diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 3a02413a4..fc3577b91 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -37,10 +37,13 @@
     "@types/node": "^22.15.29",
     "ava": "^6.2.0",
     "cross-env": "^10.1.0",
+    "esmock": "^2.7.3",
     "execa": "^9.5.2",
     "js-yaml": "^4.1.1",
     "jsdom": "^26.1.0",
+    "memfs": "^4.57.1",
     "playwright": "^1.52.0",
+    "sinon": "^21.0.3",
     "tap-xunit": "^2.4.1"
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/cli/_tests/commands/create.test.js b/packages/cli/_tests/commands/create.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ce53d2e8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/_tests/commands/create.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,309 @@
+import esmock from 'esmock'
+import path from 'node:path'
+import sinon from 'sinon'
+import test from 'ava'
+import { Volume, createFsFromVolume } from 'memfs'
+
+test.beforeEach((t) => {
+  // Create sinon sandbox for mocking
+  t.context.sandbox = sinon.createSandbox()
+
+  // Create in-memory file system
+  t.context.vol = new Volume()
+  t.context.fs = createFsFromVolume(t.context.vol)
+
+  // Setup mock directory structure
+  t.context.vol.fromJSON({
+    '/starter-template/content/_data/config.yaml': 'title: Starter Template',
+    '/starter-template/package.json': JSON.stringify({ name: 'starter-template' })
+  })
+
+  t.context.projectRoot = '/new-project'
+})
+
+test.afterEach.always((t) => {
+  // Restore all mocks
+  t.context.sandbox.restore()
+
+  // Clear in-memory file system
+  t.context.vol.reset()
+})
+
+test('create command should initialize starter and install quire', async (t) => {
+  const { sandbox, fs } = t.context
+
+  // Mock quire library
+  const mockQuire = {
+    initStarter: sandbox.stub().callsFake(async (starter, projectPath) => {
+      // Simulate creating project directory
+      fs.mkdirSync(projectPath, { recursive: true })
+      fs.writeFileSync(`${projectPath}/package.json`, JSON.stringify({ name: 'new-project' }))
+      return '1.0.0'
+    }),
+    installInProject: sandbox.stub().resolves()
+  }
+
+  // Mock config
+  const mockConfig = {
+    get: sandbox.stub().returns('default-starter')
+  }
+
+  // Use esmock to replace imports
+  const CreateCommand = await esmock('../../src/commands/create.js', {
+    '#src/lib/quire/index.js': {
+      quire: mockQuire
+    },
+    'fs-extra': fs
+  })
+
+  const command = new CreateCommand()
+  command.config = mockConfig
+  command.name = sandbox.stub().returns('new')
+
+  // Run action
+  await command.action('/new-project', 'starter-template', {})
+
+  t.true(mockQuire.initStarter.called, 'initStarter should be called')
+  t.true(mockQuire.initStarter.calledWith('starter-template', '/new-project'), 'initStarter should be called with correct arguments')
+  t.true(mockQuire.installInProject.called, 'installInProject should be called')
+  t.true(mockQuire.installInProject.calledWith('/new-project', '1.0.0'), 'installInProject should be called with project path and version')
+})
+
+test('create command should use default starter from config when not provided', async (t) => {
+  const { sandbox, fs } = t.context
+
+  // Mock quire library
+  const mockQuire = {
+    initStarter: sandbox.stub().callsFake(async (starter, projectPath) => {
+      fs.mkdirSync(projectPath, { recursive: true })
+      fs.writeFileSync(`${projectPath}/package.json`, JSON.stringify({ name: 'new-project' }))
+      return '1.0.0'
+    }),
+    installInProject: sandbox.stub().resolves()
+  }
+
+  // Mock config
+  const mockConfig = {
+    get: sandbox.stub().returns('https://github.com/thegetty/quire-starter-default')
+  }
+
+  // Use esmock to replace imports
+  const CreateCommand = await esmock('../../src/commands/create.js', {
+    '#src/lib/quire/index.js': {
+      quire: mockQuire
+    },
+    'fs-extra': fs
+  })
+
+  const command = new CreateCommand()
+  command.config = mockConfig
+  command.name = sandbox.stub().returns('new')
+
+  // Run action without starter argument
+  await command.action('/new-project', null, {})
+
+  t.true(mockConfig.get.calledWith('projectTemplate'), 'config.get should be called for projectTemplate')
+  t.true(mockQuire.initStarter.calledWith('https://github.com/thegetty/quire-starter-default', '/new-project'), 'initStarter should use default starter from config')
+})
+
+test('create command should pass quire-version option to installInProject', async (t) => {
+  const { sandbox, fs } = t.context
+
+  // Mock quire library
+  const mockQuire = {
+    initStarter: sandbox.stub().callsFake(async (starter, projectPath) => {
+      fs.mkdirSync(projectPath, { recursive: true })
+      fs.writeFileSync(`${projectPath}/package.json`, JSON.stringify({ name: 'new-project' }))
+      return '1.0.0-rc.10'
+    }),
+    installInProject: sandbox.stub().resolves()
+  }
+
+  // Mock config
+  const mockConfig = {
+    get: sandbox.stub().returns('default-starter')
+  }
+
+  // Use esmock to replace imports
+  const CreateCommand = await esmock('../../src/commands/create.js', {
+    '#src/lib/quire/index.js': {
+      quire: mockQuire
+    },
+    'fs-extra': fs
+  })
+
+  const command = new CreateCommand()
+  command.config = mockConfig
+  command.name = sandbox.stub().returns('new')
+
+  const options = { quireVersion: '1.0.0-rc.10' }
+
+  // Run action with quire-version option
+  await command.action('/new-project', 'starter-template', options)
+
+  t.true(mockQuire.installInProject.called, 'installInProject should be called')
+  const installCall = mockQuire.installInProject.getCall(0)
+  t.true(installCall.args[2] === options, 'installInProject should receive options object')
+})
+
+test('create command should handle initStarter errors gracefully', async (t) => {
+  const { sandbox, fs } = t.context
+
