Templates Overview

DeesseJS templates are pre-configured project setups that include collections, plugins, extensions, and settings for common use cases. Start with a template instead of building from scratch.

What are Templates?

Templates are complete DeesseJS configurations that include:

Collections: Pre-defined content schemas
Plugins: Essential plugins pre-installed
Extensions: Configured extensions (cache, logger, etc.)
Settings: Optimized default settings
Pages: Pre-built admin pages
Components: Ready-to-use frontend components
Styles: Complete styling system

Benefits of Using Templates

Speed

Start in minutes: Get a fully configured application in minutes
Skip setup: No need to configure collections, plugins, or extensions
Production-ready: Optimized settings out of the box

Best Practices

Proven architecture: Battle-tested configurations
Security: Security best practices built-in
Performance: Optimized for performance
Scalability: Designed to scale

Consistency

Standardized: Consistent structure across projects
Documentation: Comprehensive docs for each template
Updates: Regular updates and improvements

Available Templates

Official Templates

Blog Template

Perfect for blogs and personal websites:

Posts collection with rich text editor
Categories and tags
SEO plugin installed
Comments system
RSS feed generation
Sitemap generation

Documentation Template

Ideal for documentation sites:

Pages collection with hierarchical structure
Version control
Search functionality
Table of contents auto-generation
Syntax highlighting for code
Navigation by categories

E-commerce Template

For online stores:

Products collection with variants
Categories and filters
Shopping cart
Stripe payments
Order management
Inventory tracking

SaaS Template

For SaaS applications:

Users and subscriptions
Billing integration
Feature flags
Usage-based pricing
Team management
API keys generation

Portfolio Template

For personal portfolios:

Projects collection
Gallery/media management
Contact form
Skills/expertise showcase
Resume/CV section

Corporate Template

For business websites:

Pages with flexible content blocks
Team members collection
Services/capabilities
Testimonials
Case studies
Contact forms

Using Templates

Create with Template

When creating a new project, choose a template:

npx create-deesse-app my-app --template blog

# Interactive prompts:
? Select template: Blog
? Configure options...
✓ Template applied successfully

Available Templates

# List all templates
npx create-deesse-app --list-templates

# Output:
Available templates:
  - default       Standard DeesseJS setup
  - blog          Blog with posts, categories, SEO
  - docs          Documentation with search, versions
  - ecommerce     E-commerce with products, payments
  - saas          SaaS with subscriptions, billing
  - portfolio     Portfolio with projects, gallery
  - corporate     Corporate with pages, team

Template Customization

Templates are fully customizable after creation:

// After creating with a template, you can modify everything
// deesse.config.ts

// Add/remove collections
export const config = defineConfig({
  collections: [
    // Template collections
    ...blogCollections,
    // Your custom collections
    {
      name: 'podcasts',
      fields: [/* ... */],
    },
  ],

  // Add more plugins
  plugins: [
    ...blogPlugins,
    analyticsPlugin(),
  ],

  // Configure settings
  admin: {
    ...blogConfig,
    branding: {
      title: 'My Custom Blog',
    },
  },
})

What's Included

Blog Template

Collections:

Posts (title, content, excerpt, featuredImage, status, publishedAt)
Categories (name, slug, description)
Tags (name, slug)
Authors (name, bio, photo, social)

Plugins:

@deessejs/plugin-seo (meta tags, sitemap, RSS)
@deessejs/plugin-media (image optimization)
@deessejs/plugin-comments (comments system)

Extensions:

Cache (Redis)
Logger (Pino)
Storage (Local or S3)

Settings:

Auto-save drafts
Post scheduling
SEO defaults

Pages:

Posts list
Editor
Media library
Comments moderation

Documentation Template

Collections:

Pages (title, content, slug, order, parent, status)
Versions (version number, status, createdAt)
Categories (name, slug, icon)

Plugins:

@deessejs/plugin-seo (search, sitemap)
@deessejs/plugin-search (Meilisearch integration)
@deessejs/plugin-versions (version control)

Extensions:

Search (Meilisearch)
Cache (Redis)
Logger (Pino)

Settings:

Hierarchical pages
Auto-generated TOC
Search indexing
Version publishing

Pages:

Page tree view
Version comparison
Search interface

E-commerce Template

Collections:

Products (name, description, price, sku, images, variants, inventory)
Categories (name, slug, products)
Orders (customer, items, total, status)
Customers (name, email, address, orders)

