Taming Thymeleaf CLI

Taming Thymeleaf CLI (ttcli) is an open-source command line tool by wimdeblauwe that sets up a Spring Boot project using either Thymeleaf or JTE as the template engine. It asks a series of questions, or accepts options for scripted use, and generates the project in a sub-directory named after the artifactId. The latest listed release is 1.15.0.

What It Is

ttcli is a project generator for Java developers building server-rendered Spring Boot web applications. It calls start.spring.io to create the base project, so it needs internet access. It then layers on starter templates, a HomeController, live reload configuration, and selected frontend dependencies.

How Project Generation Works

Running ttcli init prompts for Maven group, artifact, project name, Spring Boot and Java versions, template engine, live reload approach, package manager, and web dependencies. Every question can instead be answered with a flag, and --non-interactive uses defaults for anything unanswered, which makes it usable from scripts or coding agents. Conflicting options produce an error with a non-zero exit code, and a summary of answers is printed before generation.

The output includes starter templates (index.html and layout/main.html for Thymeleaf, or .jte equivalents), optional Thymeleaf Layout Dialect, a frontend-maven-plugin setup when npm or pnpm is used, a local profile properties file, and a HELP.md explaining how to start the chosen live reload setup.

Live Reload and Web Dependencies

Three live reload options are offered: Vite (Thymeleaf and JTE), npm-based scripts using PostCSS, Babel and Browsersync (Thymeleaf only), and DevTools-based reload (Thymeleaf only). Selectable web dependencies are Alpine.js, Bootstrap, htmx (2 or 4), Shadleaf, Shoelace, and Tailwind CSS, with Tailwind 3 or 4 and optional plugins such as forms, typography, container queries, and daisyUI.

Installation Options

Releases can be downloaded and unzipped for macOS, Linux, or Windows. The tool is also available through Homebrew, Chocolatey, and JBang. It can be built with Maven, including a GraalVM native build.