Flask-Commands

Scaffold Flask apps in seconds.

Flask-Commands is a local-first CLI that scaffolds Flask projects and automates the wiring between views, routes, controllers, and models so you ship faster with consistent structure.

It removes repetitive setup work while keeping every generated file plain, local, and easy to edit.

Quick video overview

New to Flask-Commands? Start with this short overview:

What is Flask-Commands?

A quick walkthrough showing how to create a Flask app, generate a CRUD resource, and run it in the browser.

Getting Started

Flask-Commands bundles opinionated, productivity-focused generators:

• flask new boots a ready-to-run Flask project with virtualenv, dotenv, Tailwind wiring, and SQLite + migrations by default. Use --no-db to skip DB setup.
• flask make:view generates template files and can optionally wire controllers, routes/blueprints, and SQLAlchemy models.
• flask make:controller scaffolds a controller class and can optionally add RESTful actions, routes, templates, and model generation (--model or -m, with --flat/--nest for inferred model choices).
• flask make:model scaffolds a SQLAlchemy model and can optionally wire RESTful controllers, routes, and templates (--crud, with --flat/--nest for model structure selection).

All generated code is plain Flask with no hidden runtime layers; every file is created on disk. The goal is to remove repetitive setup work while keeping everything local and transparent.

Installation

Flask-Commands is designed to be installed globally so you can create new Flask apps anywhere on your machine.

Recommended:

pipx install Flask-Commands --include-deps

Alternative:

pip install Flask-Commands

You will also want npm available because generated Flask projects include Tailwind CSS tooling. If npm is not installed, install Node.js first.

Quick Start

flask new myproject          # includes a SQLite DB scaffolding by default
cd myproject

To create a project without database support, use:

flask new myproject --no-db

Recommended (macOS):

./run.sh

Manual startup:

source venv/bin/activate
flask run --debug

run.sh opens a Flask shell, starts the dev server, rebuilds tailwind.css and tailwind.min.css, opens VS Code and Chrome, and hot-reloads changes in templates/, controllers/, forms/, models/, and routes/.

Browser reloading uses fswatch, so install it first if it is not already available:

brew install fswatch

Docs quick links

• Quick video overview: https://youtu.be/lPvQmLLBcwA
• Full guide: https://flask-commands.readthedocs.io/en/latest/docs.html
• Install and first run: https://flask-commands.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install_and_first_run.html
• Starting a project: https://flask-commands.readthedocs.io/en/latest/starting_a_project.html
• Core ideas: https://flask-commands.readthedocs.io/en/latest/commands/core_ideas.html
• Cheat sheet: https://flask-commands.readthedocs.io/en/latest/commands/cheat_sheet.html
• Changelog: https://flask-commands.readthedocs.io/en/latest/changelog.html

Cheat sheet

• flask new myproject — New Flask project with DB scaffolding (default).
• flask new myproject --no-db — New Flask project without DB setup.
• flask make:view about — Template only (app/templates/about.html).
• flask make:view recipes.index -rcm — Start a recipe resource with a list page, route, controller, and model.
• flask make:view recipes.show -rc — Add a detail page to the existing recipe resource.
• flask make:view recipes.create -rcm — Add a GET action that renders a recipe form template.
• flask make:view recipes.store -rcm — Add a POST action that wires behavior without creating a template.
• flask make:view recipes.comments.index -rcm — Create a nested comments resource under recipes.
• flask make:controller RecipeController --crud — Generate RESTful controller methods, routes, and templates for recipes.
• flask make:controller RecipeController --crud -m — Generate the RESTful recipe resource and matching model in one controller-first command.
• flask make:controller ShoppingListController --crud --model ShoppingList — Keep a multi-word model name together while generating RESTful scaffolding.
• flask make:controller RecipeIngredientController --crud -m --nest — Force the nested model interpretation for a controller-first --crud flow.
• flask make:model Recipe — Create and register a single model scaffold.
• flask make:model Recipe --crud — Model + RESTful controller/routes/templates.
• flask make:model ShoppingList --crud --flat — Force a flat model interpretation and RESTful structure.
• flask make:model RecipeIngredient --crud --nest — Force a nested model interpretation and RESTful structure.

Examples

Here are a few commands and what they do so you can see the speed, consistency gains, and how commands combine in practice.

1) Create a recipe index page with full wiring

flask make:view recipes.index -rcm

This scaffolds:

• the template at app/templates/recipes/index.html
• a controller with an index method
• a RESTful route for /recipes
• a Recipe model plus registration in app/models/__init__.py

2) Add a recipe detail page to the same resource

flask make:view recipes.show -rc

Because Recipe is already registered, route inference generates the RESTful show route:

• /recipes/<int:recipe_id>
• the controller method signature includes recipe_id

3) Generate a full RESTful resource from the controller first

flask make:controller RecipeController --crud -m

This scaffolds the seven RESTful actions across:

• controller methods
• routes in app/routes/recipes/
• templates for the GET actions (index, show, create, and edit)
• a Recipe model plus registration

4) Handle nested recipe/ingredient model shape intentionally

flask make:model RecipeIngredient --crud

If nested candidates are detected, you will get a prompt to choose flat vs nested. To skip the prompt explicitly:

flask make:model RecipeIngredient --crud --flat
flask make:model RecipeIngredient --crud --nest

Contributing

I’m keeping development closed for now, but feedback is welcome. Please open an issue for bugs or ideas. License: MIT.