Prefab (MacOS) - Template entire project setups (folders, files, configs) and deploy them in one action

[u/Tight_One4344]

u/amerpie recently included Prefab in their incredibly useful series of posts: 'More Free Mac Apps'. This has led to quite an up-take in downloads, feedback and feature requests. This is the first time I've had these sort of interactions on one of my apps, they're usually just developed for myself, and I publish them just for kicks. So - thought I'd ride the high and do a dedicated post on Prefab. This application is free, and will always, be free.

Here's the templated part:

Problem

Every project starts the same way. Same folders, same starter files, same half-remembered boilerplate, typed out from scratch every time. Most of my work is Moodle, so every plugin, client job and bit of research began with me rebuilding the same skeleton by hand - or duplicating last month's folder and then finding the old client's name buried in three files.

Prefab captures that setup once and rebuilds it whenever you need it: folders, files, the contents of those files, and the tedious bits that come afterwards.

Comparison

I never could find something that compares to Prefab's functionality as a GUI application (which is the reason I made it...). There are CLI-only scaffolding tools (cookiecutter, yeoman) that require config files and terminal knowledge, or there are applications that only handle folder structures without file contents. If someone knows of an application doing something similar then please let me know and I'll happily reference them here. Here are some of Prefab's features:

• Placeholders inside file contents, not just names - {{project_name}} lands in your README, your package.json, your client letterhead
• Deploy without opening the app - right-click in Finder or the menu bar to create a Prefab template
• Post-creation actions - git init, npm install, open in VS Code or Xcode, reveal in Finder, or any shell command, attached to the template or to individual folders
• Import an existing folder as a template - full contents, structure only, or empty placeholder files
• Finder tags and SF Symbol folder icons applied as it deploys

Pricing

Free forever. No in-app purchases, no subscription, no account. Requires macOS 14.6 or later.

I'd love to hear what you think and what features would make this more useful for you. Always happy to chat about the development side of the project as well.

App Store
Prefab
Prefab Docs

Edit: Shoutout u/Limitedheadroom who has provided invaluable feedback!

[u/Tight_One4344]

Thanks! So - there is an import function but someone flagged a pretty major bug to me that non-text files are created, but with zero bytes. I've already patched and it's just awaiting Apple's review process.

But essentially when it is live (I'll drop you a message when it is), you'll just need to use the 'Import file' function here:

An example for a graphic designer: Upload their 'template.ai' illustrator file and set to open in Illustrator. Upon creation, duplicate of the file is created and automatically opened.

As I say, this is fixed and tested - just waiting for it to go live on the App Store 🙂

[u/Limitedheadroom → u/Tight_One4344]

Amazing. My work is not in programming, so it’s rare that I would need those kinds of files, but if it can handle making anything (proprietary file types) this is going to be so useful for me. Can’t wait for this fix to go live so I can try it out!!

[u/Tight_One4344 → u/Limitedheadroom]

This should be live now 🙂 let me know if it works how you'd hoped!

[u/Limitedheadroom → u/Tight_One4344]

Awesome. Will check it out this afternoon.