Table of Contents

• Install
• Hello World
• Usage
• Examples
• API Reference
• Official Documentation
• Live Editor
• Top 10 Features

Install

Choose an Interface:

• Command-Line
• JavaScript (Node.js)

Command-Line

Use npm or Homebrew to install the Command-Line interface of Autocode:

npm install autocode-cli -g # most popular
brew install autocode # mac only

JavaScript (Node.js)

Use npm to install the JavaScript interface of Autocode:

npm install autocode-js

Hello World

Choose the Hello World tutorial for your Autocode installation:

• Input
  • Command-Line
  • JavaScript (Node.js)
• Output
  • README.md
  • LICENSE

Input

Command-Line

If you've installed the Command-Line interface of Autocode, create a file called .autocode/config.yml and add these contents:

name: My App
description: This is my app.
path: ./output/myapp
imports:
  crystal/license: ~0.3.1
  crystal/readme: ~0.5.1
outputs:
  - generator: license.MITGenerator
    spec:
      copyright: 2015 Crystal
  - generator: readme.ReadmeGenerator
    spec:
      name: $name
      description: $description

Then use Autocode to build your project:

autocode build

View the output here.

JavaScript (Node.js)

If you've installed the JavaScript interface of Autocode, create a file called helloworld.js and add these contents:

var Autocode = require('autocode-js');
var project = new Autocode({
  name: 'My App',
  description: 'This is my app.',
  path: './output/myapp',
  imports: {
    'crystal/license': '~0.3.1',
    'crystal/readme': '~0.5.1'
  },
  outputs: [{
    // generate a LICENSE file
    generator: 'license.MITGenerator',
    spec: {
      copyright: '2015 Crystal'
    }
  },{
    // generate a README.md file
    generator: 'readme.ReadmeGenerator',
    spec: {
      name: '$name',
      description: '$description'
    }
  }]
});

Now run your helloworld.js script:

node helloworld.js

View the output here.

Output

Whether you've chosen the Command-Line interface or JavaScript interface, the output will be the same:

• README.md
• LICENSE

README.md

# My API

this is my API

LICENSE

The MIT License (MIT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Crystal

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

Usage

• Command-Line
• JavaScript (Node.js)

Command-Line

crystal [command]

Commands:

  build             build project
  config            get project's Crystal Config
  help              get help
  init              initialize project
  install <module>  install module
  run               run project
  search <module>   search for modules
  update            update project's modules

JavaScript (Node.js)

• Load Autocode
• Create Project
• Save Project
• Load Project
• Update Project
• Build Project
• Run Project
• Modularize Project

Load Autocode

var Autocode = require('autocode');

Create Project

var project = new Autocode({
  name: 'My App',
  description: 'This is my app.',
  path: './output/myapp',
  imports: {
    'crystal/license': '~0.2.4',
    'crystal/readme': '~0.2.2'
  },
  outputs: [{
    // generate a LICENSE file
    generator: 'license.MITGenerator',
    spec: {
      copyright: '2015 Crystal'
    }
  },{
    // generate a README.md file
    generator: 'readme.ReadmeGenerator',
    spec: {
      name: '$name',
      description: '$description'
    }
  }]
});

Save Project

project.save();

Load Project

var project = new Autocode('/path/to/project');

Update Project (and its Imports)

project.update();

Build Project

project.build({
  // overwrites any manual changes
  force: true
});

Run Project

project.run();

Modularize Project

Modularize your project for other projects to use:

var mod = new Autocode({
  name: 'My Module',
  description: 'This is my module.',
  path: './output/mymod',
  imports: {
    'crystal/handlebars': '~0.2.3'
  },
  exports: {
    ReadmeGenerator: {
      engine: 'handlebars.HandlebarsEngine',
      filename: 'README.md',
      schema: {
        type: 'object',
        properties: {
          name: {
            required: true,
            type: 'string'
          },
          description: {
            required: true,
            type: 'string'
          }
        }
      },
      template: "# {{{name}}}\n\n{{{description}}}",
      type: 'generator'
    }
  }
});

Examples

JavaScript

• Express
• npm

Python

• Django
• pip

Ruby

• Rails

Other

• Docker
• README

API Reference

• build()
• cache()
• generate()
• init()
• install()
• load()
• run()
• search()
• test()
• update()
• validate()

build([opts])

Builds your project.

Options

Example

var project = new Autocode('/path/to/project');
project.build({ force: true });

generate([opts])

Generates your project's files.

Options

Example

var project = new Autocode('/path/to/project');
project.generate({ force: true });

init([opts])

Initializes your project.

Example

var project = new Autocode('/path/to/project');
project.init({
  name: 'My App',
  description: 'This is my app.'
});

install([opts])

Installs a module.

Example

var project = new Autocode('/path/to/project');
project.install({
  'crystal/readme': '~0.2.2'
});

load([opts])

Loads your project's configuration.

Example

var project = new Autocode;
project.load('/path/to/project');

run([opts])

Runs your project.

Example

var project = new Autocode('/path/to/project');
project.run({ force: true });

search([opts])

Search for modules.

Example

var project = new Autocode('/path/to/project');
project.search({ keywords: 'laravel' });

test([opts])

Example

var project = new Autocode('/path/to/project');
project.test();

Test your project.

update([opts])

Updates your project.

Example

var project = new Autocode('/path/to/project');
project.update();

validate()

Validates your project.

Example

var project = new Autocode('/path/to/project');
project.validate();

Official Documentation

View Crystal's Official Documentation here:

https://crystal.readme.io

Live Editor

Use Crystal Editor to try Crystal online:

https://crystal.sh/editor

Top 10 Features

(1) Crystal unifies all technologies with a standardized input written in YAML, JSON, CSON and/or XML.

(2) Crystal generates code for:

• Any application: APIs, Apps, Websites, Frontends, Backends + more
• Any language: JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, Python, Swift, Java + more
• Any framework: Express, Hapi, Laravel, Yii, Rails, Sinatra, Django + more
• Any platform: Twitter, Facebook, Mailchimp, Pinterest, Google + more
• Any runtime/server: Node.js, Apache, Nginx, HAPROXY + more
• Any CMS: Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, Plone, Keystone + more
• Any datastore: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, DynamoDB + more
• Any file: README, LICENSE, AUTHORS, HOSTS + more
• ...and any other software!!

(3) Crystal is made up of 8 elements that make code generation more flexible and powerful than ever before:

• Specifications
• Schematics
• Generators
• Engines
• Helpers
• Processors
• Transformers
• Injectors

(4) Crystal is meant to be used on an ongoing basis - beyond project creation and scaffolding.

(5) Crystal has its own registry (the Crystal Hub) and package manager built-in which makes it easy to search, install and update modules.

(6) All of Crystal's elements can be modularized and published to the Crystal Hub for you or others to use.

(7) You can use multiple modules together such as a:

• README generator for documentation
• MIT generator for licensing
• Composer generator for frontend dependencies
• Bower generator for backend dependencies
• Laravel generator for business logic
• Ember generator for UI

(8) You can add/remove modules to/from a project at anytime.

(9) To prevent vendor lock-in and becoming dependent of Crystal, it's kept in its own directory: .autocode/. If you wish to no longer use Crystal, simply delete this directory and continue using the generated code (and making changes) without Crystal.

(10) Crystal makes language integration and/or migration easier.