diff --git a/bin/build b/bin/build
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..d8d4ad95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/build
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env ruby
+
+require "fileutils"
+require "yaml"
+require_relative "lib/build_config"
+require_relative "lib/builder"
+require_relative "lib/terminal"
+
+# Usage:
+#
+#   $ ./build "all_variants" | "vanilla" | "default" | <ci_config_name>
+#
+# where <ci_config_name> is the name of a file in the `ci/configs` directory
+# (minus the .yml extension)
+#
+# Examples:
+#
+#   $ ./build all_variants  # build every known variant
+#   $ ./build vanilla       # build a vanilla Rails app (which doesn't use our template)
+#   $ ./build default       # build using the default config
+#   $ ./build basic         # build using the basic CI config
+#   $ ./build react         # build using the React CI config
+#
+# You can capture the output to a file using the `tee` command:
+#
+#   $ ./build all_variants | tee build.log
+#
+# If you want to capture the output to a file and keep the color output, you can
+# use the `unbuffer` command:
+#
+#   $ brew install expect # or your linux distro equivalent
+#   $ unbuffer ./build all_variants | tee build.log
+
+class Main
+  class << self
+    def main
+      configs = BuildConfig.resolve_to_configs(ARGV.first)
+
+      Terminal.puts_header(configs_summary(configs))
+
+      configs.each do |config|
+        Builder.new(config:).build
+      end
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def configs_summary(configs)
+      <<~EO_HEAD
+        Building apps for #{configs.length} configs:
+          - #{configs.map(&:name).join("\n  - ")}
+
+      EO_HEAD
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+Main.main
diff --git a/bin/create_comarison_repo_prs b/bin/create_comarison_repo_prs
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..871e6da8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/create_comarison_repo_prs
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env ruby
+
+require_relative "lib/comparison_config"
+require_relative "lib/terminal"
+
+class Main
+  class << self
+    def main(dry_run:)
+      Dir.chdir(ComparisonConfig.comparison_repo_root_path) do
+        ComparisonConfig.comparison_builds.each do |build_name|
+          Terminal.puts_header("Creating PR for #{build_name}")
+          cmd = "gh pr create --title 'Compare #{build_name} against vanilla Rails' --body 'Compare #{build_name} against vanilla Rails' --base main --head #{build_name} #{dry_run ? "--dry-run" : ""}"
+          system(cmd)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+Main.main(dry_run: ARGV.include?("--dry-run"))
diff --git a/bin/create_comparison_repo b/bin/create_comparison_repo
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..fb03b131
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/create_comparison_repo
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env ruby
+
+require "fileutils"
+require_relative "lib/comparison_config"
+require_relative "lib/terminal"
+
+class Main
+  class << self
+    def main
+      reset_comparison_repo
+      use_vanilla_rails_as_main_branch
+
+      ComparisonConfig.comparison_builds.each do |build_name|
+        populate_new_branch_for_build(build_name:)
+        checkout_main
+      end
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def reset_comparison_repo
+      repo_path = ComparisonConfig.comparison_repo_root_path
+
+      FileUtils.rm_rf(repo_path)
+      FileUtils.mkdir_p(repo_path)
+
+      Dir.chdir(repo_path) do
+        system("git init")
+        system("git remote add origin git@github.com:ackama/rails-template-variants-comparison.git")
+      end
+    end
+
+    def use_vanilla_rails_as_main_branch
+      Terminal.puts_header("Adding vanilla Rails build to main branch")
+      copy_build(build_path: ComparisonConfig.vanilla_build_path)
+      commit_changes(commit_message: "Add #{ComparisonConfig.vanilla_build_name}")
+    end
+
+    def populate_new_branch_for_build(build_name:)
+      Terminal.puts_header("Creating branch for #{build_name}")
+
+      rm_rf_except_git_dir
+      create_new_branch(branch_name: build_name)
+
+      build_path = File.join(ComparisonConfig.build_path, build_name)
+      copy_build(build_path:)
+
+      commit_changes(commit_message: "Add #{build_name}")
+    end
+
+    def checkout_main
+      Dir.chdir(ComparisonConfig.comparison_repo_root_path) do
+        system("git checkout main")
+      end
+    end
+
+    # clean out all the files from the previous build (except .git)
+    def rm_rf_except_git_dir
+      Dir.chdir(ComparisonConfig.comparison_repo_root_path) do
+        keepers = [".git", "."]
