diff --git a/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/package.json b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..831af5533da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+{
+  "name": "create-react-app-template-typescript",
+  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "description": "Base TypeScript template for Create React App.",
+  "repository": "facebook/create-react-app",
+  "license": "MIT",
+  "engines": {
+    "node": ">=6"
+  },
+  "bugs": {
+    "url": "https://github.com/facebook/create-react-app/issues"
+  },
+  "files": [
+    "public",
+    "src",
+    "gitignore",
+    "README.md",
+    "utils"
+  ],
+  "peerDependencies": {
+    "@types/node": "^10.12.24",
+    "@types/react": "^16.8.6",
+    "@types/react-dom": "^16.8.2",
+    "@types/jest": "^24.0.9",
+    "typescript": "^3.3.3"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/README.md b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/README.md
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/README.md
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/README.md
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/gitignore b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/gitignore
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/gitignore
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/gitignore
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/public/favicon.ico b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/public/favicon.ico
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/public/favicon.ico
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/public/favicon.ico
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/public/index.html b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/public/index.html
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/public/index.html
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/public/index.html
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/public/manifest.json b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/public/manifest.json
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/public/manifest.json
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/public/manifest.json
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/App.css b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/App.css
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/App.css
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/App.css
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/App.test.tsx b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/App.test.tsx
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/App.test.tsx
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/App.test.tsx
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/App.tsx b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/App.tsx
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/App.tsx
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/App.tsx
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/index.css b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/index.css
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/index.css
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/index.css
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/index.tsx b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/index.tsx
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/index.tsx
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/index.tsx
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/logo.svg b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/logo.svg
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/logo.svg
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/logo.svg
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/serviceWorker.ts b/packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/serviceWorker.ts
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template-typescript/src/serviceWorker.ts
rename to packages/create-react-app-template-typescript/template/src/serviceWorker.ts
diff --git a/packages/create-react-app-template/package.json b/packages/create-react-app-template/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d72a4c5ff63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/create-react-app-template/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{
+  "name": "create-react-app-template",
+  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "description": "Base template for Create React App.",
+  "repository": "facebook/create-react-app",
+  "license": "MIT",
+  "engines": {
+    "node": ">=6"
+  },
+  "bugs": {
+    "url": "https://github.com/facebook/create-react-app/issues"
+  },
+  "files": [
+    "public",
+    "src",
+    "gitignore",
+    "README.md",
+    "utils"
+  ],
+  "peerDependencies": {
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/README.md b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/README.md
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template/README.md
rename to packages/create-react-app-template/template/README.md
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/gitignore b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/gitignore
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template/gitignore
rename to packages/create-react-app-template/template/gitignore
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/public/favicon.ico b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/public/favicon.ico
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template/public/favicon.ico
rename to packages/create-react-app-template/template/public/favicon.ico
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/public/index.html b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/public/index.html
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template/public/index.html
rename to packages/create-react-app-template/template/public/index.html
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/public/manifest.json b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/public/manifest.json
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template/public/manifest.json
rename to packages/create-react-app-template/template/public/manifest.json
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/src/App.css b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/App.css
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template/src/App.css
rename to packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/App.css
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/src/App.js b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/App.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template/src/App.js
rename to packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/App.js
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/src/App.test.js b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/App.test.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template/src/App.test.js
rename to packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/App.test.js
diff --git a/packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/index.css b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/index.css
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e2bd8f36a01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/index.css
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+body {
+  margin: 0;
+  padding: 0;
+  font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Roboto', 'Oxygen',
+    'Ubuntu', 'Cantarell', 'Fira Sans', 'Droid Sans', 'Helvetica Neue',
+    sans-serif;
+  -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
+  -moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;
+}
+
+code {
+  font-family: source-code-pro, Menlo, Monaco, Consolas, 'Courier New',
+    monospace;
+}
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/src/index.js b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/index.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template/src/index.js
rename to packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/index.js
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/src/logo.svg b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/logo.svg
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template/src/logo.svg
rename to packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/logo.svg
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/src/serviceWorker.js b/packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/serviceWorker.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/react-scripts/template/src/serviceWorker.js
rename to packages/create-react-app-template/template/src/serviceWorker.js
diff --git a/packages/create-react-app/createReactApp.js b/packages/create-react-app/createReactApp.js
index 9ea51a87f5c..8d094e3b398 100755
--- a/packages/create-react-app/createReactApp.js
+++ b/packages/create-react-app/createReactApp.js
@@ -71,13 +71,17 @@ const program = new commander.Command(packageJson.name)
   })
   .option('--verbose', 'print additional logs')
   .option('--info', 'print environment debug info')
+  .option(
+    '--template <template-name>',
+    'specify the initial template for your project'
+  )
   .option(
     '--scripts-version <alternative-package>',
     'use a non-standard version of react-scripts'
   )
   .option('--use-npm')
   .option('--use-pnp')
-  .option('--typescript')
+  .option('--typescript') // Deprecated in favor of `--template`
   .allowUnknownOption()
   .on('--help', () => {
     console.log(`    Only ${chalk.green('<project-directory>')} is required.`);
@@ -165,22 +169,14 @@ function printValidationResults(results) {
   }
 }
 
