A new way of creating console applications in Imba

Earlier this year I built a custom API framework for Imba, The Formidable Framework. I implemented a lot of cool features, and one of those features is a CLI tool named Craftsman. This CLI tool is built ontop @oclif/dev-cli.

@formidablejs/console#

I will be moving away from @oclif/dev-cli. @formidablejs/console will give me more freedom and allow me to experiment with new features.

Craftsman's new core is a Zero-Dependency module written entirely in Imba that draws its inspiration from Laravel's Artisan.

Here's what a Command looks like:

class DownCommand < Command
    # The name and signature of the console command.
    #
    # @type {String}
    get signature
        'down {?--allow : IP Address to add to allow-list}'
    # The console command description.
    #
    # @type {String}
    get description
        'Put the application into maintenance / demo mode'
    # Command props.
    #
    # @type {Object}
    get props
        {
            allow: Prop.string!.multiple!
        }
    # Execute the console command.
    #
    # @returns {mixed}
    def handle
        self.table self.option('allow')

Results:

Default Command#

You can register a default command, this command will typically run before all the other registered commands. By default, @formidablejs/console uses its registered default command to display the help interface for all commands, you can however replace the default command with your own by adding a default getter in your command:

class DefaultCommand < Command
    # Register as a default command.
    #
    # @type {Boolean}
    get default
        true
    # The name and signature of the console command.
    #
    # @type {String}
    get signature
        'default {?--help} {?--version}'
    # Command props.
    #
    # @type {Object}
    get props
        {
            help: Prop.boolean!.alias('h').default(false)
            version: Prop.boolean!.alias('v').default(false)
        }
    # A list of help options.
    #
    # @type {Object[]}
    get helpOptions
        [
            {
                alias: 'h'
                name: 'help'
                description: 'Display help for the given command. When no command is given display help for the <fg:green>list</fg:green> command'
            }
            {
                alias: 'v'
                name: 'version',
                description: 'Display this application version'
            }
        ]
    ...

Calling the cli without any arguments, invokes the default command:

Closing comments#

While this was initially created for Formidable, I'm going to ship it as a standalone console application creator.

There's still a lot of testing I still need to do before I can ship this. If you would like to help, please get in touch via twitter.