+  const error = new Error('Failed to initialize starter template')
+
+  // Mock quire library
+  const mockQuire = {
+    initStarter: sandbox.stub().rejects(error),
+    installInProject: sandbox.stub().resolves()
+  }
+
+  // Mock config
+  const mockConfig = {
+    get: sandbox.stub().returns('default-starter')
+  }
+
+  // Add removeSync to fs if it doesn't exist (memfs compatibility)
+  if (!fs.removeSync) {
+    fs.removeSync = sandbox.stub().callsFake((path) => {
+      if (fs.existsSync(path)) {
+        fs.rmSync(path, { recursive: true, force: true })
+      }
+    })
+  }
+
+  // Use esmock to replace imports
+  const CreateCommand = await esmock('../../src/commands/create.js', {
+    '#src/lib/quire/index.js': {
+      quire: mockQuire
+    },
+    'fs-extra': fs
+  })
+
+  const command = new CreateCommand()
+  command.config = mockConfig
+  command.name = sandbox.stub().returns('new')
+
+  // Run action - should handle error without throwing
+  await command.action('/new-project', 'starter-template', {})
+
+  t.true(mockQuire.initStarter.called, 'initStarter should be called')
+  t.false(mockQuire.installInProject.called, 'installInProject should not be called when initStarter fails')
+  t.true(fs.removeSync.called || !fs.existsSync('/new-project'), 'project directory should be removed on error')
+})
+
+test('create command should pass through debug option', async (t) => {
+  const { sandbox, fs } = t.context
+
+  // Mock quire library
+  const mockQuire = {
+    initStarter: sandbox.stub().callsFake(async (starter, projectPath) => {
+      fs.mkdirSync(projectPath, { recursive: true })
+      fs.writeFileSync(`${projectPath}/package.json`, JSON.stringify({ name: 'new-project' }))
+      return '1.0.0'
+    }),
+    installInProject: sandbox.stub().resolves()
+  }
+
+  // Mock config
+  const mockConfig = {
+    get: sandbox.stub().returns('default-starter')
+  }
+
+  // Use esmock to replace imports
+  const CreateCommand = await esmock('../../src/commands/create.js', {
+    '#src/lib/quire/index.js': { quire: mockQuire },
+    'fs-extra': fs
+  })
+
+  const command = new CreateCommand()
+  command.config = mockConfig
+  command.name = sandbox.stub().returns('new')
+
+  // Run action with debug option
+  await command.action('/new-project', 'starter-template', { debug: true })
+
+  t.true(mockQuire.initStarter.called, 'initStarter should be called')
+})
+
+test('create command should pass quire-path option to methods', async (t) => {
+  const { sandbox, fs } = t.context
+
+  // Mock quire library
+  const mockQuire = {
+    initStarter: sandbox.stub().callsFake(async (starter, projectPath) => {
+      fs.mkdirSync(projectPath, { recursive: true })
+      fs.writeFileSync(`${projectPath}/package.json`, JSON.stringify({ name: 'new-project' }))
+      return '1.0.0'
+    }),
+    installInProject: sandbox.stub().resolves()
+  }
+
+  // Mock config
+  const mockConfig = {
+    get: sandbox.stub().returns('default-starter')
+  }
+
+  // Use esmock to replace imports
+  const CreateCommand = await esmock('../../src/commands/create.js', {
+    '#src/lib/quire/index.js': {
+      quire: mockQuire
+    },
+    'fs-extra': fs
+  })
+
+  const command = new CreateCommand()
+  command.config = mockConfig
+  command.name = sandbox.stub().returns('new')
+
+  const options = { quirePath: '/custom/path/to/quire-11ty' }
+
+  // Run action with quire-path option
+  await command.action('/new-project', 'starter-template', options)
+
+  const initCall = mockQuire.initStarter.getCall(0)
+  const installCall = mockQuire.installInProject.getCall(0)
+
+  t.true(initCall.args[2] === options, 'initStarter should receive options with quire-path')
+  t.true(installCall.args[2] === options, 'installInProject should receive options with quire-path')
+})
+
+test('create command should remove temp dir and package artifacts', async (t) => {
+  const { sandbox, fs, projectRoot, vol } = t.context
+
+  // Setup project directory
+  fs.mkdirSync(projectRoot)
+
+  // Mock fs (adding copySync) and git (with mocked chainable stubs)
+  // NB: Passing `vol` here as fs because memfs only provides the cpSync there 
+  const { quire } = await esmock('../../src/lib/quire/index.js', {
+    'fs-extra': vol,
+    '#lib/git/index.js': {
+      add: () => {
+        return {
+          commit: sandbox.stub()
+        }
+      },
+      cwd: () => {
+        return {
+          rm: () => {
+            return {
+              catch: sandbox.stub()
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    'execa': {
+      // Mock `npm pack` behvaior of creating a file in .temp
+      execaCommand: sandbox.stub().withArgs(/npm pack/).callsFake(() => {
+        fs.writeFileSync(path.join(projectRoot, '.temp', 'thegetty-quire-11ty-1.0.0.tgz'), '')
+      })
+    }
+  })
+
+  await quire.installInProject(projectRoot, '1.0.0')
+
+  // Check that neither the temp dir nor the tarball exist
+  t.false(fs.existsSync(path.join(projectRoot, '.temp')))
+  t.false(fs.existsSync(path.join(projectRoot, 'thegetty-quire-11ty-1.0.0.tgz')))
+})
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index a596d6cc4..c924964f3 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
     "docs": "jsdoc2md --configure jsdoc.json --files src/**/*.js > docs/cli.md",
     "lint": "eslint src --ext .js",
     "lint:fix": "npm run lint -- --fix",
-    "test": "echo \"No test specified\" && exit 0"
+    "test": "ava ./_tests/**"
   },
   "imports": {
     "#root/*": "./*",
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/quire/index.js b/packages/cli/src/lib/quire/index.js
index aa778d9e4..de152361e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/quire/index.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/quire/index.js
@@ -179,16 +179,19 @@ async function installInProject(projectPath, quireVersion, options = {}) {
 
