bivvy init

Initialize Bivvy configuration for your project.

Usage

bivvy init

bivvy init --minimal

bivvy init --template=ruby

bivvy init --from=../other-project

Options

Option	Description
--minimal	Generate config without prompts, using only auto-detected templates
--template <name>	Start from a specific template or category (skips auto-detection). Accepts a template name (e.g., bundle-install) or a category (e.g., ruby) to include all templates in that category.
--from <path>	Copy .bivvy/config.yml from another project directory into the current project
--force	Overwrite existing configuration

What It Does

1. Scans your project for technologies
2. Detects package managers and version managers
3. Identifies potential conflicts
4. Generates .bivvy/config.yml
5. Updates .gitignore for local overrides
6. Offers to run setup immediately (interactive mode only)

When running interactively, after generating the config Bivvy presents a “Run setup now?” picker with two options — No (n) (default) and Yes (y). Choosing Yes chains directly into bivvy run with every generated step forced. Choosing No (or pressing Enter) shows a hint to run bivvy run later.

Examples

Interactive setup:

bivvy init

Quick setup for CI:

bivvy init --minimal

Force overwrite existing config:

bivvy init --force

Start from the Ruby template:

bivvy init --template=bundle-install

Include all Ruby-category templates:

bivvy init --template=ruby

Clone config from a sibling project:

bivvy init --from=../other-project

Detection

Bivvy automatically detects technologies and maps them to built-in templates. The table below mirrors the project-type detection in src/detection/project.rs and reflects every marker file the detector inspects:

Category	Detected via	Template
Ruby	Gemfile	bundle-install
Ruby (Rails)	config/routes.rb, config/application.rb	rails-db
Node.js	package.json (template chosen by lockfile)	yarn-install (yarn.lock), pnpm-install (pnpm-lock.yaml), bun-install (bun.lockb), npm-install (default)
Node.js (Next.js)	next.config.js, next.config.mjs, next.config.ts	nextjs-build
Node.js (Vite)	vite.config.js, vite.config.ts, vite.config.mjs	vite-build
Node.js (Remix)	remix.config.js, remix.config.ts, app/root.tsx	remix-build
Python	pyproject.toml, requirements.txt, setup.py	poetry-install (poetry.lock), uv-sync (uv.lock), pip-install (default)
Python (Alembic)	alembic.ini, alembic/env.py	alembic-migrate
Python (Django)	manage.py	django-migrate
Rust	Cargo.toml	cargo-build
Rust (Diesel)	diesel.toml	diesel-migrate
Go	go.mod	go-mod-download
PHP	composer.json	composer-install
PHP (Laravel)	artisan	laravel-setup
Kotlin / JVM (Gradle)	build.gradle, build.gradle.kts	gradle-deps
Spring Boot	src/main/resources/application.properties, src/main/resources/application.yml	spring-boot-build
Elixir	mix.exs	mix-deps-get
Swift	Package.swift	swift-resolve
Terraform	main.tf, terraform.tf, versions.tf	terraform-init
AWS CDK	cdk.json	cdk-synth
Java (Maven)	pom.xml	maven-resolve
.NET	*.sln, *.csproj	dotnet-restore
Dart	pubspec.yaml (no platform dirs)	dart-pub-get
Flutter	pubspec.yaml + android/, ios/, web/, macos/, linux/, or windows/ directory	flutter-pub-get
Deno	deno.json, deno.jsonc, deno.lock	deno-install
Database (Prisma)	prisma/schema.prisma	prisma-migrate
Containers	docker-compose.yml, docker-compose.yaml, compose.yml, compose.yaml	docker-compose-up
Kubernetes (Helm)	Chart.yaml	helm-deps
IaC (Pulumi)	Pulumi.yaml	pulumi-install
IaC (Ansible)	ansible.cfg, playbook.yml, playbook.yaml, site.yml, site.yaml	ansible-install
Cross-cutting	.env.example, .env.sample, .env.template (and no .env)	env-copy
Cross-cutting	.pre-commit-config.yaml	pre-commit-install
Monorepo	nx.json	nx-build
Monorepo	turbo.json	turbo-build
Monorepo	lerna.json	lerna-bootstrap

Version-manager detection is layered separately by the package-manager detector and resolves system-wide to one of: mise-tools, asdf-tools, volta-setup, fnm-setup, nvm-node, rbenv-ruby, pyenv-python.

Enriched Output

The generated config includes commented-out template details so you can see what Bivvy will do and how to customize it. The first line is a yaml-language-server directive pointing at the schema Bivvy installs locally, so editors with the YAML language server (VS Code, Neovim) get completion and validation out of the box:

# yaml-language-server: $schema=/Users/you/.bivvy/schema.json
# Bivvy configuration for my-app
# Docs: https://bivvy.dev/configuration
#
# Override any template field per-step:
#   steps:
#     example:
#       template: bundle-install
#       env:
#         BUNDLE_WITHOUT: "production"
#
# Add custom steps:
#   steps:
#     setup_db:
#       title: "Set up database"
#       command: "bin/rails db:setup"
#       check:
#         type: execution
#         command: "bin/rails db:version"
#         validation: success
#
# Create named workflows:
#   workflows:
#     ci:
#       steps: [bundle-install, yarn-install]
#       settings:
#         defaults:
#           output: quiet

app_name: "my-app"

settings:
  defaults:
    output: verbose  # verbose | quiet | silent

steps:
  bundle-install:
    template: bundle-install
    # command: bundle install
    # check:
    #   type: execution
    #   command: "bundle check"
    #   validation: success

  yarn-install:
    template: yarn-install
    # command: yarn install
    # check:
    #   type: execution
    #   command: "yarn check --verify-tree"
    #   validation: success

workflows:
  default:
    steps: [bundle-install, yarn-install]

Conflicts

When conflicts are detected (e.g., multiple lock files), Bivvy will:

1. Show a warning about the conflict
2. Suggest a resolution
3. Allow you to choose which to include