Support GIT url in create-sitecore-jss to be able to create project from more templates

[Antonytm]

Is your suggestion related to a problem? Please describe.

There are JSS-based non-official starter kits:

1. Next.js + StoryBook https://github.com/jflheureux/jss-nextjs-storybook
2. JSS + Astro https://github.com/exdst/jss-astro-public
3. Nuxt. I guess URL will be announced on https://www.meetup.com/rocky-mountain-sitecore-user-group-denver/events/297349120/
4. Headless examples (Probably outdated) https://github.com/Sitecore/headless-examples/tree/main/examples
5. ... (There are more of them)

And there is a good article by @illiakovalenko
https://dev.to/illiakovalenko/how-to-contribute-a-new-framework-to-sitecore-jss-232a
"How to contribute a new framework to Sitecore JSS"
(I used it as a guide for creation initializers for https://github.com/exdst/jss-astro-public)

However, without access to https://github.com/sitecore/jss repo, you can't add a new template.
You can create PR, but you do not necessarily want to. The reasons could be different.
E.g. for my case(https://github.com/exdst/jss-astro-public), in order to create PR for Astro Starter Kit I will need to merge a lot of additional code. Because keeping the main logic in the separate repo, but having Astro sample in the main repo will be strange. Merging another framework or project template is an additional responsibility. The Sitecore team doesn't necessarily have the capacity, desire or business needs to support the +1 framework or +1 template. (P.S. If at some point, you would like to have Astro in the main repo, just let me know)

I think that the presence of other templates and examples means that the community needs the ability to initialize Sitecore JSS using the GIT URL.

Some examples:

1. create-next-app https://nextjs.org/docs/pages/api-reference/create-next-app supports -e

An example to bootstrap the app with. You can use an example name
from the official Next.js repo or a public GitHub URL. The URL can use
any branch and/or subdirectory

2. create-astro https://www.npmjs.com/package/create-astro supports --template [GITHUB_USER]/[REPO_NAME]/path/to/example

Describe the solution you'd like

I like the Next.js way https://github.com/vercel/next.js/tree/canary/packages/create-next-app
As the Sitecore JSS repo is now Next. js-centric, adopting the Next.js approach would be nice.

But, the current create-next-app approach could be also extended with the --git option.

Is there a way to achieve this functionality with exisiting tools?

There are other options:

1. Each new example code owner may create its own initializer. I have doubts that it will be done.
2. You may use the main framework initializer like it is done for Next.js/Vercel XM Cloud: https://vercel.com/templates/next.js/sitecore-starter
3. Initialize a new JSS project by cloning some repos.

Additional information

No response

[illiakovalenko]

@Antonytm thank you for the amazing idea! We will certainly discuss that and likely incorporate it into our plans. This feature holds significant value for external contributors.

[illiakovalenko]

@Antonytm Btw, I planned to work on POC for JSS + Astro, but you already did the implementation =). Good job!