fix: reject reserved script names when creating crews and flows

Fixes #4345

When creating a crew with 'crewai create crew test', the name 'test'
conflicts with the 'test' script entry in pyproject.toml, causing a
duplicate key error.

This change adds validation to reject project names that would conflict
with reserved script names in the generated pyproject.toml:

For crews: run_crew, train, replay, test, run_with_trigger
For flows: kickoff, run_crew, plot, run_with_trigger

The fix provides a clear error message asking users to choose a
different name.

Co-Authored-By: João <joao@crewai.com>

lib/crewai/src/crewai/cli/create_crew.py

@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ from crewai.cli.provider import (
 from crewai.cli.utils import copy_template, load_env_vars, write_env_file
 
 
+RESERVED_CREW_NAMES = frozenset({"run_crew", "train", "replay", "test", "run_with_trigger"})
+
+
 def create_folder_structure(name, parent_folder=None):
     import keyword
     import re
@@ -46,6 +49,11 @@ def create_folder_structure(name, parent_folder=None):
             f"Project name '{name}' would generate folder name '{folder_name}' which is a reserved Python keyword"
         )
 
+    if folder_name in RESERVED_CREW_NAMES:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"Project name '{name}' would generate folder name '{folder_name}' which conflicts with a reserved script name in pyproject.toml. Please choose a different name."
+        )
+
     if not folder_name.isidentifier():
         raise ValueError(
             f"Project name '{name}' would generate invalid Python module name '{folder_name}'"

lib/crewai/src/crewai/cli/create_flow.py

@@ -1,15 +1,27 @@
 from pathlib import Path
+import re
 
 import click
 
 from crewai.telemetry import Telemetry
 
 
+RESERVED_FLOW_NAMES = frozenset({"kickoff", "run_crew", "plot", "run_with_trigger"})
+
+
 def create_flow(name):
     """Create a new flow."""
     folder_name = name.replace(" ", "_").replace("-", "_").lower()
+    folder_name = re.sub(r"[^a-zA-Z0-9_]", "", folder_name)
     class_name = name.replace("_", " ").replace("-", " ").title().replace(" ", "")
 
+    if folder_name in RESERVED_FLOW_NAMES:
+        click.secho(
+            f"Error: Project name '{name}' would generate folder name '{folder_name}' which conflicts with a reserved script name in pyproject.toml. Please choose a different name.",
+            fg="red",
+        )
+        return
+
     click.secho(f"Creating flow {folder_name}...", fg="green", bold=True)
 
     project_root = Path(folder_name)

lib/crewai/tests/cli/test_create_crew.py

@@ -6,7 +6,11 @@ from unittest import mock
 
 import pytest
 from click.testing import CliRunner
-from crewai.cli.create_crew import create_crew, create_folder_structure
+from crewai.cli.create_crew import (
+    RESERVED_CREW_NAMES,
+    create_crew,
+    create_folder_structure,
+)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
@@ -280,7 +284,7 @@ def test_create_folder_structure_folder_name_validation():
         valid_cases = [
             ("hello-world/", "hello_world"),
             ("my.project/", "myproject"),
-            ("test@123/", "test123"),
+            ("check@123/", "check123"),
             ("valid_name/", "valid_name"),
         ]
 
@@ -328,3 +332,33 @@ def test_env_vars_are_uppercased_in_env_file(
     env_file_path = crew_path / ".env"
     content = env_file_path.read_text()
     assert "MODEL=" in content
+
+
+def test_create_folder_structure_rejects_reserved_crew_names():
+    """Test that reserved script names from pyproject.toml are rejected."""
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+        for reserved_name in RESERVED_CREW_NAMES:
+            with pytest.raises(
+                ValueError, match="conflicts with a reserved script name"
+            ):
+                create_folder_structure(reserved_name, parent_folder=temp_dir)
+
+            with pytest.raises(
+                ValueError, match="conflicts with a reserved script name"
+            ):
+                create_folder_structure(
+                    reserved_name.replace("_", "-"), parent_folder=temp_dir
+                )
+
+
+def test_create_folder_structure_rejects_test_name():
+    """Test that 'test' name is rejected as it conflicts with pyproject.toml scripts."""
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="conflicts with a reserved script name"):
+            create_folder_structure("test", parent_folder=temp_dir)
+
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="conflicts with a reserved script name"):
+            create_folder_structure("Test", parent_folder=temp_dir)
+
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="conflicts with a reserved script name"):
+            create_folder_structure("TEST", parent_folder=temp_dir)

lib/crewai/tests/cli/test_create_flow.py

@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+import shutil
+import tempfile
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest import mock
+
+import pytest
+from click.testing import CliRunner
+
+from crewai.cli.create_flow import RESERVED_FLOW_NAMES, create_flow
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def runner():
+    return CliRunner()
+
+
+def test_create_flow_rejects_reserved_flow_names(runner):
+    """Test that reserved script names from pyproject.toml are rejected."""
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+        original_cwd = Path.cwd()
+        try:
+            import os
+
+            os.chdir(temp_dir)
+
+            for reserved_name in RESERVED_FLOW_NAMES:
+                result = runner.invoke(
+                    mock.MagicMock(), [], catch_exceptions=False, obj=None
+                )
+
+                create_flow(reserved_name)
+
+                folder_path = Path(temp_dir) / reserved_name
+                assert not folder_path.exists(), (
+                    f"Folder should not be created for reserved name: {reserved_name}"
+                )
+
+        finally:
+            import os
+
+            os.chdir(original_cwd)
+
+
+def test_create_flow_rejects_kickoff_name():
+    """Test that 'kickoff' name is rejected as it conflicts with pyproject.toml scripts."""
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+        original_cwd = Path.cwd()
+        try:
+            import os
+
+            os.chdir(temp_dir)
+
+            create_flow("kickoff")
+
+            folder_path = Path(temp_dir) / "kickoff"
+            assert not folder_path.exists(), (
+                "Folder should not be created for reserved name: kickoff"
+            )
+
+        finally:
+            import os
+
+            os.chdir(original_cwd)
+
+
+def test_create_flow_rejects_plot_name():
+    """Test that 'plot' name is rejected as it conflicts with pyproject.toml scripts."""
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+        original_cwd = Path.cwd()
+        try:
+            import os
+
+            os.chdir(temp_dir)
+
+            create_flow("plot")
+
+            folder_path = Path(temp_dir) / "plot"
+            assert not folder_path.exists(), (
+                "Folder should not be created for reserved name: plot"
+            )
+
+        finally:
+            import os
+
+            os.chdir(original_cwd)
+
+
+def test_create_flow_allows_valid_names():
+    """Test that valid names are allowed."""
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+        original_cwd = Path.cwd()
+        try:
+            import os
+
+            os.chdir(temp_dir)
+
+            with mock.patch("crewai.cli.create_flow.Telemetry"):
+                create_flow("my_valid_flow")
+
+                folder_path = Path(temp_dir) / "my_valid_flow"
+                assert folder_path.exists(), "Folder should be created for valid name"
+
+                if folder_path.exists():
+                    shutil.rmtree(folder_path)
+
+        finally:
+            import os
+
+            os.chdir(original_cwd)