-const hiddenProgram = new commander.Command()
-  .option(
-    '--internal-testing-template <path-to-template>',
-    '(internal usage only, DO NOT RELY ON THIS) ' +
-      'use a non-standard application template'
-  )
-  .parse(process.argv);
-
 createApp(
   projectName,
   program.verbose,
   program.scriptsVersion,
   program.useNpm,
   program.usePnp,
-  program.typescript,
-  hiddenProgram.internalTestingTemplate
+  program.template,
+  program.typescript
 );
 
 function createApp(
@@ -189,8 +185,8 @@ function createApp(
   version,
   useNpm,
   usePnp,
-  useTypescript,
-  template
+  templateName,
+  useTypeScript
 ) {
   const root = path.resolve(name);
   const appName = path.basename(root);
@@ -284,16 +280,32 @@ function createApp(
     }
   }
 
+  if (useTypeScript) {
+    console.log(
+      chalk.yellow(
+        'The --typescript option has been deprecated and will be removed in a future release.'
+      )
+    );
+    console.log(
+      chalk.yellow(
+        `In future, please use ${chalk.cyan('--template typescript')}.`
+      )
+    );
+    console.log();
+    if (!templateName) {
+      templateName = 'typescript';
+    }
+  }
+
   run(
     root,
     appName,
     version,
     verbose,
     originalDirectory,
-    template,
+    templateName,
     useYarn,
-    usePnp,
-    useTypescript
+    usePnp
   );
 }
 
@@ -306,7 +318,7 @@ function shouldUseYarn() {
   }
 }
 
-function install(root, useYarn, usePnp, dependencies, verbose, isOnline) {
+function install(root, useYarn, usePnp, packages, verbose, isOnline) {
   return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
     let command;
     let args;
@@ -319,7 +331,7 @@ function install(root, useYarn, usePnp, dependencies, verbose, isOnline) {
       if (usePnp) {
         args.push('--enable-pnp');
       }
-      [].push.apply(args, dependencies);
+      [].push.apply(args, packages);
 
       // Explicitly set cwd() to work around issues like
       // https://github.com/facebook/create-react-app/issues/3326.
@@ -342,7 +354,7 @@ function install(root, useYarn, usePnp, dependencies, verbose, isOnline) {
         '--save-exact',
         '--loglevel',
         'error',
-      ].concat(dependencies);
+      ].concat(packages);
 
       if (usePnp) {
         console.log(chalk.yellow("NPM doesn't support PnP."));
@@ -376,37 +388,35 @@ function run(
   originalDirectory,
   template,
   useYarn,
-  usePnp,
-  useTypescript
+  usePnp
 ) {
-  const packageToInstall = getInstallPackage(version, originalDirectory);
-  const allDependencies = ['react', 'react-dom', packageToInstall];
-  if (useTypescript) {
-    // TODO: get user's node version instead of installing latest
-    allDependencies.push(
-      '@types/node',
-      '@types/react',
-      '@types/react-dom',
-      '@types/jest',
-      'typescript'
-    );
-  }
+  const scriptsToInstall = getInstallPackage(version, originalDirectory);
+  const templateToInstall = getTemplateInstallPackage(
+    template,
+    originalDirectory
+  );
+  const packagesToInstall = [
+    'react',
+    'react-dom',
+    templateToInstall,
+    scriptsToInstall,
+  ];
 
   console.log('Installing packages. This might take a couple of minutes.');
-  getPackageName(packageToInstall)
-    .then(packageName =>
+  Promise.all(packagesToInstall.map(getPackageName))
+    .then(packageNames =>
       checkIfOnline(useYarn).then(isOnline => ({
         isOnline: isOnline,
-        packageName: packageName,
+        template: packageNames[2],
+        scripts: packageNames[3],
       }))
     )
     .then(info => {
       const isOnline = info.isOnline;
-      const packageName = info.packageName;
+      const template = info.template;
+      const scripts = info.scripts;
       console.log(
-        `Installing ${chalk.cyan('react')}, ${chalk.cyan(
-          'react-dom'
-        )}, and ${chalk.cyan(packageName)}...`
+        `Installing ${chalk.cyan(template)} with ${chalk.cyan(scripts)}...`
       );
       console.log();
 