+        deletable_files = Dir.glob("{*,.*}").reject { |f| keepers.include?(f) }
+
+        FileUtils.rm_rf(deletable_files)
+      end
+    end
+
+    def create_new_branch(branch_name:)
+      Dir.chdir(ComparisonConfig.comparison_repo_root_path) do
+        system("git checkout -b #{branch_name}")
+      end
+    end
+
+    def commit_changes(commit_message:)
+      Dir.chdir(ComparisonConfig.comparison_repo_root_path) do
+        system("git add .")
+        # skip pre-commit hooks because they're not relevant here
+        system("git commit --quiet --no-verify -m '#{commit_message}'")
+      end
+    end
+
+    def copy_build(build_path:)
+      system("rsync -qav --exclude='.git' --exclude='node_modules' --exclude='tmp' #{build_path}/ #{ComparisonConfig.comparison_repo_root_path}/")
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+Main.main
diff --git a/bin/lib/build_config.rb b/bin/lib/build_config.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..481e1313
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/lib/build_config.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+class BuildConfig
+  PROJECT_ROOT_PATH = File.absolute_path(File.join(__dir__, "../.."))
+  CI_CONFIGS_PATH = File.join(PROJECT_ROOT_PATH, "ci/configs")
+  BUILD_PATH = File.join(PROJECT_ROOT_PATH, "tmp/builds")
+  TEMPLATE_PATH = File.join(PROJECT_ROOT_PATH, "template.rb")
+  TARGET_VERSIONS_PATH = File.join(PROJECT_ROOT_PATH, "target_versions.yml")
+  DEFAULT_CONFIG_NAME = "readme_example".freeze
+  VANILLA_CONFIG_NAME = "vanilla".freeze
+  APP_NAME_SUFFIX = "template_app".freeze
+  CI_CONFIGS = Dir.children(CI_CONFIGS_PATH).map { |f| f.sub(".yml", "") }
+  AVAILABLE_CONFIG_NAMES = [
+    VANILLA_CONFIG_NAME,
+    DEFAULT_CONFIG_NAME,
+    *CI_CONFIGS
+  ].freeze
+  TARGET_RAILS_MAJOR_MINOR = YAML.safe_load_file(TARGET_VERSIONS_PATH).fetch("target_rails_major_minor")
+
+  def self.all_configs
+    AVAILABLE_CONFIG_NAMES.map { |name| new(name:) }
+  end
+
+  ##
+  # Resolves the CLI parameter to a list of Config instances
+  #
+  def self.resolve_to_configs(cli_param)
+    return all_configs if cli_param == "all_variants"
+    return [new(name: cli_param)] if AVAILABLE_CONFIG_NAMES.include?(cli_param)
+
+    [new(name: DEFAULT_CONFIG_NAME)]
+  end
+
+  attr_reader :name, :app_name, :config_path
+
+  def initialize(name:)
+    @name = name
+    @app_name = case name
+                when VANILLA_CONFIG_NAME
+                  "#{name}_#{target_rails_major}_#{APP_NAME_SUFFIX}"
+                else
+                  "#{name}_#{APP_NAME_SUFFIX}"
+                end
+
+    @config_path = case name
+                   when DEFAULT_CONFIG_NAME
+                     File.join(PROJECT_ROOT_PATH, "ackama_rails_template.config.yml")
+                   when VANILLA_CONFIG_NAME
+                     nil
+                   else
+                     File.join(CI_CONFIGS_PATH, "#{name}.yml")
+                   end
+  end
+
+  def vanilla?
+    name == VANILLA_CONFIG_NAME
+  end
+
+  def app_path
+    File.join(BUILD_PATH, app_name)
+  end
+
+  def target_versions_path
+    TARGET_VERSIONS_PATH
+  end
+
+  def build_path
+    BUILD_PATH
+  end
+
+  def template_path
+    return nil if vanilla?
+
+    TEMPLATE_PATH
+  end
+
+  def inspect
+    <<~INSPECT
+      <Config:
+        @name: #{name}
+        @app_name: #{app_name}
+        @config_path: #{config_path}
+        @app_path: #{app_path}
+        @target_versions_path: #{target_versions_path}
+        @build_path: #{build_path}
+        @template_path: #{template_path}
+      >
+    INSPECT
+  end
+
+  def target_rails_major_minor
+    TARGET_RAILS_MAJOR_MINOR
+  end
+
+  def target_rails_major
+    TARGET_RAILS_MAJOR_MINOR.split(".").first
+  end
+end
diff --git a/bin/lib/builder.rb b/bin/lib/builder.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a157837d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/lib/builder.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+require "rubygems"
+
+class Builder
+  def initialize(config:)
+    @config = config
+    @rails_cmd_version = build_rails_cmd_version(target_rails_major_minor: config.target_rails_major_minor)
+  end
+
+  def build
+    Dir.chdir(@config.build_path) do
+      delete_any_previous_build
+      drop_dbs_from_previous_build
+
+      if @config.vanilla?
