BOB Core - Bash Operation Buddy Core

Introduction

BOB (Bash Operation Buddy) Core is a library that provides a set of functions to create your own CLI in TypeScript easily.

Usage

npm install bob-core

Initialize the CLI:

import { CLI } from 'bob-core';

const cli = new CLI();

await cli.withCommands('./commands');

cli.run('commandName', 'arg1', 'arg2', 'arg3');

Create a command in the commands folder:

import { Command } from 'bob-core';

export default class MyCommand extends Command {
  public name = 'my-command {arg1} {--option1}';
  public description = 'This is my command';
  
  /**
   * Define the arguments and options help
   *
   * Optional
   */
  helpDefinition = {
      arg1: 'This is the first argument',
      '--option1': 'This is the first option'
  }

  /**
   * Provide examples of how to use the command
   *
   * Optional
   */
  commandsExamples = [
      {
            command: 'my-command value1 --option1',
            description: 'This is an example'
      }
  ]

  public async handle() {
    console.log('Hello World');
    console.log('Arguments:', this.argument('arg1'));
    console.log('Options:', this.option('option1'));
  }
}

Cli Help

The CLI provides a help command that displays all available commands and their descriptions.

node cli.js help

Commands

Bob CLI x.x.x 💪

Usage:
  command [options] [arguments]

Available commands:

help         Show help
test         test description
sub:
  sub        sub command description
  sub:sub    sub:sub command description

Command help

You can also display the help of a specific command.

node cli.js test -h

Description:
  test description

Usage:
  test <user> [options]

Arguments:
  user                  user description
  test                  test description [default: null]
  test2                 [default: []] (variadic)

Options:
  --option, -o, -b      option description (boolean) [default: false]
  --flag                flag description (string) [default: null]
  --arr                 arr description (array) [default: null]
  --flag2               flag2 description (string) [default: 2]
  --help, -h            Display help for the given command. When no command is given display help for the list command (boolean)

Examples:
  Example description 1

    node cli.js test yayo --option

  Example description 2

    node cli.js test anothervalue --flag=2

Depending on the command, the help will display the command signature, description, arguments, options and examples.

Commands signature

The command signature is a string that defines the command name, arguments and options.

Example:

    signature = 'my-command {arg1} {arg2} {arg3} {--option1} {--option2}';

Arguments

All user supplied arguments and options are wrapped in curly braces. In the following example, the command defines three required arguments arg1, arg2 and arg3.

    signature = 'my-command {arg1} {arg2} {arg3}';

You may want to make an argument optional by adding a ? after the argument name or by providing a default value with =.

    signature = 'my-command {arg1} {arg2?} {arg3=defaultValue}';

    handle() {
        this.argument('arg1'); // 'value' or throw an error if not provided
        this.argument('arg2'); // 'value' or null if not provided
        this.argument('arg3'); // 'value' or 'defaultValue' if not provided
    }

You can also define a variadic argument by adding * after the argument name. Variadic arguments are stored in an array.

    signature = 'my-command {arg1} {arg2*}';

    handle() {
        this.argument('arg1'); // 'value1'
        this.argument('arg2'); // ['value2', 'value3']
    }

Variadic arguments can also be optional.

    signature = 'my-command {arg1} {arg2*?}';

Options

Options are defined by {--optionName}.

    signature = 'my-command {--option1} {--option2} {--option3}';

By default options are boolean with a default value of false. You can also change the option type to string by adding = to the option definition. You can also provide a default value by adding =value.

If the value is 'true' or 'false', the option will be converted to a boolean.

    signature = 'my-command {--option1} {--option2=true} {--option3=} {--option4=defaultValue} {--option5=}';

    handle() {
        this.option('option1'); // by default `false` and can be set to `true` by the user 
        this.option('option2'); // by default `true` and can be set to `false` by the user
        this.option('option3'); // by default `null` and can be set to "value" by the user
        this.option('option4'); // by default "defaultValue" and can be set to "value" by the user
    }

You can also define a variadic option by adding * as option value. (e.g. {--option2=*}) Variadic options are stored in an array.

    signature = 'my-command {--option1} {--option2=*}';

    handle() {
        this.option('option1'); // 'value1' 
        this.option('option2'); // ['value2', 'value3'] // or [] if not provided
    }

Commands I/O

Arguments

    this.argument('arg1');

You can also provide a default value if the argument is optional.

    this.argument('arg1', 'defaultValue');

If you always need a boolean value, you can use the argumentBoolean method.

    this.argumentBoolean('arg1');

If you always need a number value, you can use the argumentNumber method.

    this.argumentNumber('arg1');

If you always need a array value, you can use the argumentArray method.

    this.argumentArray('arg1');

Options

    this.option('option1');

You can also provide a default value if the option is optional.

    this.option('option1', 'defaultValue');

If you always need a boolean value, you can use the optionBoolean method.

    this.optionBoolean('option1');

If you always need a number value, you can use the optionNumber method.

    this.optionNumber('option1');

If you always need a array value, you can use the optionArray method.

    this.optionArray('option1');