chore: improve "npm create zenstack" template

[ymc9]

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Chores
  • Updated template dependencies and configuration for improved internal consistency.

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[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

The pull request updates the import path for SqliteDialect from 'kysely' to '@zenstackhq/orm/dialects/sqlite' and renames the client instance variable from client to db with corresponding method call updates in a templates action file.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Import Path and Variable Rename packages/cli/src/actions/templates.ts	Updated SqliteDialect import path from 'kysely' to '@zenstackhq/orm/dialects/sqlite'; renamed client instance from client to db and updated method calls accordingly

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~8 minutes

• Verify that '@zenstackhq/orm/dialects/sqlite' is the correct and accessible import path
• Confirm that the db naming convention aligns with the project's conventions and doesn't conflict with existing patterns

Poem

🐰 A dialect takes a new home, oh so fine,
From the fields of 'kysely' to paths divine,
Client becomes db, sleek and bright,
Names realigned, everything feels right! ✨

Pre-merge checks and finishing touches

✅ Passed checks (3 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title accurately reflects the main change: updating the template in packages/cli/src/actions/templates.ts to use the new dialect import path and improve client naming conventions.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.

✨ Finishing touches

• 📝 Generate docstrings

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Post copyable unit tests in a comment
• Commit unit tests in branch chore/improve-create-template

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📜 Recent review details

Configuration used: Path: .coderabbit.yaml

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 081e434 and 8ff15dd.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• packages/cli/src/actions/templates.ts (1 hunks)

🧰 Additional context used

🧠 Learnings (6)

📓 Common learnings

Learnt from: CR
Repo: zenstackhq/zenstack-v3 PR: 0
File: CLAUDE.md:0-0
Timestamp: 2025-11-26T01:55:04.540Z
Learning: Applies to packages/zenstackhq/orm/**/*.{ts,tsx} : Use Kysely as the query builder interface for low-level database queries, avoiding raw SQL when possible

📚 Learning: 2025-11-26T01:55:04.540Z

Learnt from: CR
Repo: zenstackhq/zenstack-v3 PR: 0
File: CLAUDE.md:0-0
Timestamp: 2025-11-26T01:55:04.540Z
Learning: Applies to packages/zenstackhq/orm/**/*.{ts,tsx} : Use Kysely as the query builder interface for low-level database queries, avoiding raw SQL when possible

Applied to files:

• packages/cli/src/actions/templates.ts

📚 Learning: 2025-11-26T01:55:04.540Z

Learnt from: CR
Repo: zenstackhq/zenstack-v3 PR: 0
File: CLAUDE.md:0-0
Timestamp: 2025-11-26T01:55:04.540Z
Learning: Applies to packages/zenstackhq/orm/**/*.{ts,tsx} : Implement plugin hooks at ORM, Kysely, and entity mutation levels for query interception and customization

Applied to files:

• packages/cli/src/actions/templates.ts

📚 Learning: 2025-11-26T01:55:04.540Z

Learnt from: CR
Repo: zenstackhq/zenstack-v3 PR: 0
File: CLAUDE.md:0-0
Timestamp: 2025-11-26T01:55:04.540Z
Learning: Database migrations should use Prisma CLI under the hood via ZenStack commands

Applied to files:

• packages/cli/src/actions/templates.ts

📚 Learning: 2025-11-26T01:55:04.540Z

Learnt from: CR
Repo: zenstackhq/zenstack-v3 PR: 0
File: CLAUDE.md:0-0
Timestamp: 2025-11-26T01:55:04.540Z
Learning: Applies to **/*.zmodel : ZModel schema files should define database structure and policies that compile to TypeScript via `zenstack generate`

Applied to files:

• packages/cli/src/actions/templates.ts

📚 Learning: 2025-11-26T01:55:04.540Z

Learnt from: CR
Repo: zenstackhq/zenstack-v3 PR: 0
File: CLAUDE.md:0-0
Timestamp: 2025-11-26T01:55:04.540Z
Learning: Applies to packages/zenstackhq/orm/**/*.test.{ts,tsx} : ORM package tests should include comprehensive client API tests and policy tests

Applied to files:

• packages/cli/src/actions/templates.ts

⏰ Context from checks skipped due to timeout of 90000ms. You can increase the timeout in your CodeRabbit configuration to a maximum of 15 minutes (900000ms). (3)

• GitHub Check: Agent
• GitHub Check: build-test (20.x, sqlite)
• GitHub Check: build-test (20.x, postgresql)

🔇 Additional comments (2)

packages/cli/src/actions/templates.ts (2)

35-40: LGTM! Good naming convention improvement.

The rename from client to db is a solid improvement that aligns with common database client naming conventions. The change is applied consistently throughout the template.

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30-30: No issues found. The import path @zenstackhq/orm/dialects/sqlite is properly exported in the package configuration and correctly re-exports SqliteDialect from Kysely. The template code will function correctly when generated for new projects.

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[claude]

Claude finished @ymc9's task —— View job

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Pull Request Review ✅

Reviewing the changes in this PR to improve the "npm create zenstack" template.

Review Checklist:

• Read the changed file and understand modifications
• Analyze code quality and best practices
• Check for potential bugs or issues
• Review performance considerations
• Evaluate security concerns
• Assess test coverage impact
• Provide comprehensive feedback

Changes Summary:

The PR makes 3 key improvements to the template's TypeScript starter code:

1. Import correction: Changes SqliteDialect import from 'kysely' to '@zenstackhq/orm/dialects/sqlite'
2. Import ordering: Moves the SqliteDialect import to group ZenStack imports together
3. Variable naming: Renames client to db for better semantic clarity

Review Feedback

✅ Code Quality & Best Practices

• Import organization: Excellent improvement grouping related ZenStack imports together
• Variable naming: db is more semantically correct than client as it represents the database connection/client
• Consistency: Changes align well with ZenStack v3 architecture patterns

✅ Bug Fixes

• Critical import fix: The original import { SqliteDialect } from 'kysely' was incorrect for ZenStack v3, which uses its own dialect implementations. This would have caused runtime errors for users.
• Correct module path: @zenstackhq/orm/dialects/sqlite is the proper import path per the v3 architecture

✅ Performance Considerations

• No performance impact - these are import and naming changes only
• The corrected import ensures users get the optimized ZenStack dialect implementation

✅ Security Concerns

• No security implications in these changes
• The template continues to use appropriate patterns (local SQLite file, no hardcoded credentials)

✅ Test Coverage Impact

• Low risk: These are template strings that generate starter code
• Consideration: The template code should be tested to ensure it compiles and runs correctly with the new imports
• Location: Template tests would likely be in CLI package tests or E2E tests

💡 Recommendations

1. Template validation: Consider adding automated testing that the generated template code compiles and runs
2. Documentation: Ensure any quickstart docs reference the correct import patterns
3. Version alignment: Verify the better-sqlite3 dependency version aligns with ZenStack requirements

Overall Assessment

This is a high-quality improvement that fixes a critical bug in the starter template. The changes are minimal, focused, and address real usability issues that would block new users. The import correction is essential for ZenStack v3 compatibility.

Recommendation: ✅ Approve and merge

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[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR improves the "npm create zenstack" starter template by modernizing the imports and naming conventions. The changes align the template with ZenStack's ecosystem conventions and improve code clarity.

Key changes:

• Updated SqliteDialect import to use ZenStack's re-export path instead of direct kysely import
• Renamed ZenStackClient instance from 'client' to 'db' for better alignment with common conventions

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