CPGen

A modern C++ project generator. Scaffold production-ready CMake projects with modules, tooling, and tests — from the CLI or an interactive TUI.

Features

• Full CMake generation — CMakeLists.txt with modern best practices (FetchContent, compile options, clang-tidy integration)
• Module system — extensible JSON-based module definitions that inject dependencies, link targets, and test discovery
• Tooling support — .clang-tidy, .clang-format (with preset support), .gitignore
• Interactive TUI — terminal UI with checkboxes and text inputs for project configuration
• Scaffold — generates src/main.cpp, tests/test_main.cpp, README.md out of the box

Installation

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/Darleanow/cpgen.git
cd cpgen
cmake -B build -G Ninja
ninja -C build

The binary is at build/CPGen. Templates are auto-copied next to the executable.

Usage

CLI mode

# Minimal — generate a project with defaults (C++20, no modules)
CPGen -n MyProject -p /tmp
 
# Full example — C++23, gtest + spdlog, git, clang-tidy, clang-format with Google style
CPGen -n MyProject -p /tmp -s 23 -m gtest,spdlog -g -ct -cf -cfp Google
 
# Generate with test and executable targets
CPGen -n MyProject -p /tmp -m gtest -tar exe,test

TUI mode

CPGen -u

Launches an interactive terminal interface where you can configure the project name, output path, and tooling options before generating.

All flags

Short	Long	Description
-h	--help	Show help and exit
-u	--tui	Launch interactive TUI mode
-n	--name	Project name (must match ^\w+$)
-p	--path	Output directory (must exist on disk)
-s	--std	C++ standard: 17, 20, or 23 (default: 20)
-m	--modules	Comma-separated modules: -m gtest,spdlog
-tar	--targets	Comma-separated target types: -tar exe,test,lib
-g	--git	Initialize a .gitignore
-cf	--clang-format	Generate .clang-format
-cfp	--cf-preset	Clang-format style preset (e.g. Google, LLVM)
-ct	--clang-tidy	Generate .clang-tidy and CMake integration

Available Modules

Module	Description	Target
gtest	Google Test framework	test
catch2	Catch2 v3 test framework	test
spdlog	Fast C++ logging library	main
fmt	Modern formatting library	main

Adding custom modules

Create a JSON file at templates/modules/<name>/<name>.json:

{
  "name": "mylib",
  "fetch_content": {
    "module_name": "mylib",
    "url": "https://github.com/org/mylib/archive/refs/tags/v1.0.0.zip"
  },
  "targets": {
    "main": {
      "link": ["mylib::mylib"]
    }
  }
}

Optional fields per target: cmake_include (e.g. "GoogleTest"), post_link (e.g. "gtest_discover_tests(${TARGET_NAME})").

Architecture

CPGen/
├── include/CPGen/
│   ├── CLI/            # Command-line argument parser
│   ├── Core/           # Config, Module, Resolved data types
│   ├── Pipeline/       # Emitter interface + CMake/Scaffold/Tooling emitters
│   ├── Resolvers/      # Module & project resolution from JSON definitions
│   ├── System/         # Path resolution, system utilities
│   └── TUI/            # Terminal UI components (Checkbox, Input, View)
├── src/                # Implementation files
├── templates/          # Module definitions + feature templates
└── tests/              # Google Test unit tests (93 tests)

License

MIT