:thumbsup: to this sentiment. Whenever I see a "skeleton" starter project that includes tooling that could easily be added at a later date, I usually close the tab.
I think people forget that skeleton projects need to serve an educational purpose to newcomers. Each additional framework/tool that you throw into the mix compromises the skeleton's ability to do that.
Trying to bolt tooling onto an existing project is daunting, especially when you're not sure how it works yet. When I started with a fresh skeleton project, two source files, the whole shebang set-up, it was super easy. Just add my extra source files in the dir, and it's picked up.
I love it when a skeleton project includes the entire toolset. I can easily remove stuff I don't need, even when I don't know how it works. But adding JS tooling myself? What a disaster.
Now, I look at my first project, the one I had to add gulp and everything to myself, and it's a complete mess. A lot of time and effort would have been saved if I had just started with a good directory structure right away.
My point is that you shouldn't have to learn a long list of tools in order to learn the underlying framework the project is trying to introduce.
I can easily remove stuff I don't need, even when I don't know how it works. But adding JS tooling myself? What a disaster.
Really? I've walked in on quite a few existing gulp/grunt/insert-latest-hotness setups and found them incredibly hard to follow (let alone unwind) without a solid understanding of these tools.