gluegun
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A delightful toolkit for building Node-powered CLIs.
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[](https://www.npmjs.org/package/gluegun)
[](https://circleci.com/gh/infinitered/gluegun)
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# Gluegun
Gluegun is a delightful toolkit for building Node-based command-line interfaces (CLIs) in TypeScript or modern JavaScript, with support for:
đŻ _parameters_ - command-line arguments and options<br />
đ _template_ - generating files from templates<br />
đ _patching_ - manipulating file contents<br />
đž _filesystem_ - moving files and directories around<br />
â _system_ - executing other command-line scripts<br />
đ
_http_ - interacting with API servers<br />
đ _prompt_ - auto-complete prompts<br />
đ _print_ - printing pretty colors and tables<br />
đŠââď¸ _semver_ - working with semantic versioning<br />
đť _strings_ - manipulating strings & template data<br />
đŚ _packageManager_ - installing NPM packages with Yarn or NPM<br />
In addition, `gluegun` supports expanding your CLI's ecosystem with a robust set of easy-to-write plugins and extensions.
# Why use Gluegun?
You might want to use Gluegun if:
- You need to build a CLI app
- You want to have powerful tools at your fingertips
- And you don't want to give up flexibility at the same time
If so ... welcome!
# Quick Start
Just run the `gluegun` CLI like this:
```
# spin up your new CLI
npx gluegun new movies
# choose TypeScript or Modern JavaScript
# now jump into the source
cd movies
# and link your new executable
yarn link
# and run it!
movies help
```
You should see your new CLI help. Open the folder in your favorite editor and start building your CLI!
# Code
Let's start with what a `gluegun` CLI looks like.
```js
// in movie/src/cli.[js|ts]...
// ready
const { build } = require('gluegun')
// aim
const movieCLI = build('movie')
.src(`${__dirname}/src`)
.plugins('node_modules', { matching: 'movie-*' })
.help()
.version()
.defaultCommand()
.create()
// fire!
movieCLI.run()
```
**Commands**
Commands are simple objects that provide a name, optional aliases, and a function to run.
```js
// in movie/src/commands/foo.js
module.exports = {
name: 'foo',
alias: 'f',
run: async function (toolbox) {
// gluegun provides all these features and more!
const { system, print, filesystem, strings } = toolbox
// ...and be the CLI you wish to see in the world
const awesome = strings.trim(await system.run('whoami'))
const moreAwesome = strings.kebabCase(`${awesome} and a keyboard`)
const contents = `đ¨ Warning! ${moreAwesome} coming thru! đ¨`
const home = process.env['HOME']
filesystem.write(`${home}/realtalk.json`, { contents })
print.info(`${print.checkmark} Citius`)
print.warning(`${print.checkmark} Altius`)
print.success(`${print.checkmark} Fortius`)
},
}
```
See the [toolbox api docs](./docs/toolbox-api.md) for more details on what you can do.
See the [runtime docs](./docs/runtime.md) for more details on building your own CLI and join us in the #gluegun channel of the Infinite Red Community Slack ([community.infinite.red](http://community.infinite.red)) to get friendly help!
# Who Is Using This?
- [Ignite CLI](https://github.com/infinitered/ignite) - React Native CLI and starter kit
- [Solidarity](https://github.com/infinitered/solidarity) - audits your system dependencies so you can develop in peace
- [AWS Amplify CLI](https://github.com/aws-amplify/amplify-cli) - A CLI toolchain for simplifying serverless web and mobile development
- [Sara Vieira's Fiddly](https://github.com/SaraVieira/fiddly) - Create beautiful and simple HTML pages from your Readme.md files - [https://fiddly.netlify.com](https://fiddly.netlify.com)
- [Graph CLI](https://github.com/graphprotocol/graph-cli) - CLI for building and managing subgraphs that index data from Ethereum and IPFS - [https://thegraph.com/explorer](https://thegraph.com/explorer)
- [Vts](https://github.com/snowfrogdev/Vts) - Vanilla TypeScript library starter CLI tool
# What's under the hood?
We've assembled an _all-star cast_ of libraries to help you build your CLI.
âď¸ [ejs](https://github.com/mde/ejs) for templating<br />
âď¸ [semver](https://github.com/npm/node-semver) for version investigations<br />
âď¸ [fs-jetpack](https://github.com/szwacz/fs-jetpack) for the filesystem<br />
âď¸ [yargs-parser](https://github.com/yargs/yargs-parser), [enquirer](https://github.com/enquirer/enquirer), [colors](https://github.com/Marak/colors.js), [ora](https://github.com/sindresorhus/ora) and [cli-table3](https://github.com/cli-table/cli-table3) for the command line<br />
âď¸ [axios](https://github.com/mzabriskie/axios) & [apisauce](https://github.com/infinitered/apisauce) for web & apis<br />
âď¸ [cosmiconfig](https://github.com/davidtheclark/cosmiconfig) for flexible configuration </br>
âď¸ [cross-spawn](https://github.com/IndigoUnited/node-cross-spawn) for running sub-commands</br>
âď¸ [execa](https://github.com/sindresorhus/execa) for running more sub-commands</br>
âď¸ [node-which](https://github.com/npm/node-which) for finding executables</br>
âď¸ [pluralize](https://github.com/blakeembrey/pluralize) for manipulating strings</br>
[Node.js 12.0+](https://nodejs.org) is required.
## Community CLIs and Plugins
Here are a few community CLIs based on Gluegun plus some plugins you can use. Is yours missing? Send a PR to add it!
- [Gluegun-Menu](https://github.com/lenneTech/gluegun-menu) - A command menu for Gluegun-based CLIs
- [Gluegun CLI-Starter](https://github.com/lenneTech/cli-starter) - A CLI Starter for your next Gluegun CLI project
## Sponsors
[Gluegun](https://github.com/infinitered/gluegun) is sponsored by [Infinite Red](https://infinite.red/), a premium custom mobile app and web design and development agency. We are a team of designers and developers distributed across the USA and based near Portland, Oregon. Our specialties are UI/UX design, React and React Native, Node, and more. Email [hello@infinite.red](mailto:hello@infinite.red) if you'd like to talk about your project!