diff --git a/packages/schematics/bin/create-nx-workspace.ts b/packages/schematics/bin/create-nx-workspace.ts
index 1796d86f84d9d..79b8f029baf5f 100644
--- a/packages/schematics/bin/create-nx-workspace.ts
+++ b/packages/schematics/bin/create-nx-workspace.ts
@@ -3,19 +3,30 @@
 import { execSync } from 'child_process';
 import { dirSync } from 'tmp';
 import { lt } from 'semver';
-import { readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
+import { readFileSync, createReadStream, createWriteStream, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 
-// check the correct version of the NPM is installed
-const output = execSync('npm --version').toString();
-if (lt(output, '5.0.0')) {
-  console.log('To create a workspace you must have NPM >= 5.0.0 installed.');
-  process.exit(1);
+const useYarn = process.argv.filter(p => p === '--yarn').length > 0;
+
+if (!useYarn) {
+  try {
+    // check the correct version of the NPM is installed
+    const output = execSync('npm --version').toString();
+    if (lt(output, '5.0.0')) {
+      console.error('To create a workspace you must have NPM >= 5.0.0 installed.');
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.error('Cannot find npm. If you want to use yarn to create a project, pass the --yarn flag.');
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
 }
 
+const projectName = process.argv.slice(2).filter(arg => !arg.startsWith('--'))[0];
+
 // check that the workspace name is passed in
-if (process.argv.length < 3) {
-  console.error('Please provide a project name (e.g., create-nx-workspace nrwl-proj');
+if (!projectName) {
+  console.error('Please provide a project name (e.g., create-nx-workspace nrwl-proj)');
   process.exit(1);
 }
 
@@ -28,30 +39,58 @@ writeFileSync(
   JSON.stringify({
     dependencies: {
       '@nrwl/schematics': nxVersion,
-      '@angular/cli': `file:${path.join(
-        path.dirname(__dirname),
-        'src',
-        'collection',
-        'application',
-        'files',
-        '__directory__',
-        '.angular_cli165.tgz'
-      )}`,
+      '@angular/cli': 'file:.angular_cli165.tgz',
       '@angular-devkit/core': '^0.0.29',
       '@angular-devkit/schematics': '0.0.52',
       '@schematics/angular': '0.1.17'
-    }
+    },
+    license: 'MIT'
   })
 );
 
-execSync('npm install --silent', { cwd: tmpDir, stdio: [0, 1, 2] });
+copyFile(
+  path.join(
+    path.dirname(__dirname),
+    'src',
+    'collection',
+    'application',
+    'files',
+    '__directory__',
+    '.angular_cli165.tgz'
+  ),
+  '.'
+);
+
+function copyFile(file: string, target: string) {
+  const f = path.basename(file);
+  const source = createReadStream(file);
+  const dest = createWriteStream(path.resolve(target, f));
+  source.pipe(dest);
+  source.on('error', e => console.error(e));
+}
+
+if (useYarn) {
+  execSync('yarn install --silent', { cwd: tmpDir, stdio: [0, 1, 2] });
+} else {
+  execSync('npm install --silent', { cwd: tmpDir, stdio: [0, 1, 2] });
+}
 
 // creating the app itself
 const args = process.argv
   .slice(2)
+  .filter(a => a !== '--yarn')
   .map(a => `"${a}"`)
   .join(' ');
 console.log(`ng new ${args} --collection=@nrwl/schematics`);
-execSync(`${path.join(tmpDir, 'node_modules', '.bin', 'ng')} new ${args} --collection=@nrwl/schematics`, {
-  stdio: [0, 1, 2]
-});
+execSync(
+  `${path.join(tmpDir, 'node_modules', '.bin', 'ng')} new ${args} --skip-install --collection=@nrwl/schematics`,
+  {
+    stdio: [0, 1, 2]
+  }
+);
+
+if (useYarn) {
+  execSync(`yarn install`, { stdio: [0, 1, 2], cwd: projectName });
+} else {
+  execSync(`npm install`, { stdio: [0, 1, 2], cwd: projectName });
+}