diff --git a/Project.toml b/Project.toml
index e80b8c4f..5278b307 100644
--- a/Project.toml
+++ b/Project.toml
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ CondaPkg = "992eb4ea-22a4-4c89-a5bb-47a3300528ab"
 PythonCall = "6099a3de-0909-46bc-b1f4-468b9a2dfc0d"
 TOML = "fa267f1f-6049-4f14-aa54-33bafae1ed76"
 UUIDs = "cf7118a7-6976-5b1a-9a39-7adc72f591a4"
+YAML = "ddb6d928-2868-570f-bddf-ab3f9cf99eb6"
 
 [compat]
 CondaPkg = "0.2"
diff --git a/copier.yml b/copier.yml
index 67717a4a..8e68b2ed 100644
--- a/copier.yml
+++ b/copier.yml
@@ -130,16 +130,4 @@ _skip_if_exists:
 _subdirectory: template
 
 _message_after_copy: |
-  Your package {{ PackageName }}.jl has been created successfully! 🎉
-
-  Next steps: Create git repository and push to Github.
-  $ cd <path>
-  $ git init
-  $ git add .
-  $ pre-commit run -a # Try to fix possible pre-commit issues (failures are expected)
-  $ git add .
-  $ git commit -m "First commit"
-  $ pre-commit install # Future commits can't be directly to main unless you use -n
-  Create a repo on GitHub and push your code to it.
-
-  Read the full guide: https://abelsiqueira.com/BestieTemplate.jl/stable/10-full-guide
+  All went well on copier's side. Going back to BestieTemplate.
diff --git a/src/BestieTemplate.jl b/src/BestieTemplate.jl
index e69f3c17..b5dc97bf 100644
--- a/src/BestieTemplate.jl
+++ b/src/BestieTemplate.jl
@@ -4,18 +4,40 @@
 This package defines a copier template for Julia packages and a basic user interface aroud copier
 to use it from Julia.
 
-The main functions are: [`generate`](@ref) and [`update`](@ref).
+The main functions are: [`generate`](@ref), [`apply`](@ref), and [`update`](@ref).
 """
 module BestieTemplate
 
 include("Copier.jl")
 
 using TOML: TOML
+using YAML: YAML
+
+"""
+    _copy(src_path, dst_path, data; kwargs...)
+
+Internal function to run common code for new or existing packages.
+"""
+function _copy(src_path, dst_path, data; kwargs...)
+  # If the PackageName was not given or guessed from the Project.toml, use the sanitized path
+  if !haskey(data, "PackageName")
+    package_name = _sanitize_package_name(dst_path)
+    if package_name != ""
+      @info "Using sanitized path $package_name as package name"
+      data["PackageName"] = package_name
+    end
+  end
+  Copier.copy(src_path, dst_path, data; kwargs...)
+end
 
 """
     generate(dst_path[, data]; kwargs...)
     generate(src_path, dst_path[, data]; true, kwargs...)
 
+Generates a new project at the path `dst_path` using the template.
+If the `dst_path` already exists, this will throw an error, unless `dst_path = "."`.
+For existing packages, use `BestieTemplate.apply` instead.
+
 Runs the `copy` command of [copier](https://github.com/copier-org/copier) with the BestieTemplate template.
 If `src_path` is not informed, the GitHub URL of BestieTemplate.jl is used.
 
@@ -27,7 +49,67 @@ The `data` argument is a dictionary of answers (values) to questions (keys) that
 
