-MIT or http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a pull request or open an issue.