Quickstart

Five minutes from smpy new to a running app with a freshly scaffolded module.

1. Install the CLI

uv tool install simple_module_cli

(Or pipx install simple_module_cli.) That puts smpy on your PATH globally.

2. Scaffold an app

smpy new myapp --yes
cd myapp

--yes accepts the defaults (SQLite, no multi-tenancy, the standard preset: auth, users, dashboard, permissions). The CLI runs uv sync, npm install, and alembic upgrade heads for you.

For an interactive run with prompts, drop the --yes. For a preset + extras: smpy new myapp --preset standard --with background_tasks,file_storage --yes.

3. Boot it

make dev

The API and Vite dev servers start side by side. Visit:

• http://localhost:8000 — landing page
• http://localhost:8000/users/login — sign-in screen
• http://localhost:8000/dashboard — the authenticated home (log in first)
• http://localhost:8000/admin — the admin section overview (log in as an admin; lists whichever admin screens are installed)
• http://localhost:8000/admin/settings/ — the admin settings UI (log in first; only when the settings module is installed, e.g. the full preset or --with settings)

4. Create an admin

Until an administrator exists, every page redirects to the /setup wizard, which asks for one. To create it from a terminal instead (from inside myapp):

uv run smpy users create-admin --email admin@example.com --password changeme

Sign in at /users/login and you land on the dashboard.

5. Scaffold a new module

smpy create-module orders --dest modules/orders
smpy add ../modules/orders --path host

This generates a publishable module at modules/orders/ with a working CRUD sample for one Order table:

• pyproject.toml — [project.entry-points.simple_module] → orders.module:OrdersModule
• package.json + tsconfig.json — JS workspace metadata so tsc --noEmit covers the module's .tsx pages.
• orders/module.py — ModuleBase subclass with meta = ModuleMeta(name="Orders", ...): settings, routes, a sidebar menu item and permissions.
• orders/models.py — the Order table; orders/contracts/schemas.py — its DTOs.
• orders/core/ — constants.py (permissions, page keys, menu), settings.py (a DbBackedSettings class) and services.py (stored on app.state.orders).
• orders/web/ — the service plus REST endpoints at /api/orders and Inertia views at /orders/.
• orders/pages/ — Browse, Create and Edit pages; orders/locales/en.json — their strings.
• tests/ — pytest tests mirroring the areas (tests/core/…, tests/web/crud/…), with module-prefixed basenames such as test_orders_crud.py.

The first-module guide shows how to grow it: your own fields, validation, a migration and tests.

smpy add ../modules/orders --path host adds the package to host/pyproject.toml as a uv workspace source and runs uv sync, which registers its entry point; the module is discovered on the next boot. In a smpy new --flat app the module is not a workspace member, so wire it with smpy add ./modules/orders instead.

6. Generate a migration

make migration msg="add orders tables"
make migrate

make migration runs Alembic from the host directory (where alembic.ini lives). Autogenerate picks up the new orders_* tables and writes host/migrations/versions/XXXX_add_orders_tables.py. Add branch_labels = ("orders",) to that revision to give it a named target. The label does not isolate the module: alembic downgrade orders@base rolls back the whole chain beneath it. See Removing one module's schema.

7. Hit the module

Restart make dev (modules are discovered at boot). Then:

curl http://localhost:8000/api/orders
# → [] (200)

Visit http://localhost:8000/orders — you see the Browse page with an empty list and a "Create" button. The sidebar menu now includes an Orders entry (registered via register_menu_items).

8. Run the tests

uv run pytest

Single file:

uv run pytest modules/orders/tests/test_orders.py -v

What just happened

• Discovery — the simple_module entry point pointed Python's installer at orders.module:OrdersModule. discover_modules() loaded it, topologically sorted against every other installed module, and invoked register_* hooks in order.
• Routes — register_routes(api_router, view_router) attached the orders routers at /api/orders and /orders.
• Menu — register_menu_items pushed an entry onto MenuRegistry; the Inertia shared-props middleware serialized it into menus.sidebar for every authenticated request.
• Frontend — modules.generated.ts (rebuilt by make gen-pages) maps "Orders/Browse" to modules/orders/orders/pages/Browse.tsx. Vite resolves and HMR-watches that file.
• Database — create_module_base("orders") gave the module its own SQLModel MetaData so Alembic can attribute the orders_order table to it.

Next steps

• Your first module — extend the scaffold into real domain logic, end-to-end.
• Project structure — the directory tour, so you know where everything lives.
• Framework overview — what happens between make dev and the first HTTP request.
• Bundled modules — what's already in the box (auth, users, permissions, settings, …).