Cookbooks
Elm
Chapter 1. Getting Started
Starting a new project

Elm:
Starting a new project

How to:

In Elm, kick things off with the elm init command. Navigate to your project directory and fire up your terminal:

mkdir my-elm-project
cd my-elm-project
elm init

This command creates an elm.json file and src directory. Here’s a simple “Hello, World!” in Elm:

module Main exposing (..)

import Html exposing (text)

main =
    text "Hello, World!"

When you run it with elm reactor and visit http://localhost:8000, it’s going to show “Hello, World!” in your browser.

Deep Dive

Elm came around in 2012, aiming to make front-end development more pleasant. It’s not just about the avoidance of runtime errors; Elm brings a strong focus on simplicity and developer happiness. Unlike many alternatives, such as writing raw JavaScript or using frameworks like React, Elm is a language of its own. With strong typing and pure functions, it brings predictability and maintainability to the table.

When you start a new Elm project you’re also embracing the Elm Architecture, a pattern for structuring your web apps which emphasizes simplicity and scalability. It bundles up your entire application state and how it updates. Other tools like create-elm-app can scaffold more complex setups, but starting with elm init is as lean as it gets.

See Also