package-json-scaffolder_skill

Overview

This skill generates complete, production-ready package.json files tailored to different Node.js project types. It outputs valid, nicely formatted JSON with sensible defaults, appropriate dependencies, scripts, and engine constraints. Use it to quickly scaffold package.json for apps, libraries, CLIs, APIs, and monorepos.

How this skill works

When triggered it inspects the requested project type and purpose, then composes a package.json with required fields (name, version, main, scripts, dependencies, devDependencies) and recommended metadata (author, license, repository, engines). It chooses current LTS-compatible versions, groups packages into dependencies vs devDependencies, and applies common script patterns for development, build, test, lint, and database tasks. Final output is validated for JSON syntax, semver, name formatting, and common mistakes before returning.

When to use it

• Scaffolding a new React, Next.js, or Vite app
• Bootstrapping an Express API with TypeScript and Prisma
• Preparing a publishable npm library with exports and types
• Creating CLI tools with proper bin / build scripts
• Initializing a monorepo root with workspaces and turbo scripts

Best practices

• Use lowercase, hyphen-separated project names and semver x.y.z for version
• Put runtime libraries in dependencies and build/test tooling in devDependencies
• Include engines.node when targeting specific Node LTS versions
• Provide scripts for dev, build, lint, test, and a clean/build pipeline
• Add repository, license, and keywords to improve discoverability and package metadata

Example use cases

• Create package.json for a React TypeScript app with Vite, TypeScript, Vitest, and ESLint
• Generate package.json for an Express REST API using TypeScript, Prisma, and Jest
• Scaffold package.json for a publishable npm library with CJS+ESM exports, types, and prepublish checks
• Build package.json for a CLI tool with bin entry, tsup build, and dev tooling
• Initialize monorepo root package.json with pnpm/pnpm-workspaces or Turbo repo scripts