 The other keyword arguments are passed directly to the internal [`Copier.copy`](@ref).
 """
-function generate(src_path, dst_path, data::Dict = Dict(); warn_existing_pkg = true, kwargs...)
+function generate(src_path, dst_path, data::Dict = Dict(); kwargs...)
+  if dst_path != "." && isdir(dst_path) && length(readdir(dst_path)) > 0
+    error("$dst_path already exists. For existing packages, use `BestieTemplate.apply` instead.")
+  end
+
+  _copy(src_path, dst_path, data; kwargs...)
+
+  data = YAML.load_file(joinpath(dst_path, ".copier-answers.yml"))
+  package_name = data["PackageName"]
+  bestie_version = data["_commit"]
+
+  println("""Your package $package_name.jl has been created successfully! 🎉
+
+  Next steps: Create git repository and push to Github.
+  \$ cd <path>
+  \$ git init
+  \$ git add .
+  \$ pre-commit run -a # Try to fix possible pre-commit issues (failures are expected)
+  \$ git add .
+  \$ git commit -m "Generate repo with BestieTemplate $bestie_version"
+  \$ pre-commit install # Future commits can't be directly to main unless you use -n
+  Create a repo on GitHub and push your code to it.
+
+  Read the full guide: https://abelsiqueira.com/BestieTemplate.jl/stable/10-full-guide
+  """)
+
+  return nothing
+end
+
+function generate(dst_path, data::Dict = Dict(); kwargs...)
+  generate("https://github.com/abelsiqueira/BestieTemplate.jl", dst_path, data; kwargs...)
+end
+
+"""
+    apply(dst_path[, data]; kwargs...)
+    apply(src_path, dst_path[, data]; true, kwargs...)
+
+Applies the template to an existing project at path ``dst_path``.
+If the `dst_path` does not exist, this will throw an error.
+For new packages, use `BestieTemplate.generate` instead.
+
+Runs the `copy` command of [copier](https://github.com/copier-org/copier) with the BestieTemplate template.
+If `src_path` is not informed, the GitHub URL of BestieTemplate.jl is used.
+
+The `data` argument is a dictionary of answers (values) to questions (keys) that can be used to bypass some of the interactive questions.
+
+## Keyword arguments
+
+- `warn_existing_pkg::Boolean = true`: Whether to check if you actually meant `update`. If you run `apply` and the `dst_path` contains a `.copier-answers.yml`, it means that the copy was already made, so you might have means `update` instead. When `true`, a warning is shown and execution is stopped.
+
+The other keyword arguments are passed directly to the internal [`Copier.copy`](@ref).
+"""
+function apply(src_path, dst_path, data::Dict = Dict(); warn_existing_pkg = true, kwargs...)
+  if !isdir(dst_path)
+    error("$dst_path does not exist. For new packages, use `BestieTemplate.generate` instead.")
+  end
+  if !isdir(joinpath(dst_path, ".git"))
+    error("""No folder $dst_path/.git found. Are you using git on the project?
+          To apply to existing packages, git is required to avoid data loss.""")
+  end
+
   if warn_existing_pkg && isfile(joinpath(dst_path, ".copier-answers.yml"))
     @warn """There already exists a `.copier-answers.yml` file in the destination path.
     You might have meant to use `BestieTemplate.update` instead, which only fetches the non-applying updates.
@@ -37,8 +119,8 @@ function generate(src_path, dst_path, data::Dict = Dict(); warn_existing_pkg = t
     return nothing
   end
 
-  # If there are answers in the destionation path, skip guessing the answers
-  if !isfile(joinpath(dst_path, ".copier-answers")) && isdir(dst_path)
+  # If there are answers in the destination path, skip guessing the answers
+  if !isfile(joinpath(dst_path, ".copier-answers"))
     existing_data = _read_data_from_existing_path(dst_path)
     for (key, value) in existing_data
       @info "Inferred $key=$value from destination path"
@@ -48,21 +130,38 @@ function generate(src_path, dst_path, data::Dict = Dict(); warn_existing_pkg = t
     end
     data = merge(existing_data, data)
   end
-  # If the PackageName was not given or guessed from the Project.toml, use the sanitized path
-  if !haskey(data, "PackageName")
-    package_name = _sanitize_package_name(dst_path)
-    if package_name != ""
-      @info "Using sanitized path $package_name as package name"
-      data["PackageName"] = package_name
-    end
-  end
-  Copier.copy(src_path, dst_path, data; kwargs...)
+
+  _copy(src_path, dst_path, data; kwargs...)
+
+  data = YAML.load_file(joinpath(dst_path, ".copier-answers.yml"))
+  package_name = data["PackageName"]
+  bestie_version = data["_commit"]
+
+  println("""BestieTemplate was applied to $package_name.jl! 🎉
+
+  Next steps:
+
+  Review the modifications.
+  In particular README.md and docs/src/index.md tend to be heavily edited.
+
+  \$ git switch -c apply-bestie # If you haven't created a branch
+  \$ git add .
+  \$ pre-commit run -a # Try to fix possible pre-commit issues (failures are expected)
+  \$ pre-commit run -a # Again. Now failures should not happen
+  \$ gid add .
+  \$ git commit -m "Apply BestieTemplate $bestie_version"
+  \$ pre-commit install
+  \$ git push -u origin apply-bestie
+
+  Go to GitHub and create a Pull Request from apply-bestie to main.
+  Continue on the full guide: https://abelsiqueira.com/BestieTemplate.jl/stable/10-full-guide
+  """)
 
   return nothing
 end
 
-function generate(dst_path, data::Dict = Dict(); kwargs...)
-  generate("https://github.com/abelsiqueira/BestieTemplate.jl", dst_path, data; kwargs...)
+function apply(dst_path, data::Dict = Dict(); kwargs...)
+  apply("https://github.com/abelsiqueira/BestieTemplate.jl", dst_path, data; kwargs...)
 end
 
