Pick your path

tinka new creates every App from a starter kit: a ready-to-run App that it copies into a new directory, under your module path. Tinka has two official starter kits, skeleton and core, embedded in the Tinka CLI, so they always match the version of Tinka you installed. They differ in how much structure you start with, and this page helps you choose before you run tinka new.

The two starter kits

tinka new asks which kit to use, and shows what each one is beside its name:

? Which starter kit would you like to use? (↑/↓ and Enter)
❯ skeleton  An App with Tinka's conventions, ready to grow
  core      The router and nothing else: structure it your way

Both kits give you a go.mod that pins act as a tool, a README.md listing act serve, act test and act build, a .gitignore, a home route and a test of it. Everything else differs:

The skeleton starter kit

The skeleton is the default. It gives every App the same shape, so you, your team, agents and the generators such as act make:handler all know where code goes:

blog/
├── app/
│   ├── exceptions/
│   │   └── handler.go
│   └── handlers/
│       └── home.go
├── config/
│   ├── app.go
│   ├── config.go
│   ├── http.go
│   └── logger.go
├── start/
│   ├── app.go
│   ├── kernel.go
│   └── routes.go
├── tests/
│   ├── functional/
│   │   └── home_test.go
│   └── tests.go
├── main.go
├── go.mod
├── README.md
├── .env
├── .env.example
├── .env.test
└── .gitignore

Pick the skeleton when you are starting a new App, when several people or agents will work on it, or when you want the docs and generators to match your code exactly. Folder structure explains each directory and which package may import which.

The core starter kit

The core kit keeps the whole App in main.go. Its newApp function creates the App, registers one route and returns it, and main runs it:

blog/
├── main.go
├── main_test.go
├── go.mod
├── README.md
└── .gitignore

Pick the core kit when you already have a structure in mind, when you are learning how the pieces fit before taking on conventions, or when you are adding Tinka to an existing Go module. Every Tinka package works on its own, so you add configuration, service providers and the rest as you need them. The generators work here too: they write into the root package and register what they create in the function that calls tinka.New.

How to choose

Answer one question: do you want Tinka to decide where your code goes?

• Yes, or you are not sure: pick skeleton. It is what tinka new creates when you press Enter.
• No, you have your own layout: pick core, and structure the App as it grows.

Choose up front with --kit to skip the question, such as in a script or when an agent runs tinka new:

tinka new blog --kit core

See the tinka new reference for every flag.

Where to go next

Once Installation has created your App, follow the path for what you want to build first:

See also: Installation, Folder structure, Scaffolding