Everything You Need to Know About Cookiecutter, Including Pricing and Reviews

Cookiecutter is a templating engine that may be used to generate project boilerplates in any language. Individuals, teams, and organizations must adhere to similar standards when creating projects in order for those initiatives to be easily readable and searchable. Templates also speed up the coding process because developers can spend less time on setup and get right down to the business logic of their project.

Cookiecutter is a Python package that can be downloaded and installed with pip or other package managers. It enables you to build and use microservice templates, as well as other software project templates. It’s a command-line tool that doesn’t need any Python expertise. Cookiecutter is popular among software engineers, academics, data scientists, and other professionals who work with code.

To create a cookiecutter, you must first modify the cookiecutter.json file. Using a template entails using the cookiecutter command with the appropriate directory to generate a new project.

Here’s a sample Python package template supplied by the Cookiecutter team. Install Cookiecutter first, then use the following command in your terminal:

Cookiecutter https://github.com/audreyfeldroy/cookiecutter-pypackage.git

Simply follow the steps, and you’ve got yourself a fully functional Python package in no time. Replace the template with something else, and you could just as easily create a mobile app, a data science notebook, or any other project on your preferred cloud service. There are hundreds of templates to choose from in a huge community.

It is simple and powerful to build your own templates to fit your and your company’s needs. We’ll go through how to do so below.

What is Cookiecutter, and who is it for?

Cookiecutter allows individuals, teams, and enterprises to standardize their project creation process and speed up the launch of new initiatives.

Example use cases include:

• Understanding a new framework: Cookiecutter lowers the learning curve for individuals unfamiliar with a framework. You may locate a template for a framework you’re studying and use it to create a configuration that has been shown to work.
• Onboarding: Standardization makes collaboration far easier. New team members can quickly follow best practices without the danger of copying, pasting, and attempting to correct just the right variables.
• Enforcing standards in an organization: Large teams can keep their codebases organized by following organizational habits, such as consistent folding, file naming standards, and other patterns.

Cookiecutter Features

Templates

The heart of a template is the cookiecutter.json file, which might look something like this:

{

“full_name”: “Alice Cookie”,

“email”: “foobar@example.com”,

“project_name”: “Django Boilerplate”,

“version”: “0.1.0”

}

When a template is used, key-value pairs in the configuration file tell a developer how to respond when asked certain questions. The command line interface cycles through the keys, prompting a developer to select each option. Default values are used if a developer does not provide specific information.

The framework skeleton code, for example, must be copied and reused. The template also needs files and directories with which to copy and reuse. Cookiecutter modifies the template based on these parameters. The boilerplate is further enhanced by using the Jinja2 template engine to link it to the variables. Cookiecutter matches all occurrences of the text “{{cookiecutter.variable_name}}” in the boilerplate with the actual value of the variable, replacing it with this boilerplate. This works both within files and across file and directory names.

Loops and Conditional Logic

Jinja2 is a very versatile templating engine that can do much more than simply substitute text. For loops and if statements are included in the package. It also includes macros that function similarly to functions in programming languages. Because all of Cookiecutter’s Templating utilizes Jinja2, it may take advantage of the same control flow capabilities.

Hooks

You may call hooks Pre/post-generate from within a Python script or shell command. Within hooks, the template’s input prompts are valid, and they work in the same way as elsewhere in the project with Jinja2 syntax. This allows you to run a script to confirm that a developer’s answers to the questions are correct. Hooks also give you the ability to modify files or directories generated by Cookiecutter, or even delete them.

What Are the Limitations?

Templates, by design, are prescriptive in terms of a project’s setup, offering numerous advantages as previously mentioned. On the other hand, a template may be opinionated in a way that does not correspond with either a developer’s or an organization’s preferences. It may be worthwhile to select another template or modify an old one if this is the case.

Cookiecutter is also not a panacea for all project creation needs. It is important to note that many best practices, such as those related to security, should still be followed even when using Cookiecutter.

What Are Some Other Options or Extensions?

Boilerplate for Specific Frameworks

Some development languages, however, have their own boilerplate that is readily available. If you’re launching a React app, for example, there’s a fantastic boilerplate to use as a basis. Boilerplates are not at odds with Cookiecutter; instead, you’ll find templates from well-known boilerplates that you may adapt.

Templates are kept organized by Cruft

Like any new process, setting up Cookiecutter involves some initial overhead. Keeping templates up to date when a team manages dozens or more is particularly crucial. Cruft works in tandem with Cookiecutter not only to create projects but also to keep them current as a template evolves. Cruft has the ability to check if a project fits with the most recent version of a template and to suggest modifications if it does not.

You’ll Get Out What You Put In

Cookiecutter is flexible enough to satisfy the needs of a wide range of projects while remaining straightforward to use. Nevertheless, as with any tool, you will need to invest some time in learning how to use it optimally for your particular use case.

Cookie Cutter Pricing:

Cookiecutter is free and open source software released under the MIT license.

Reviews:

“Cookiecutter has helped me get my projects off the ground quickly and with less hassle. It’s easy to use and well-documented.”

Learn More About Cookiecutter

The Cookiecutter community has lots of resources to help you dig deeper.