Init

Overview

The init command adds a registry to a project you already have — your personal site, a Next.js app, a Vite project, etc. Instead of scaffolding a new project from scratch, it detects what you have and injects just the registry plumbing.

npx create-scn-stack init

What It Does

1. Detects your framework — reads package.json for Next.js, Vite, React Router, or TanStack Start
2. Creates registry.json — with the include pattern and an empty UI registry
3. Creates or updates components.json — adds namespace and registry URL if you opt in
4. Adds registry:build script — to package.json
5. Adds shadcn dependency — if not already present
6. Creates lib/utils.ts — if not present (the cn() helper)
7. Scaffolds docs — optional, creates content/docs/ with Getting Started page
8. Updates .gitignore — adds public/r/ (generated registry output)

Interactive Mode

npx create-scn-stack init

◆  Detected framework: Next.js
◆  Registry name
│  my-app
◆  Style
│  ● New York (recommended)
│  ○ Default
◆  Homepage URL
│  https://my-app.com
◆  Add a namespace? Yes
◆  Namespace
│  @my-app
◆  Add documentation pages? Yes

The command auto-detects your framework and existing components.json, so it only asks what it needs.

Non-Interactive Mode

npx create-scn-stack init --yes
npx create-scn-stack init --name my-ui --namespace @my-ui --yes
npx create-scn-stack init --name my-ui --homepage https://my-ui.com --docs --yes

Flags

Generated Files

After running init, your project gets these new files:

your-project/
├── registry.json                        # Registry definition
├── registry/new-york/ui/
│   └── registry.json                    # Empty UI registry (add items here)
├── components.json                      # Created or updated with namespace
├── content/docs/                        # (if --docs)
│   ├── index.mdx
│   ├── meta.json
│   └── components/
│       └── meta.json
└── lib/utils.ts                         # (if not present)

Your existing package.json is updated with a registry:build script and shadcn dependency.

After Init

Add your first component:

npx create-scn-stack add-component button -d "A button component."

Build the registry:

pnpm registry:build

Your registry JSON files are generated in public/r/ and served by your existing app.

Existing components.json

If your project already has a components.json (e.g., you've already run npx shadcn init), the init command will update it rather than overwrite — it adds your namespace to the registries field while preserving everything else.

Framework Detection

The command detects your framework from package.json dependencies:

If no framework is detected, registry files are still generated — they work with any setup.