# Boilerplates and CLIs

Electron development is unopinionated - there is no "one true way" to develop,
build, package, or release an Electron application. Additional features for
Electron, both for build- and run-time, can usually be found on
[npm](https://www.npmjs.com/search?q=electron) in individual packages, allowing developers to build both
the app and build pipeline they need.

That level of modularity and extendability ensures that all developers working
with Electron, both big and small in team-size, are never restricted in what
they can or cannot do at any time during their development lifecycle. However,
for many developers, one of the community-driven boilerplates or command line
tools might make it dramatically easier to compile, package, and release an
app.

## Boilerplate vs CLI

A boilerplate is only a starting point - a canvas, so to speak - from which
you build your application. They usually come in the form of a repository you
can clone and customize to your heart's content.

A command line tool on the other hand continues to support you throughout the
development and release. They are more helpful and supportive but enforce
guidelines on how your code should be structured and built. *Especially for
beginners, using a command line tool is likely to be helpful*.

## electron-forge

A "complete tool for building modern Electron applications". Electron Forge
unifies the existing (and well maintained) build tools for Electron development
into a cohesive package so that anyone can jump right in to Electron
development.

Forge comes with [a ready-to-use template](https://electronforge.io/templates) using Webpack as a bundler. It includes an example typescript configuration and provides two configuration files to enable easy customization. It uses the same core modules used by the
greater Electron community (like [`electron-packager`](https://github.com/electron/electron-packager)) – 
changes made by Electron maintainers (like Slack) benefit Forge's users, too.

You can find more information and documentation on [electronforge.io](https://electronforge.io/).

## electron-builder

A "complete solution to package and build a ready-for-distribution Electron app"
that focuses on an integrated experience. [`electron-builder`](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder) adds one
single dependency focused on simplicity and manages all further requirements
internally.

`electron-builder` replaces features and modules used by the Electron
maintainers (such as the auto-updater) with custom ones. They are generally
tighter integrated but will have less in common with popular Electron apps
like Atom, Visual Studio Code, or Slack.

You can find more information and documentation in [the repository](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder).

## electron-react-boilerplate

If you don't want any tools but only a solid boilerplate to build from,
CT Lin's [`electron-react-boilerplate`](https://github.com/chentsulin/electron-react-boilerplate) might be worth
a look. It's quite popular in the community and uses `electron-builder`
internally.

## Other Tools and Boilerplates

The ["Awesome Electron" list](https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome-electron#boilerplates) contains more tools and boilerplates
to choose from. If you find the length of the list intimidating, don't
forget that adding tools as you go along is a valid approach, too.
