Getting Started

Install the CLI

cargo install battery-pack

This gives you the cargo bp command.

Create a new project from a template

Battery packs can include project templates. To start a new CLI application using the cli-battery-pack template:

cargo bp new cli

You'll be prompted for a project name and directory. The result is a ready-to-go Rust project with the battery pack's recommended crates already in your Cargo.toml.

If a battery pack offers multiple templates, you can pick one:

cargo bp new cli --template simple
cargo bp new cli --template subcmds

To set placeholder values non-interactively (e.g. in CI), use -d:

cargo bp new cli --name my-app -d description="My CLI tool"

To preview what a template will generate without writing any files:

cargo bp new cli --preview

Add a battery pack to an existing project

If you already have a Rust project, you can add a battery pack to it:

cargo bp add error

This resolves error to error-battery-pack, downloads it from crates.io, and adds its default crates to your project. For error-battery-pack, that means anyhow and thiserror.

What changed in your Cargo.toml

Before:

[package]
name = "my-app"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2024"

[dependencies]

After cargo bp add error:

[package]
name = "my-app"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2024"

[package.metadata.battery-pack]
error-battery-pack = "0.4.0"

[dependencies]
anyhow = "1"
thiserror = "2"

The [package.metadata.battery-pack] section records which battery packs you've installed and their versions. The actual crates — anyhow and thiserror — are real entries in [dependencies] that you use directly.

Use the crates

There's nothing special about how you use the crates. They're real dependencies:

use anyhow::{Context, Result};
use thiserror::Error;

#[derive(Error, Debug)]
enum MyError {
    #[error("not found: {0}")]
    NotFound(String),
}

fn main() -> Result<()> {
    let config = std::fs::read_to_string("config.toml")
        .context("failed to read config")?;
    Ok(())
}

Proc macros, derive macros, attribute macros — everything works exactly as if you'd added the crates by hand. Because you did, with help.

Launch the TUI

For a richer experience, just run:

cargo bp

This opens an interactive terminal interface where you can browse available battery packs, toggle individual crates, and manage your dependencies visually. See Using Battery Packs for the full tour.

Check your battery pack status

To see which battery packs you have installed and whether anything is out of date:

cargo bp status

This shows your installed packs, their versions, and warnings if any of your dependency versions are older than what the battery pack recommends.