@@ -414,14 +424,17 @@ function run(
         root,
         useYarn,
         usePnp,
-        allDependencies,
+        packagesToInstall,
         verbose,
         isOnline
-      ).then(() => packageName);
+      ).then(() => ({
+        template,
+        scripts,
+      }));
     })
-    .then(async packageName => {
-      checkNodeVersion(packageName);
-      setCaretRangeForRuntimeDeps(packageName);
+    .then(async packageNames => {
+      checkNodeVersion(packageNames.scripts);
+      setCaretRangeForRuntimeDeps(packageNames.scripts);
 
       const pnpPath = path.resolve(process.cwd(), '.pnp.js');
 
@@ -432,9 +445,9 @@ function run(
           cwd: process.cwd(),
           args: nodeArgs,
         },
-        [root, appName, verbose, originalDirectory, template],
+        [root, appName, verbose, originalDirectory],
         `
-        var init = require('${packageName}/scripts/init.js');
+        var init = require('${packageNames.scripts}/scripts/init.js');
         init.apply(null, JSON.parse(process.argv[1]));
       `
       );
@@ -487,6 +500,29 @@ function run(
     });
 }
 
+function getTemplateInstallPackage(templateName, originalDirectory) {
+  let templateToInstall = 'create-react-app-template';
+  if (templateName) {
+    if (templateName.startsWith('file:')) {
+      // Handle local templates.
+      templateToInstall = `file:${path.resolve(
+        originalDirectory,
+        templateName.match(/^file:(.*)?$/)[1]
+      )}`;
+    } else if (
+      templateName.includes('://') ||
+      templateName.match(/^.+\.(tgz|tar\.gz)$/)
+    ) {
+      // Handle remote and packaged templates.
+      templateToInstall = templateName;
+    } else if (!templateName.startsWith(templateToInstall)) {
+      // Add prefix `create-react-app-template` to non-prefixed templateNames.
+      templateToInstall += `-${templateName}`;
+    }
+  }
+  return templateToInstall;
+}
+
 function getInstallPackage(version, originalDirectory) {
   let packageToInstall = 'react-scripts';
   const validSemver = semver.valid(version);
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/package.json b/packages/react-scripts/package.json
index cbee8cec84e..b87decab989 100644
--- a/packages/react-scripts/package.json
+++ b/packages/react-scripts/package.json
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
     "config",
     "lib",
     "scripts",
-    "template",
-    "template-typescript",
     "utils"
   ],
   "bin": {
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/scripts/init.js b/packages/react-scripts/scripts/init.js
index 9b473ab3d95..bcfe142bcc1 100644
--- a/packages/react-scripts/scripts/init.js
+++ b/packages/react-scripts/scripts/init.js
@@ -75,23 +75,18 @@ function tryGitInit(appPath) {
   }
 }
 
-module.exports = function(
-  appPath,
-  appName,
-  verbose,
-  originalDirectory,
-  template
-) {
-  const ownPath = path.dirname(
-    require.resolve(path.join(__dirname, '..', 'package.json'))
-  );
+module.exports = function(appPath, appName, verbose, originalDirectory) {
   const appPackage = require(path.join(appPath, 'package.json'));
   const useYarn = fs.existsSync(path.join(appPath, 'yarn.lock'));
 
-  // Copy over some of the devDependencies
-  appPackage.dependencies = appPackage.dependencies || {};
+  const templateName = Object.keys(appPackage.dependencies).find(name =>
+    name.replace(/^@.+\//, '').startsWith('create-react-app-template')
+  );
+  const templatePath = path.join(appPath, 'node_modules', templateName);
+  const templatePackage = require(path.join(templatePath, 'package.json'));
 
-  const useTypeScript = appPackage.dependencies['typescript'] != null;
+  // Copy over some of the dependencies
+  appPackage.dependencies = appPackage.dependencies || {};
 
   // Setup the script rules
   appPackage.scripts = {
@@ -122,15 +117,13 @@ module.exports = function(
     );
   }
 
