---
title: 'Generate Code'
description: 'Learn how to use Nx code generators to automate repetitive tasks, scaffold new projects, and maintain consistency in your codebase.'
sidebar:
  order: 5
filter: 'type:Features'
---

{% youtube src="https://youtu.be/hSM6MgWOYr8" title="Generate Code" /%}

Code generators are like automation scripts that help you scaffold projects, enforce best practices, and automate repetitive tasks. Essentially, they are TypeScript functions that accept parameters and help boost your productivity by:

- Allowing you to **scaffold new projects** or **augment existing projects** with new features, like [adding Storybook support](/docs/technologies/test-tools/storybook/introduction#generating-storybook-configuration)
- **Automating repetitive tasks** in your development workflow
- Ensuring your **code is consistent and follows best practices**

## Invoke generators

Generators come as part of [Nx plugins](/docs/concepts/nx-plugins) and can be invoked using the `nx generate` command (or `nx g`) using the following syntax: `nx g <plugin-name>:<generator-name> [options]`.

Here's an example of generating a React library:

```shell
nx g @nx/react:lib packages/mylib
```

You can also specify just the generator name and Nx will prompt you to pick between the installed plugins that provide a generator with that name.

```shell
nx g lib packages/mylib
```

When running this command, you could be prompted to choose between the `@nx/react` and `@nx/js` plugins that each provide a library generator.

To see a list of available generators in a given plugin, run `nx list <plugin-name>`. As an example, to list all generators in the @nx/react plugin:

```shell
nx list @nx/react
```

### Use Nx Console

If you prefer a visual interface, then [Nx Console](/docs/getting-started/editor-setup) is an excellent alternative. It provides a way to visually find and run generators:

![Using Nx Console to run generators](../../../assets/nx-console/nx-console-gen-code.avif)

Nx Console is an IDE extension that can be [installed here](/docs/getting-started/editor-setup).

## Build your own generator

You can also customize existing generators by overwriting their behavior or create completely new ones. This is a powerful mechanism as it allows you to:

- **automate** your organization's specific processes and workflows
- **standardize** how and where projects are created in your workspace to make sure they reflect your organization's best practices and coding standards
- **ensure** that your codebase follows your organization's best practices and style guides

At their core, generators are just functions with a specific signature and input options that get invoked by Nx. Something like the following:

```typescript
// generator.ts
import { Tree, formatFiles, installPackagesTask } from '@nx/devkit';

export default async function (tree: Tree, schema: any) {
  // Your implementation here
  // ...

  await formatFiles(tree);
  return () => {
    installPackagesTask(tree);
  };
}
```

To help build generators, Nx provides the `@nx/devkit` package containing utilities and helpers. Learn more about creating your own generators on [our docs page](/docs/extending-nx/local-generators) or watch the video below:

{% youtube src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/myqfGDWC2go" title="Scaffold new Pkgs in a PNPM Workspaces Monorepo" caption="Demonstrates how to use Nx generators in a PNPM workspace to automate the creation of libraries" /%}