   // Copy if passed a path and it exists, otherwise attempt to download the tarball for this pathspec
   if (fs.existsSync(quirePath)) {
-    fs.copySync(quirePath, tempDir)
+    fs.cpSync(quirePath, tempDir, {recursive: true})
   } else {
-    await execaCommand(`npm pack ${ options.debug ? '--debug' : '--quiet' } ${quire11tyPackage}`)
+    await execaCommand(`npm pack ${ options.debug ? '--debug' : '--quiet' } --pack-destination ${tempDir} ${quire11tyPackage}`)
 
     // Extract only the package dir from the tar bar and strip it from the extracted path
-    await execaCommand(`tar -xzf thegetty-quire-11ty-${quireVersion}.tgz -C ${tempDir} --strip-components=1 package/`)
+    const tarballPath = path.join(tempDir, `thegetty-quire-11ty-${quireVersion}.tgz`)
+    await execaCommand(`tar -xzf ${tarballPath} -C ${tempDir} --strip-components=1 package/`)
+
+    fs.rmSync(tarballPath)
   }
 
   // Copy `.temp` to projectPath
-  fs.copySync(tempDir, projectPath)
+  fs.cpSync(tempDir, projectPath, {recursive: true})
 
   console.debug('[CLI:quire] installing dev dependencies into quire project')
   /**
@@ -201,7 +204,7 @@ async function installInProject(projectPath, quireVersion, options = {}) {
     await execaCommand('npm install --save-dev', { cwd: projectPath })
   } catch(error) {
     console.warn(`[CLI:error]`, error)
-    fs.removeSync(projectPath)
+    fs.rmSync(projectPath, {recursive: true})
     return
   }
 
@@ -218,7 +221,7 @@ async function installInProject(projectPath, quireVersion, options = {}) {
   await git.add(eleventyFilesToCommit).commit('Adds `@thegetty/quire-11ty` files')
 
   // remove temporary 11ty install directory
-  fs.removeSync(path.join(projectPath, temp11tyDirectory))
+  fs.rmSync(path.join(projectPath, temp11tyDirectory), {recursive: true})
 }
 
 /**