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scaffold.py usage

This script is a one-shot project scaffolding tool. It is not installed. You download it and run it directly.

Workflow

1: Go to your new project dir

cd ~/work/your-new-project

The project will be created relative to your current directory (or relative to the path you pass with --path).

2: Download the scaffold.py

curl -o scaffold.py \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/queezz/aklab-howto/master/src/scaffold.py

No Git clone, no installation — just a single file.

3: Project properties

This scaffold defines the following project properties:

  • Creation path — --path option; default is the current directory (.). The project is created at <path>/<name>. With --here, files go into <path> itself (no subdirectory).
  • In-place mode — --here scaffolds into the target directory. Allowed only if the directory is empty or contains only scaffold.py, .gitignore, or README.md. With --git, scaffold.py is added to .gitignore so you can download → run once → leave the script out of the repo.
  • Project name — Used for the folder name (unless --here), pyproject.toml, and the package under src/<package_name>.
  • Documentation — --docs enables MkDocs structure (docs folder, mkdocs.yml, GitHub Pages workflow).
  • Git integration — --git initializes a Git repository and includes the MkDocs build recipe in CI.

4: Run the scaffold

One canonical example:

python scaffold.py my-new-project \
  --author "Montbell" \
  --desc "How to hike" \
  --docs \
  --git

This creates ./my-new-project with a ready-to-use structure.

In-place (download, run, then delete script):

curl -o scaffold.py https://raw.githubusercontent.com/queezz/aklab-howto/master/src/scaffold.py

python scaffold.py my-new-project --here --docs --git

This scaffolds into the current directory; .gitignore will include scaffold.py.

Command-line options

Option Description
name Project name (positional, required)
--path PATH Where to create the project (default: current directory .)
--here Scaffold into the target directory (no <name> subdirectory)
--author TEXT Project author (default: Your Name)
--email TEXT Author email (default: you@example.com)
--desc TEXT Short description (default: A short description.)
--repo-url URL Repository URL (default: https://github.com/your/repo)
--license {MIT} License type (default: MIT)
--git Initialize Git repo and make first commit
--docs Include MkDocs configuration and docs folder
--overwrite Overwrite existing files if present