Share a project as a preset

A preset is a .kikx-preset.json file that lists your components and their field values. Anyone can render it into real files with the CLI, or open it again in the dashboard. kikx also ships a few ready-made presets, called templates, to start from.

Start from a template

List the templates:

kikx presets

Each entry starts with the template name, for example single-server or k8s-web-app. Pass that name wherever this page uses a preset file:

kikx setup single-server
kikx apply k8s-web-app --into deploy/k8s

In the dashboard, go to the home page and click a card under Start from a template. The builder opens with every component of the template loaded, ready to edit.

The files are yours from then on. Nothing links them back to the template.

Download a preset from the dashboard

  1. Build your project.

  2. At the bottom of the Project panel, click Download preset.

The browser saves <project-name>.kikx-preset.json. The panel then shows the two commands to run it, with copy buttons.

Download .zip in the header is different. It gives you the rendered files themselves, not a recipe.

Start a new project from a preset

In an empty directory:

kikx setup ./platform.kikx-preset.json

setup writes kikx.toml, using the preset’s project name, namespace and output directory, and renders every component into that output directory. Afterwards, kikx add works in that directory as usual.

setup stops if kikx.toml already exists. Pass --force to overwrite both the config and any existing files.

Add a preset to a repo you already have

kikx apply ./platform.kikx-preset.json --into ops/ansible

apply never creates or reads kikx.toml. It writes the files under --into, relative to the current directory. Without --into, files land directly in the current directory. The preset’s output directory is ignored.

If any target file already exists, apply writes nothing and names the file. Re-run with --force to overwrite.

Choose between setup and apply

You want to…

Use

Start a fresh kikx project, then keep using kikx add

kikx setup

Drop the files into an existing repo, at a path you choose

kikx apply --into <dir>

Both re-render every component from the registry each time, so a preset picks up template fixes. The files aren’t a frozen snapshot.

Load a preset from a URL

Both commands also accept a URL:

kikx apply https://example.com/platform.kikx-preset.json --into infra

Open a preset in the dashboard

  1. Go to the home page. If you’re in the builder, click Start over in the header.

  2. Click Open a preset and pick the .kikx-preset.json file.

The dashboard re-renders every component through the backend, then opens the builder with the project loaded. If a component can’t render, for example a custom registry item the backend can’t reach, the preset doesn’t open and an error names the problem.

Opening a preset replaces the project currently in the browser. Download what you have first if you want to keep it.

See also