Description
As part of the ongoing Yeoman Maintenance Reboot Initiative, we’re reviewing the long-term direction for generator-webapp — one of Yeoman’s classic generators.
This project has served developers for years, helping scaffold modern front-end web apps with build tools and optimizations.
However, since the stalled v4 planning (https://github.com/yeoman/generator-webapp/issues/759), the web ecosystem has changed a lot — and it’s time to decide what makes sense next.
💬 What We’d Like to Discuss
We’d love input from the community on the future of generator-webapp.
Should we:
Option 1: Deprecate
Formally deprecate the package and encourage developers to migrate to more modern, framework-specific tooling (Vite, CRA alternatives, static site starters, etc.).
This would mean no new features or maintenance, and the repository could eventually be archived and the npm package deprecated.
Option 2: Rebuild for 2025
Archive this repo (similar to generator-webapp_DEPRECATED) and start a new project from scratch, focused on:
- Classic, framework-agnostic HTML/CSS/JS
- Optional utilities like TypeScript, Sass, and testing setups
- E2E testing support
- Simple “old-school” scaffolding with a modern toolchain
This could keep Yeoman’s original purpose alive — generating clean, flexible web app starters without framework lock-in.
🧭 Context
- The v4 effort has been on hold for few years.
- Dependencies and build tools are outdated.
- The web ecosystem has moved significantly (bundlers, frameworks, etc.).
- It might be time to rethink the purpose of a “Yeoman web app generator” in 2025.
💡 How You Can Help
We’d love to hear from you:
- Do you still use
generator-webapp? - Would you prefer deprecation or a fresh reboot?
- What kind of “modern classic” stack would you find useful today?
All feedback — big or small — is welcome! 🎩