-  // Copy the files for the user
-  const templatePath = template
-    ? path.resolve(originalDirectory, template)
-    : path.join(ownPath, useTypeScript ? 'template-typescript' : 'template');
-  if (fs.existsSync(templatePath)) {
-    fs.copySync(templatePath, appPath);
+  // Copy template files
+  const templateDir = path.join(templatePath, 'template');
+  if (fs.existsSync(templateDir)) {
+    fs.copySync(templateDir, appPath);
   } else {
     console.error(
-      `Could not locate supplied template: ${chalk.green(templatePath)}`
+      `Could not locate supplied template: ${chalk.green(templateDir)}`
     );
     return;
   }
@@ -156,6 +149,7 @@ module.exports = function(
 
   let command;
   let args;
+  let proc;
 
   if (useYarn) {
     command = 'yarnpkg';
@@ -164,38 +158,65 @@ module.exports = function(
     command = 'npm';
     args = ['install', '--save', verbose && '--verbose'].filter(e => e);
   }
-  args.push('react', 'react-dom');
 
-  // Install additional template dependencies, if present
-  const templateDependenciesPath = path.join(
-    appPath,
-    '.template.dependencies.json'
-  );
-  if (fs.existsSync(templateDependenciesPath)) {
-    const templateDependencies = require(templateDependenciesPath).dependencies;
-    args = args.concat(
-      Object.keys(templateDependencies).map(key => {
-        return `${key}@${templateDependencies[key]}`;
-      })
-    );
-    fs.unlinkSync(templateDependenciesPath);
-  }
+  const templateDependencies = templatePackage.peerDependencies;
+  const packagesToInstall = Object.keys(templateDependencies)
+    .filter(key => !key.includes('react-scripts'))
+    .map(key => `${key}@${templateDependencies[key]}`);
+  args = args.concat(packagesToInstall);
 
-  // Install react and react-dom for backward compatibility with old CRA cli
-  // which doesn't install react and react-dom along with react-scripts
-  // or template is presetend (via --internal-testing-template)
-  if (!isReactInstalled(appPackage) || template) {
-    console.log(`Installing react and react-dom using ${command}...`);
-    console.log();
+  console.log();
+  console.log(`Installing template dependencies using ${command}...`);
+  console.log();
 
-    const proc = spawn.sync(command, args, { stdio: 'inherit' });
+  if (packagesToInstall) {
+    // Install template dependencies
+    proc = spawn.sync(command, args, { stdio: 'inherit' });
     if (proc.status !== 0) {
       console.error(`\`${command} ${args.join(' ')}\` failed`);
       return;
     }
   }
 
-  if (useTypeScript) {
+  const installedScriptsName = Object.keys(appPackage.dependencies).find(key =>
+    key.includes('react-scripts')
+  );
+  const installedScriptsVersion = appPackage.dependencies[installedScriptsName];
+  const templateScriptsName = Object.keys(templateDependencies).find(key =>
+    key.includes('react-scripts')
+  );
+  const templateScriptsVersion = templateDependencies[templateScriptsName];
+  if (
+    !!templateScriptsName &&
+    (installedScriptsName !== templateScriptsName ||
+      installedScriptsVersion !== templateScriptsVersion)
+  ) {
+    console.log();
+    console.log(
+      chalk.yellow(
+        `The template requested \`${templateScriptsName}@${templateScriptsVersion}\`, however \`${installedScriptsName}@${installedScriptsVersion}\` has been installed.`
+      )
+    );
+    console.log();
+    console.log(
+      chalk.yellow(
+        `This may cause unexpected behaviour. Please check with the template's author for more information.`
+      )
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Remove template package
+  console.log();
+  console.log(`Removing unnecessary template files using ${command}...`);
+  console.log();
+
+  proc = spawn.sync(command, ['remove', templateName], { stdio: 'inherit' });
+  if (proc.status !== 0) {
+    console.error(`\`${command} ${args.join(' ')}\` failed`);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  if (appPackage.dependencies['typescript'] != null) {
     verifyTypeScriptSetup();
   }
 
@@ -257,12 +278,3 @@ module.exports = function(
   console.log();
   console.log('Happy hacking!');
 };
-
-function isReactInstalled(appPackage) {
-  const dependencies = appPackage.dependencies || {};
-
-  return (
-    typeof dependencies.react !== 'undefined' &&
-    typeof dependencies['react-dom'] !== 'undefined'
-  );
-}
diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/template/src/index.css b/packages/react-scripts/template/src/index.css
deleted file mode 100644
index cee5f348fb9..00000000000
--- a/packages/react-scripts/template/src/index.css
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-body {
-  margin: 0;
-  padding: 0;
-  font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Roboto", "Oxygen",
-    "Ubuntu", "Cantarell", "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue",
-    sans-serif;
-  -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
-  -moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;
-}
-
-code {
-  font-family: source-code-pro, Menlo, Monaco, Consolas, "Courier New",
-    monospace;
-}