CLI Reference

Patchworks provides a command-line interface (CLI) for managing template repositories.

Global Options

These options are available for all commands:

• --help: Display help for a command
• --version: Display the version of Patchworks

Commands

create

Create a new project from a template repository.

patchworks create <repoUrl> [destination] [options]

Arguments:

• repoUrl: URL of the repository to clone (e.g. https://github.com/user/repo)
• destination: (Optional) Destination folder name

Options:

• --branch <branch>: Branch to clone (if not specified, uses default branch)

Example:

patchworks create https://github.com/original/template my-project --branch develop

This command:

• Clones the template repository to the specified directory
• Removes the original git history and initializes a new git repository
• Creates a .patchworks.json configuration file to track the template source
• Sets up a GitHub Action workflow to check for updates

Note: Additional commands for managing template updates are planned for future releases.

update

Sync the current repository with the latest changes from its template.

patchworks update [options]

Options:

• --token <token>: GitHub token to authenticate pushes and PR creation (defaults to GITHUB_TOKEN).
• --repository <owner/repo>: Override the repository slug detected from the environment.
• --base-branch <branch>: Branch to use as the base when generating updates.
• --branch-name <branch>: Branch name for the Patchworks update commit.
• --git-name <name> / --git-email <email>: Override commit author information.
• --json: Emit run metadata as JSON on stdout (suppresses normal logging; useful for scripting).

Run this inside your project directory (or from CI) to apply a single template commit and update .patchworks.json. By default it leaves the changes in your working tree so you can review them before committing or opening a PR. Pair it with --json if you need structured output for automation.