The schematics mentioned previously are sort of blueprints for transformations. This might sound vague, but it is simply because you can do many things with them. Schematics provide the logic for modifying your project; they explain to the CLI how to perform specific modifications.
For example, a schematic could add and configure an additional library into your project, fix a known bug, or update libraries. The CLI comes with a large set of schematics out of the box, but it is also possible to create your own. You can use these through the ng generate command. You can find a detailed introduction to schematics on the official Angular blog: https://blog.angular.io/schematics-an-introduction-dc1dfbc2a2b2.
Many tools and libraries in the Angular ecosystem provide their own schematics. For instance, the NgRx library, which we'll touch on later in the chapter, provides schematics to easily generate code.
Let's play with the CLI right away!