PyCharm 2017.2 Help

Creating a Project Using Yeoman Generator

This feature is supported in the Professional edition only.

PyCharm supports integration with the Yeoman tool and provides interface for using it in generating framework-specific project stubs.

Before you start

  1. Download and install Node.js. The runtime environment is required for two reasons:
    • The Yeoman tool is started through Node.js.
    • NPM, which is a part of the runtime environment, is also the easiest way to download the Yeoman tool.
  2. If you are going to use the command line mode, make sure the path to the parent folder of the Node.js executable file and the path to the npm folder are added to the PATH variable. This enables you to launch the Yeoman tool and npm from any folder.
  3. Make sure the Yeoman and the NodeJS plugins are installed and enabled. The plugins are not bundled with PyCharm, but they can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins. Once enabled, the plugins are available at the IDE level, that is, you can use them in all your PyCharm projects.

Installing Yeoman

The easiest way to install Yeoman is to use the Node Package Manager (npm), which is a part of Node.js. Yeoman can be installed both globally or locally, in a project. It is recommended that you install globally because in this case you can run it from any folder but not from its installation folder.

PyCharm provides interface for global and local installation modes. Alternatively, you can install Yeoman manually through the command line.

To install Yeoman from PyCharm using the Node.js and NPM page of the Settings dialog box:

  1. Open the Settings / Preferences Dialog by pressing Ctrl+Alt+S or by choosing File | Settings for Windows and Linux or PyCharm | Preferences for macOS, and click Node.js and NPM under Languages & Frameworks.
  2. On the Node.js and NPM page that opens, the Packages area shows all the Node.js-dependent packages that are currently installed on your computer, both at the global and at the project level. Click /help/img/idea/2017.2/new.png.
  3. In the Available Packages dialog box that opens, select the yo package from the list.
  4. For global installation, select the Options check box and type -g in the text box next to it.
  5. Click Install Package to start installation.

To run the installation from the command line: open the embedded Terminal (View | Tool Windows | Terminal) and type npm install -g yo at the command prompt, where -g means global installation.

Configuring a list of project stub generators

  1. Choose File | New | Project on the main menu or click Create New Project on the Welcome screen. The New Project Dialog opens.
  2. In the left-hand pane, choose Yeoman.
  3. The right-hand pane shows all the previously installed Yeoman generators. Click Install Generator.
  4. From the dialog box that opens showing all the available generator packages, select the required package in the left-hand pane and click the Install Generator button that appears in the right-hand pane. You can install several packages one after another without leaving the dialog box.

    When the installation is over, click Close to return to the list of generators which is already expanded with the newly added package.

Creating a project by a generator

  1. Choose File | New | Project on the main menu or click Create New Project on the Welcome screen. The New Project Dialog opens.
  2. In the left-hand pane, choose Yeoman.
  3. The right-hand pane shows all the previously installed Yeoman generators. To expand the list, click Install Generator, see Creating a Project Using Yeoman Generator above.

    Select the required generator from the list and click Next.

  4. Specify the required settings in the New Project wizard that starts. The number of pages and their contents depend on the chosen generator.
  5. On the last page of the wizard, select or clear the Run npm install&bower install checkbox to specify whether you want to run Node Package Manager and Bower to install the packages that are required for developing the new project.
  6. Click Next and choose to open the new project in the current window or in the new one.
Last modified: 26 October 2017

See Also