1# C3 (create-cloudflare)
2 
3Official CLI for scaffolding Cloudflare Workers and Pages projects with templates, TypeScript, and instant deployment.
4 
5## Quick Start
6 
7```bash
8# Interactive (recommended for first-time)
9npm create cloudflare@latest my-app
10 
11# Worker (API/WebSocket/Cron)
12npm create cloudflare@latest my-api -- --type=hello-world --ts
13 
14# Pages (static/SSG/full-stack)
15npm create cloudflare@latest my-site -- --type=web-app --framework=astro --platform=pages
16```
17 
18## Platform Decision Tree
19 
20```
21What are you building?
22 
23├─ API / WebSocket / Cron / Email handler
24│   └─ Workers (default) - no --platform flag needed
25│       npm create cloudflare@latest my-api -- --type=hello-world
26 
27├─ Static site / SSG / Documentation
28│   └─ Pages - requires --platform=pages
29│       npm create cloudflare@latest my-site -- --type=web-app --framework=astro --platform=pages
30 
31├─ Full-stack app (Next.js/Remix/SvelteKit)
32│   ├─ Need Durable Objects, Queues, or Workers-only features?
33│   │   └─ Workers (default)
34│   └─ Otherwise use Pages for git integration and branch previews
35│       └─ Add --platform=pages
36 
37└─ Convert existing project
38    └─ npm create cloudflare@latest . -- --type=pre-existing --existing-script=./src/worker.ts
39```
40 
41**Critical:** Pages projects require `--platform=pages` flag. Without it, C3 defaults to Workers.
42 
43## Interactive Flow
44 
45When run without flags, C3 prompts in this order:
46 
471. **Project name** - Directory to create (defaults to current dir with `.`)
482. **Application type** - `hello-world`, `web-app`, `demo`, `pre-existing`, `remote-template`
493. **Platform** - `workers` (default) or `pages` (for web apps only)
504. **Framework** - If web-app: `next`, `remix`, `astro`, `react-router`, `solid`, `svelte`, etc.
515. **TypeScript** - `yes` (recommended) or `no`
526. **Git** - Initialize repository? `yes` or `no`
537. **Deploy** - Deploy now? `yes` or `no` (requires `wrangler login`)
54 
55## Installation Methods
56 
57```bash
58# NPM
59npm create cloudflare@latest
60 
61# Yarn
62yarn create cloudflare
63 
64# PNPM
65pnpm create cloudflare@latest
66```
67 
68## In This Reference
69 
70| File | Purpose | Use When |
71|------|---------|----------|
72| **api.md** | Complete CLI flag reference | Scripting, CI/CD, advanced usage |
73| **configuration.md** | Generated files, bindings, types | Understanding output, customization |
74| **patterns.md** | Workflows, CI/CD, monorepos | Real-world integration |
75| **gotchas.md** | Troubleshooting failures | Deployment blocked, errors |
76 
77## Reading Order
78 
79| Task | Read |
80|------|------|
81| Create first project | README only |
82| Set up CI/CD | README → api → patterns |
83| Debug failed deploy | gotchas |
84| Understand generated files | configuration |
85| Full CLI reference | api |
86| Create custom template | patterns → configuration |
87| Convert existing project | README → patterns |
88 
89## Post-Creation
90 
91```bash
92cd my-app
93 
94# Local dev with hot reload
95npm run dev
96 
97# Generate TypeScript types for bindings
98npm run cf-typegen
99 
100# Deploy to Cloudflare
101npm run deploy
102```
103 
104## See Also
105 
106- **workers/README.md** - Workers runtime, bindings, APIs
107- **workers-ai/README.md** - AI/ML models
108- **pages/README.md** - Pages-specific features
109- **wrangler/README.md** - Wrangler CLI beyond initial setup
110- **d1/README.md** - SQLite database
111- **r2/README.md** - Object storage
112