 """
diff --git a/test/runtests.jl b/test/runtests.jl
index 639237a2..06ef3b9a 100644
--- a/test/runtests.jl
+++ b/test/runtests.jl
@@ -50,6 +50,14 @@ template_options = Dict(
   "AddCopierCI" => false,
 )
 
+function _git_setup()
+  run(`git init`)
+  run(`git add .`)
+  run(`git config user.name "Test"`)
+  run(`git config user.email "test@test.com"`)
+  run(`git commit -q -m "First commit"`)
+end
+
 function test_diff_dir(dir1, dir2)
   ignore(line) = startswith("_commit")(line) || startswith("_src_path")(line)
   @testset "$(basename(dir1)) vs $(basename(dir2))" begin
@@ -115,22 +123,14 @@ end
   mktempdir(TMPDIR; prefix = "cli_") do dir_copier_cli
     run(`copier copy --defaults --quiet $min_bash_args $template_url $dir_copier_cli`)
     cd(dir_copier_cli) do
-      run(`git init`)
-      run(`git add .`)
-      run(`git config user.name "Test"`)
-      run(`git config user.email "test@test.com"`)
-      run(`git commit -q -m "First commit"`)
+      _git_setup()
     end
     run(`copier update --defaults --quiet $bash_args $dir_copier_cli`)
 
     mktempdir(TMPDIR; prefix = "update_") do tmpdir
       BestieTemplate.generate(tmpdir, template_minimum_options; defaults = true, quiet = true)
       cd(tmpdir) do
-        run(`git init`)
-        run(`git add .`)
-        run(`git config user.name "Test"`)
-        run(`git config user.email "test@test.com"`)
-        run(`git commit -q -m "First commit"`)
+        _git_setup()
         BestieTemplate.update(template_options; defaults = true, quiet = true)
       end
 
@@ -142,8 +142,51 @@ end
 @testset "Test that BestieTemplate.generate warns and exits for existing copy" begin
   mktempdir(TMPDIR; prefix = "cli_") do dir_copier_cli
     run(`copier copy --vcs-ref HEAD --quiet $bash_args $template_url $dir_copier_cli`)
+    cd(dir_copier_cli) do
+      _git_setup()
+    end
 
-    @test_logs (:warn,) BestieTemplate.generate(dir_copier_cli; quiet = true)
+    @test_logs (:warn,) BestieTemplate.apply(dir_copier_cli; quiet = true)
+  end
+end
+
+@testset "Test that generate fails for existing non-empty paths" begin
+  mktempdir(TMPDIR) do dir
+    cd(dir) do
+      @testset "It fails if the dst_path exists and is non-empty" begin
+        mkdir("some_folder1")
+        open(joinpath("some_folder1", "README.md"), "w") do io
+          println(io, "Hi")
+        end
+        @test_throws Exception BestieTemplate.generate("some_folder1")
+      end
+
+      @testset "It works if the dst_path is ." begin
+        mkdir("some_folder2")
+        cd("some_folder2") do
+          # Should not throw
+          BestieTemplate.generate(
+            template_path,
+            ".",
+            template_options;
+            quiet = true,
+            vcs_ref = "HEAD",
+          )
+        end
+      end
+
+      @testset "It works if the dst_path exists but is empty" begin
+        mkdir("some_folder3")
+        # Should not throw
+        BestieTemplate.generate(
+          template_path,
+          "some_folder3",
+          template_options;
+          quiet = true,
+          vcs_ref = "HEAD",
+        )
+      end
+    end
   end
 end
 
@@ -195,11 +238,14 @@ end
   end
 end
 
-@testset "Test generating the template on an existing project" begin
+@testset "Test applying the template on an existing project" begin
   mktempdir(TMPDIR; prefix = "existing_") do dir_existing
     cd(dir_existing) do
       Pkg.generate("NewPkg")
-      BestieTemplate.generate(
+      cd("NewPkg") do
+        _git_setup()
+      end
+      BestieTemplate.apply(
         template_path,
         "NewPkg/",
         Dict("AuthorName" => "T. Esther", "PackageOwner" => "test");
@@ -241,4 +287,19 @@ end
       end
     end
   end
+
+  @testset "Test input validation of apply" begin
+    mktempdir(TMPDIR) do dir
+      cd(dir) do
+        @testset "It fails if the dst_path does not exist" begin
+          @test_throws Exception BestieTemplate.generate("some_folder1")
+        end
+
+        @testset "It fails if the dst_path exists but does not contains .git" begin
+          mkdir("some_folder2")
+          @test_throws Exception BestieTemplate.generate("some_folder2")
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
 end