🧱 Brick CLI

A framework-agnostic CLI tool for managing reusable code templates. Stop copy-pasting code between projects — save it once, use it everywhere.

The Problem

Every developer has faced this workflow:

1. Create a new project (nest new my-app)
2. Open an existing project with code you want to reuse
3. Manually copy-paste files (auth module, pagination utils, config files)
4. Adjust imports, fix paths, install missing dependencies
5. Repeat for every new project

Brick eliminates steps 2-4 entirely.

Installation

``bash


Install globally via npm

npm install -g code-brick

Or with yarn

yarn global add code-brick

Or with pnpm

pnpm add -g code-brick

Or with bun

bun add -g code-brick
`

After installation, the brick command will be available globally:

`bash
brick --version
`

Quick Start

`bash


1. Initialize brick (one-time setup)

brick init

2. Save a folder as a reusable template

brick save my-auth ./src/auth --description "JWT authentication module"

3. View your saved templates

brick list

4. Apply a template to a new project

cd ~/new-project
brick apply my-auth ./src/auth
`

Commands

$3

Initialize Brick on your system. Creates the storage directory at ~/.codebrick/.

`bash
brick init
`

$3

Save a folder as a reusable template.

`bash


Save current directory

brick save my-template

Save a specific path

brick save nestjs-auth ./src/auth

With options

brick save nestjs-auth ./src/auth \
--description "JWT authentication for NestJS" \
--tags auth,jwt,nestjs \
--detect-deps
`

Options:

- -d, --description — Template description
- -t, --tags — Comma-separated tags
- --include — Glob patterns to include
- --exclude — Glob patterns to exclude
- --detect-deps — Auto-detect dependencies from imports

$3

List all saved templates.

`bash
brick list

Filter by type

brick list --local
brick list --remote

Filter by tag

brick list --tag auth

Detailed view

brick list --detailed
`

Output:

`
# Name Type Files Description
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
0 nestjs-auth local 5 JWT authentication module
1 react-modal local 3 Animated modal with backdrop
2 docker-dev local 4 Docker Compose dev setup

3 templates (3 local, 0 remote)
`

> 💡 Tip: Use the index number (0, 1, 2) instead of the full name in any command!

$3

Display the file structure of a template.

`bash


By name

brick tree nestjs-auth

By index

brick tree 0

With file sizes

brick tree 0 --size
`

Output:

`
nestjs-auth
├── guards/
│ └── jwt.guard.ts
├── strategies/
│ └── jwt.strategy.ts
├── auth.controller.ts
├── auth.module.ts
└── auth.service.ts

5 files, 2 directories
`

$3

Apply a template to your project.

`bash


Apply to current directory

brick apply nestjs-auth

Apply by index

brick apply 0 ./src/auth

With options

brick apply 0 --force --latest
`

Options:

- -f, --force — Overwrite existing files without prompting
- --skip-existing — Skip files that already exist
- --dry-run — Preview changes without writing files
- --latest — Use @latest for all dependency versions
- --no-deps — Skip dependency installation prompts

$3

Show detailed information about a template.

`bash
brick info nestjs-auth
brick info 0
`

$3

Show the size of templates.

`bash


Show all template sizes

brick size

Show specific template size

brick size nestjs-auth
brick size 0
`

Output (all templates):

`
# Name Type Files Size
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
0 nestjs-auth local 5 12.4 KB
1 react-modal local 3 8.2 KB
2 docker-dev local 4 3.1 KB

Total: 12 files, 23.7 KB
`

Output (single template):

`
nestjs-auth

Files: 5
Directories: 2
Total Size: 12.4 KB
`

$3

Add files to an existing template.

`bash


Add a single file

brick add nestjs-auth ./src/auth/dto/login.dto.ts

Add by index

brick add 0 ./src/auth/dto/*.ts

Add a directory

brick add 0 ./src/auth/decorators/
`

$3

Remove files from a template.

`bash
brick remove-file nestjs-auth auth.controller.ts
brick remove-file 0 dto/
`

$3

Delete a template entirely.

`bash
brick delete nestjs-auth

By index

brick delete 0

Skip confirmation

brick delete 0 --force
`

$3

Remove local/project-specific imports from template files. This makes templates portable by stripping out imports that reference the original project.

`bash


Clean a template (auto-detects project name)

brick clean flutter-clean

By index

brick clean 0

Preview what will be removed (dry run)

brick clean 0 --dry-run

Use custom pattern

brick clean 0 --pattern "package:my_app/"

Also remove external packages (not recommended)

brick clean 0 --no-keep-external
`

Options:

- -p, --pattern — Custom regex pattern to match imports to remove
- --dry-run — Preview changes without modifying files
- --no-keep-external — Also remove external package imports

Example (Flutter/Dart):

Before cleaning:

`dart
import 'package:my_app/features/auth/login.dart';
import 'package:my_app/core/utils/helpers.dart';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:go_router/go_router.dart';
`

After brick clean flutter-template:

`dart
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:go_router/go_router.dart';
`

Supported languages:

| Language | Local Imports Removed | External Imports Kept |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| Dart/Flutter| package:project_name/... | package:flutter/, package:go_router/, etc. |
| TypeScript/JS | ./path, ../path | react, lodash, express, etc. |
| Python | from .module, from .. | from flask, import requests |
| Rust | use crate::, use super:: | use std::, external crates |

The command auto-detects the project name from pubspec.yaml, package.json, or pyproject.toml.