+        Terminal.puts_header("Building vanilla Rails app")
+        system(build_vanilla_cmd_env, build_vanilla_cmd)
+      else
+        Terminal.puts_header("Building Rails app")
+        system(build_cmd_env, build_cmd)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  private
+
+  def base_cmd_parts
+    [
+      "rails _#{@rails_cmd_version}_ new #{@config.app_name}",
+      "-d postgresql",
+      "--skip-javascript",
+      "--skip-kamal",
+      "--skip-solid"
+    ]
+  end
+
+  def build_rails_cmd_version(target_rails_major_minor:)
+    specs = Gem::Specification.find_all_by_name("rails")
+
+    raise "No versions of gem '#{gem_name}' are installed" if specs.empty?
+
+    version = specs
+              .map { _1.version.to_s }
+              .sort
+              .reverse
+              .find { |v| v.start_with?(target_rails_major_minor) }
+    test_cmd = "rails _#{version}_ -v"
+    expected_test_output = "Rails #{version}"
+    actual_test_output = `#{test_cmd}`.strip
+
+    raise "Command failed: #{test_cmd}. Actual: #{actual_test_output}" unless expected_test_output == actual_test_output
+
+    Terminal.puts_header("Using Rails version #{version}")
+
+    version
+  end
+
+  def delete_any_previous_build
+    FileUtils.rm_rf(@config.app_path)
+  end
+
+  def build_cmd
+    cmd_parts = base_cmd_parts.append("-m #{@config.template_path}")
+
+    puts <<~EO_INFO
+      Building command:: #{cmd_parts.inspect}
+    EO_INFO
+
+    cmd_parts.join(" ")
+  end
+
+  def build_cmd_env
+    cmd_env = {
+      "TARGET_VERSIONS_PATH" => @config.target_versions_path,
+      "CONFIG_PATH" => @config.config_path
+    }
+
+    puts <<~EO_INFO
+      Building ENV: #{cmd_env.inspect}
+    EO_INFO
+
+    cmd_env
+  end
+
+  def build_vanilla_cmd_env
+    {}
+  end
+
+  def build_vanilla_cmd
+    puts <<~EO_INFO
+      Building command: #{base_cmd_parts.inspect}
+    EO_INFO
+
+    base_cmd_parts.join(" ")
+  end
+
+  def drop_dbs_from_previous_build
+    Terminal.puts_header("Dropping databases from previous build")
+    system "psql -c 'DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS #{@config.app_name}_test;'"
+    system "psql -c 'DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS #{@config.app_name}_development;'"
+    system "psql -c 'DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS #{@config.app_name}_test;'"
+  end
+end
diff --git a/bin/lib/comparison_config.rb b/bin/lib/comparison_config.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e27d6a3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/lib/comparison_config.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+class ComparisonConfig
+  PROJECT_ROOT_PATH = File.absolute_path(File.join(__dir__, "../.."))
+  BUILD_PATH = File.join(PROJECT_ROOT_PATH, "tmp/builds")
+
+  class << self
+    def build_path
+      BUILD_PATH
+    end
+
+    def comparison_repo_root_path
+      File.join(PROJECT_ROOT_PATH, "tmp/rails-template-variants-comparison")
+    end
+
+    def vanilla_build_name
+      all_builds.find { |build_name| build_name.start_with?("vanilla_") }
+    end
+
+    def vanilla_build_path
+      File.join(BUILD_PATH, vanilla_build_name)
+    end
+
+    def comparison_builds
+      all_builds - [vanilla_build_name]
+    end
+
+    def all_builds
+      Dir.children(BUILD_PATH)
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/bin/lib/terminal.rb b/bin/lib/terminal.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f55fb5ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/lib/terminal.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+class Terminal
+  class << self
+    def puts_header(title)
+      puts <<~EO_HEADER
+
+        #{title}
+        #{"=" * title.length}
+
+      EO_HEADER
+    end
+  end
+end