Plugins:

@deessejs/plugin-payments (Stripe integration)
@deessejs/plugin-inventory (stock management)
@deessejs/plugin-shipping (shipping providers)

Extensions:

Queue (BullMQ for order processing)
Logger (Pino)
Storage (S3 for product images)

Settings:

Tax configuration
Shipping zones
Payment methods
Inventory tracking

Pages:

Products catalog
Order management
Customer management
Analytics dashboard

Template Structure

A template is a npm package with this structure:

@deessejs/template-blog/
├── collections/
│   ├── posts.ts
│   ├── categories.ts
│   └── tags.ts
├── plugins/
│   ├── index.ts
│   └── config.ts
├── extensions/
│   └── index.ts
├── pages/
│   ├── PostsList.tsx
│   └── PostEditor.tsx
├── components/
│   ├── PostCard.tsx
│   └── CategoryFilter.tsx
├── styles/
│   └── globals.css
├── config/
│   └── deesse.config.ts
├── package.json
└── README.md

Installing from Marketplace

Browse Templates

Visit the Template Marketplace to browse available templates with:

Screenshots and demos
Feature comparisons
User reviews
Installation stats

One-Click Installation

Install a template directly in an existing project:

// Apply a template to your project
npx deessejs template apply blog

# Or via CLI
npx deessejs template install @deessejs/template-blog

The template will:

Add required dependencies
Configure collections
Install plugins
Set up extensions
Create pages and components
Update settings

Update Existing Project

Apply a template to an existing project:

# In your project directory
npx deessejs template apply blog --merge

# --merge  : Preserves existing config, merges with template
# --force  : Overwrites existing config (use with caution)

Template Options

Templates can have configuration options:

npx create-deesse-app my-app --template blog

# Interactive prompts:
? Blog name: My Tech Blog
? Enable comments? Yes
? Enable RSS? Yes
? Default post status: draft

✓ Template configured

Options are stored in deesse.config.ts:

export const config = defineConfig({
  template: {
    name: 'blog',
    options: {
      blogName: 'My Tech Blog',
      enableComments: true,
      enableRSS: true,
      defaultStatus: 'draft',
    },
  },
})

Extending Templates

Add Collections

// Add to template
export const config = defineConfig({
  collections: [
    ...blogTemplate.collections,
    {
      name: 'podcasts',
      fields: [
        { name: 'title', type: 'string' },
        { name: 'audio', type: 'media' },
        { name: 'duration', type: 'number' },
      ],
    },
  ],
})

Modify Template

// Modify template collections
export const config = defineConfig({
  collections: [
    {
      name: 'posts',
      ...blogTemplate.collections.posts,
      fields: [
        // Add field to template collection
        ...blogTemplate.collections.posts.fields,
        { name: 'views', type: 'number', defaultValue: 0 },
      ],
    },
  ],
})

Remove Template Features

// Remove SEO plugin from blog template
export const config = defineConfig({
  plugins: [
    ...blogTemplate.plugins.filter(p => p !== seoPlugin),
  ],
})

Template Variants

Some templates have variants:

# Blog template variants
npx create-deesse-app my-app --template blog:minimal
npx create-deesse-app my-app --template blog:full-featured
npx create-deesse-app my-app --template blog:podcast

Available variants:

minimal: Core features only
full-featured: All plugins and features
podcast: Blog + podcast support
newsletter: Blog + newsletter integration

Template Updates

Templates receive regular updates:

# Check for template updates
npx deessejs template check-updates

# Update template
npx deessejs template update

# View changelog
npx deessejs template changelog blog

Update process:

Shows what will change
Backs up current config
Applies updates
Shows migration guide if needed

Best Practices

Choosing a Template

Start Simple: Begin with minimal template, add what you need
Match Your Use Case: Choose template closest to your needs
Consider Growth: Ensure template can scale with your needs
Check Updates: Active templates are maintained regularly

Customizing Templates

Don't Fight the Template: Work with the template structure
Document Changes: Keep notes on customizations
Version Control: Commit your customizations
Test Updates: Test in development before updating

Production Considerations

Remove Unused Features: Disable unneeded plugins/collections
Optimize Settings: Tune settings for your workload
Monitor Performance: Track performance after customization
Backup Before Updates: Always backup before major updates

Templates Overview

On this page