$3

Export a template as a shareable .brick file. Perfect for sharing templates with teammates or between machines.

`bash


Export to current directory

brick export nestjs-auth

By index

brick export 0

Specify output path

brick export 0 --output ~/Desktop/my-auth.brick
`

Options:

- -o, --output — Output file path (default: ./.brick)

Example output:

`
┌ 🧱 Exporting template
│ ● Template: nestjs-auth
│ ● Files: 5 files
│ ● Output: /Users/you/nestjs-auth.brick
│
│ ◇ Export complete!
│ Size: 12.34 KB
│
│ Share this file and import with:
│ brick import nestjs-auth.brick
└
`

$3

Import a template from a .brick file.

`bash


Import from .brick file

brick import nestjs-auth.brick

Import with custom name

brick import nestjs-auth.brick --name my-auth-v2

Force overwrite existing template

brick import nestjs-auth.brick --force
`

Options:

- -n, --name — Custom name for the imported template
- -f, --force — Overwrite existing template without prompting

Example output:

`
┌ 🧱 Importing template
│ ● File: /Users/you/nestjs-auth.brick
│ ● Template: nestjs-auth
│ ● Description: JWT authentication module
│ ● Files: 5 files
│
│ ◇ Import complete!
│
│ View structure: brick tree nestjs-auth
│ Apply template: brick apply nestjs-auth
└
`

Smart Ignore System

Brick automatically ignores common dependency directories, build outputs, and generated files across all frameworks. This keeps your templates clean and portable.

$3

| Framework | Automatically Ignored |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Node.js | node_modules/, .npm/, .yarn/, .pnpm-store/ |
| Python | __pycache__/, .venv/, venv/, .pytest_cache/, .mypy_cache/ |
| Flutter | .dart_tool/, .pub-cache/, build/, .flutter-plugins* |
| Rust | target/ |
| Go | vendor/ |
| Java | .gradle/, .idea/, out/, build/ |
| iOS | Pods/, .symlinks/, DerivedData/ |
| .NET | bin/, obj/, packages/ |
| Build | dist/, build/, .next/, .nuxt/, .output/, .vercel/ |
| Cache | .cache/, .temp/, .turbo/, coverage/ |
| VCS | .git/, .svn/, .hg/ |
| IDE | .idea/, .vscode/ (settings, not launch configs) |

$3

| Category | Files |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Locks | package-lock.json, yarn.lock, pnpm-lock.yaml, Podfile.lock |
| Env | .env, .env.local, .env.production, .env.* |
| OS | .DS_Store, Thumbs.db, desktop.ini |
| Logs | .log, npm-debug.log, yarn-debug.log* |
| Metadata | brick.json (template metadata) |

This means when you save a template, you get only the source code — no bloat:

`bash


Before smart ignore (hypothetical)

flutter-app: 1,247 files, 89.2 MB ❌

With smart ignore (actual)

flutter-app: 42 files, 156 KB ✅
`

Framework Agnostic

Brick works with any language or framework since it operates at the file level:

| Category | Examples |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| Frontend | React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, Solid, Astro |
| Backend | NestJS, Express, FastAPI, Django, Rails, Spring Boot |
| Mobile | React Native, Flutter, Swift, Kotlin |
| Languages | TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust, Java, C# |
| Infrastructure | Terraform, Pulumi, Docker, Kubernetes configs |
| Other | Markdown docs, config files, shell scripts |

Storage Location

Templates are stored locally at:

`
~/.codebrick/
├── config.json # Configuration
├── store.json # Template registry
└── templates/ # Actual template files
├── nestjs-auth/
├── react-modal/
└── ...
`

Examples

$3

`bash


From your existing project with a working auth implementation


cd ~/projects/my-backend
brick save nestjs-auth ./src/auth \
--description "JWT authentication with Passport" \
--tags nestjs,auth,jwt,passport \
--detect-deps
`

$3

`bash


Create new project

nest new my-new-api
cd my-new-api

Apply the auth template (by index or name)

brick apply 0 ./src/auth

Install dependencies (brick will show you the command)

npm install @nestjs/jwt @nestjs/passport passport-jwt bcrypt
`

$3

`bash
brick save react-modal ./src/components/Modal \
--description "Animated modal with backdrop" \
--tags react,modal,ui,animation
`

$3

`bash
brick save flutter-clean ./lib \
--description "Clean architecture with BLoC" \
--tags flutter,bloc,clean-architecture
`

$3

`bash
brick save docker-dev ./docker \
--description "Docker Compose development setup" \
--tags docker,devops
`

$3

`bash


List templates

brick list

0 nestjs-auth

1 react-modal

2 flutter-clean

Use index for faster operations

brick tree 0
brick info 1
brick apply 2 ./lib
brick size 0
brick clean 2 # Remove local imports
brick delete 1 --force
`

$3

`bash


Export a template to share

brick export nestjs-auth

Creates: nestjs-auth.brick (shareable file)

Send the .brick file to your teammate, then they run:

brick import nestjs-auth.brick

Or import with a custom name

brick import nestjs-auth.brick --name company-auth
``

Contributing

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