Starter repos are easy to clone, but painful to keep alive.
uplate turns any git repo into a living boilerplate. Clone it detached (no upstream), track which commit you started from, and apply upstream changes later with conservative 3-way merges.
Tools like gitpick clone boilerplates cleanly, but that's it — you're on your own when the template updates. uplate adds an upgrade path: it simulates a 3-way merge in a temp directory, so you keep your changes and get the template's changes.
- Clone any git repo as a detached boilerplate
- Upgrade with conservative 3-way merges
- AI agents can handle conflicts —
uplate upgrade --promptprints a ready-to-paste resolution prompt - Works with GitHub, GitLab, any git host
- Dry-run upgrades before applying
- Supports monorepos with subpath selection
Requires git. That's it. No install needed?
npx uplate-cliworks too.
brew install blankeos/tap/uplate # Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
npm install -g uplate-cli # or npm
bun install -g uplate-cli # or bun
cargo binstall uplate # or cargo-binstall (prebuilt binary, faster)
cargo install uplate # or cargo (build from source)
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/uplate/uplate/main/install.sh | sh # or linux/macos (via curl)# Create a project from a boilerplate
uplate create blankeos/solid-launch my-app
# Check if updates are availablecd my-app
uplate status
# Preview the upgrade
uplate upgrade --dry-run
# Apply it
uplate upgrade| Command | Description |
|---|---|
uplate create <source> [destination] | Clone a boilerplate as a detached git project |
uplate adopt <source> [--base <commit/tag>] | Link an existing project to its boilerplate source |
uplate status | Check if a template update is available |
uplate upgrade [--dry-run] [--prompt] | Apply template changes via 3-way merge |
# GitHub shorthand (owner/repo)
uplate create blankeos/solid-launch
# GitHub with subpath (for monorepos)
uplate create blankeos/solid-launch/apps/web
# Full GitHub URL with branch
uplate create https://github.com/blankeos/solid-launch/tree/dev/apps/web
# Any git host
uplate create https://gitlab.com/group/project
# GitLab with subpath
uplate create https://gitlab.com/group/project/-/tree/main/templates/viteWhen you run uplate upgrade, it:
- Clones the old and new template versions into a temp directory
- Creates a 3-way merge:
yours(your project) ←theirs(new template) overbase(old template) - If the merge is clean, applies the resulting patch to your project
- If conflicts arise, your working tree is untouched — use
--promptfor an AI-agent-ready prompt
uplate upgrade # Apply clean upgrades
uplate upgrade --dry-run # Preview changes first
uplate upgrade --prompt # Print a conflict prompt for coding agentsuplate stores metadata in .uplate.jsonc at your project root, tracking the template source, base commit, and last-upgraded commit. All operations use git under the hood — no proprietary formats, no lock-in.
Already created a project from a template without uplate? Adopt it retroactively:
cd my-existing-project
uplate adopt blankeos/solid-launch --base 2f1e3a4MIT.