@airtable/blocks-cli

Command line tool for Airtable Blocks development. This README is specifically for the v2 version of the CLI, which is in public beta

• @airtable/blocks-cli
• Installation
• Usage
• Commands
• New features in v2

Installation

To install or update the block cli, run:

npm install --global @airtable/[email protected]

Usage

$ npm install -g @airtable/blocks-cli
$ block COMMAND
running command...
$ block (-v|--version|version)
@airtable/blocks-cli/2.0.0-beta.3 darwin-x64 node-v12.20.1
$ block --help [COMMAND]
USAGE
  $ block COMMAND
...

Commands

• block add-remote BLOCKIDENTIFIER REMOTENAME
• block help [COMMAND]
• block init BLOCKIDENTIFIER BLOCKDIRPATH
• block list-remotes
• block release
• block remove-remote REMOTENAME
• block run
• block set-api-key [APIKEY]
• block submit

block add-remote BLOCKIDENTIFIER REMOTENAME

[Beta] Add a new remote configuration

USAGE
  $ block add-remote BLOCKIDENTIFIER REMOTENAME

OPTIONS
  -h, --help  show CLI help

EXAMPLE
  $ block add-remote app12345678/blk12345678 new-remote

block help [COMMAND]

display help for block

USAGE
  $ block help [COMMAND]

ARGUMENTS
  COMMAND  command to show help for

OPTIONS
  --all  see all commands in CLI

See code: @oclif/plugin-help

block init BLOCKIDENTIFIER BLOCKDIRPATH

Initialize an Airtable app project

USAGE
  $ block init BLOCKIDENTIFIER BLOCKDIRPATH

OPTIONS
  -h, --help           show CLI help
  --template=template  [default: https://github.com/Airtable/apps-hello-world]

EXAMPLE
  $ block init app12345678/blk12345678 hellow-world-app --template https://github.com/Airtable/apps-hello-world

block list-remotes

[Beta] List remote configurations

USAGE
  $ block list-remotes

OPTIONS
  -h, --help  show CLI help

EXAMPLE
  $ block list-remotes

block release

Release a build to an Airtable base

USAGE
  $ block release

OPTIONS
  -h, --help       show CLI help
  --remote=remote  [Beta] Configure which remote to use

EXAMPLE
  $ block release

block remove-remote REMOTENAME

[Beta] Remove a remote configuration

USAGE
  $ block remove-remote REMOTENAME

OPTIONS
  -h, --help  show CLI help

EXAMPLE
  $ block remove-remote old-remote

block run

Run the app locally

USAGE
  $ block run

OPTIONS
  -h, --help       show CLI help
  --port=port      [default: 9000] HTTPS port the server listens on. The server will listen for HTTP on PORT + 1.
  --remote=remote  [Beta] Configure which remote to use

EXAMPLE
  $ block run

block set-api-key [APIKEY]

Set an api key for an airtable account to upload to

USAGE
  $ block set-api-key [APIKEY]

OPTIONS
  -h, --help             show CLI help
  --location=(user|app)  [default: user]

EXAMPLE
  $ block set-api-key
  $ block set-api-key APIKEY
  $ block set-api-key --location app APIKEY

block submit

Submit app for review for listing in the the Airtable Marketplace

USAGE
  $ block submit

OPTIONS
  -h, --help       show CLI help
  --remote=remote  Configure which remote to use

EXAMPLE
  $ block submit

New features in v2

Using code from other directories

The new CLI allows this method of code-sharing by allowing “sibling directories” outside the source directory to be bundled. Those other directories can include npm imports based on link or file.

Using a custom bundler

Custom bundlers allow users to replace the CLI's built-in bundling functionality that turns app source code into publishable artifacts. Your custom bundler's output must conform to the Airtable platform's expected format, calling convention, and file structure.

Unlike other bundling systems, which allow configurability by composing multiple single-purpose plugins (or replacing just part of the bundling pipeline), this CLI exposes a simpler bundler extension API that expects a single, complete replacement of bundling functionality.

To use a custom bundler:

1. Save your bundler as a TypeScript file (i.e. index.ts).
2. Then, change the block.json ‘bundler.module’ option to point at your new bundler entry file; i.e.:

// block.json
{
    “bundler”: {
        “module”: “./bundler/index.ts”
    }
}

3. Once the change is made, restart your dev server (if running on a dev server).

A bundler needs to implement the following APIs:

class Bundler {
    async bundleAsync(options: ReleaseBundleOptions): Promise<void> {
        // implement release build
    }

    async startDevServerAsync(options: RunDevServerOptions & RunDevServerMethods): Promise<void> {
        // implement run development build
    }

    async teardownAsync(): Promise<void> {
        // implement any work needed to gracefully
        // close bundler process
    }
}

export default function() {
    return new Bundler();
}

For more details about the bundler API, see src/bundler/bundler.ts

Static assets are still not supported by default, but you can now swap in your own bundler that supports this.