## Project Setup

Foundry projects are initialized with `forge init` and follow a standard layout that works out of the box.

### Creating a project

:::steps
### Initialize a new project

```bash
$ forge init my_project
$ cd my_project
```

### Or initialize in an existing directory

```bash
$ cd existing_directory
$ forge init
```
:::

The `--force` flag initializes in non-empty directories:

```bash
$ forge init --force
```

### Initialization options

| Flag | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `--template <url>` | Use a custom template repository |
| `--no-git` | Skip git repository initialization |
| `--no-commit` | Skip initial commit |
| `--shallow` | Perform shallow clone for template |
| `--offline` | Skip dependency installation |
| `--vscode` | Generate VS Code settings |

```bash [Create from template]
$ forge init --template https://github.com/PaulRBerg/foundry-template my_project
```

```bash [Initialize without git]
$ forge init --no-git my_project
```

### What gets created

A new project includes:

:::file-tree
* +my\_project/
  * foundry.toml Project configuration
  * +src/
    * Counter.sol Example contract
  * +test/
    * Counter.t.sol Example test
  * +script/
    * Counter.s.sol Example script
  * +lib/
    * +forge-std/ Standard library
:::

### Learn more

* [Project layout](/projects/layout) — Directory structure and conventions
* [Dependencies](/projects/dependencies) — Managing external libraries
* [Soldeer](/projects/soldeer) — Alternative package manager